PACHA Hails City's Direction On Air Quality

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 04:05 AM

Last night's public Committee of the Whole meeting on Air Quality

Prince George, B.C.- The President of the People's Action Committee for Healthy Air (PACHA) is pleased with the direction Prince George City Council is heading on air quality improvement.

Councillors have asked staff to prepare a long-term strategy that will see air quality as one of the pillars for ensuring the future sustainability of Prince George. (click here, for previous story)

"(Air quality) has come to the forefront over the last couple of years because citizens are upset that nothing's changed over the years," says PACHA President Dave Fuller. "So once they (city officials) address this issue and take it seriously, they're going to have a lot more energy to start inviting businesses into town that are going to stay, and people are going to want to stay because Prince George has a lot to offer, but (our poor air quality) is a detriment."

Fuller says he realizes the City's limitations when it comes to dealing with air emissions -- regulating authority lies with the provincial government. But, he says, "The City does have a lot of power -- a lot of lobbying power -- it can put pressure on the provincial government. You know, there were some requests tonight (Monday night) for the Ministry of Environment to do some certain things, produce some certain reports and any time that the City asks for these things, there's a much greater chance than if you or I as an individual asked."

"The residents of the city are asking City Council to make some changes and I'm starting to see that," Fuller says.

But he says whether enough pressure can be applied at the levels that are required to get industry to reduce their pollution levels so that "Prince George doesn't 'smell like money' or stink", remains to be seen. The PACHA spokesperson says, "Hopefully, it will get done and Prince George will be a better place to live."

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Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 04:05 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on January 29 2008 7:42 AM

Prince George will smell like money as long as one of the three pulp mills is still operating.

Once the pulp mills shut down the air will stop smelling and houses will be really cheap.

Sound like a dream come true? Better watch out what you wish for, most of these people on the PACHA will have opportunities to move out of PG to write their memoirs, but the rest of us will be wondering who will shut the lights off.

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on January 29 2008 7:56 AM

I copied this from the Citizen pages.

"..The Lower Mainland and Alberta received a D, while New Brunswick rated a C. Manitoba and Newfoundland topped the list with a B+.

Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia were not ranked because data was not available, said the Heart and Stroke Foundation..."

Obviously the poorer the people are the better the air. Go fiquire.

Posted by: giterdun on January 29 2008 9:46 AM

WITH ALL OF THIS LIP SERVICE, WHY IS THE CITY PLANNING A THERMAL GENERATION PLANT IN THE DOWNTOWN? HOW CAN THEY POSSIBLY JUSTIFY THIS ILL CONCEIVED PLAN?

Posted by: Palopu on January 29 2008 10:25 AM

Husky oil Refinery causes as much or more stink as the pulp mills.

They are planning a Thermal Generation plant so they can access $9 Million in funding from other levels of Government, which allows them to tear up streets and buildings, give out contracts, and generally have a good time on our tax dollar. Does it make sense? No. Do they care? No. Are contractors and others who feed off this Citys drunken spending rubbing their hands will glee? You bet.

Will the Citizens of Prince George have the intestinal fortitude to stop this maddness? I certainly hope so.

Posted by: owl on January 29 2008 1:07 PM

My intial reaction to the Community Heating system is very mixed ....

It typically works for large number of buildings in close proximity. The UNBC campus would be a prime example.

So there is that component which needs to be separately form the actual fuel that will power the plant. In other words, if it makes economic and operational sense if it was powered by natural gas, then that part is won. If not, then the other part had better give a hell of a lot of benefits to overcome that shortfall.

We know that natural gas is quite "clean" as compared to other biofuels whther wood or coal or oil. Peter Jackson even said that at the meeting last night.

So, it looks like the Millar people closest to the plant will get one tonne per year of particulates more than they currently get. The VOC based particualtes which they receive from most of the gas furnace in the area are nothing comapred to that. They are dispersed thoughout the entire subdivision with only part of them within a 300 or 400 metre radius.

It will be very interesting to see details as they pop out of the woodwork.

BTW, the province has a call out for a backgrounder to be developed provincially on this whole topic so that they can deal with this conundrum - great for greenhouse gas issue ... poor for air quality and specifically PM2.5 issue.

That shows the state of the union at the provincial level.

We are embarking on new ground. So, everyone is running around in circles clutching their legs like that guy on Boston Legal for those who watch that.

:-)

Posted by: Harbinger on January 29 2008 2:00 PM

As long as the hookers in the Millar Addition can be the "canaries in the coal mines" and contract emphysema first, why should I care? I will the move away. (no smart ass replies will be entertained about moving away now). So there.