Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society questions candidates
| Local Politics |
The Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society posed the following three questions to CRD and City Councillor candidates.
1. “Public surveys identified the Scout Island Nature Centre lands and nature house as very important assets to the people of Williams Lake. How would you work to maintain and enhance these benefits?
2. How would you encourage industry/companies producing sustainable products and practicing healthy environmental practices to settle here (tax incentives different from what is offered to others perhaps)?
3. What are your top 2-3 priorities for maintaining the environmental quality for Williams Lake and area residents and what would be some actions that you would propose to move ahead on these priorities?”
Reply from CRD Area E candidate Bill Carruthers:
“As a candidate for Director of Area E in the Regional District, my priorities on environment are:
A] Contamination of water wells in the Dog Creek-Mountview area. The pending issue of sewer and water installation is my top concern as the current septic systems are going to continue to potentially pollute wells and the land in this area.
B] Waste Management is another priority. The CRD is currently reviewing its waste management program and is seeking input from the public, but I am in favour of any development that leads to a reduction in waste going to landfill sites. The share sheds appear to be worthy item and have reduced waste, as people are making use of them, as an alternative to dumping unwanted items. We have to continue to make it easy for people to recycle, especially the reduction of plastic bags and any containers with deposit fees. I wasn’t a big fan of the railway ties being shredded in downtown Williams Lake. This should have been done in a less visible industrial area and then burnt at the energy plant, which burns the material at a very high temperature and reduced the air emissions. What we did was move the program to another location, but the problem is still with society, even though it isn’t in Williams Lake and we lost some badly needed job as well.
C] The attraction of healthy industry to the Cariboo-Chilcotin would be a supportable program, but I am not a big fan of tax incentives. I would have to know what kind of business it is that is looking for incentives before I would even consider them. As to Scout Island, I think that this is a wonderful asset for the Cariboo-Chilcotin and it must be supported. I am currently concerned about the number of dogs running loose when they should be on leaches and the droppings from the Canada Geese. It’s hard to enjoy the site, when you have to keep watching where you are stepping. Both of these have to be sorted out as it will have an impact on how people perceive the site as a destination.”
Reply from Geoff Bourdon, City Councillor candidate:
“My top two priorities for maintaining environmental integrity are:1) Supporting Provincial and Federal environmental standards, for example when referring to red tape in development, making sure that due process is followed through the planning and approval stages. The process can only be streamlined so much before it starts to show negative impacts.2) Establishing a longer term planning process so that we are anticipating challenges rather than reacting to them. Having a regimented assessment schedule of assets such as our aquifer and community forest will give us the foresight to keep them TRULY sustainable.”
Reply from City Councillor candidate Steve Forseth:
“My top three environmental priorities:
1) Scout Island lands and Nature Centre – work with the WL Field Naturalists, other stakeholders/public to protect and enhance both the Scout Island lands/Nature Centre, both today and for the future, by looking at allocating the appropriate budget or other resources that the City of Williams Lake & Cariboo Regional District can bring to bear to ensure Scout Island and the Nature Centre is the crown jewel of Williams Lake and its’ surrounding communities
2) Sustainable Practices - if elected:
a) Have a “no bottled water” policy for Williams Lake City Hall. We have a fantastic water system in the City and we need to practice what we preach as well as discussing this with the Central Cariboo Joint Committee to pursue this policy at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex
b) Work with the community – both residential and business/industry to reduce their emissions to the City’s air shed to the lowest extent possible by reminding them of the need to have a healthy Williams Lake and area Airshed
c) Work with the Cariboo Regional District Board to ensure the new Solid Waste Management Plan has goals which includes home—based compost recycling and as well as food recycling goals from local restaurants
d) Have a public education campaign on use of cosmetic pesticides on residential lawns and City Parks & use of “natural” options to have greener lawns/parks
e) Ensure City Operations have the least impact on our environment, as per City Policies
3) City’s Aquifer – if elected:
a) Work with industry to look at options for use of “grey water” for their needs that are both affordable and doable but industry will be told that the “status quo” must come to an end
b) Ensure that the City’s aquifer can provide water to City residents’ first and foremost – by the establishment of a Long Term vision for our City Water System.”
Reply from CRD Director candidate Byron Kemp:
“There are many in the region who are feeling concern for a healthy environment for all- our children, the elderly and everyone in between.
Issues :
1. Dropping levels in our aquifer - this is a problem throughout the region. The Provincial & Federal Gov’ts should be dealing with this with more intensity. We are in a desert zone as far as rain & moisture.
2. The use of treated water by industry - this is ridiculous. The Mountview/Dog Creek Rd. area is looking at sewer and water to be supplied by the City. The City is having enough water problems and should not be supplying it to Industry at the rate they are doing. The city won’t have enough even for their own expansion, and the CRD is only good for 60%. Also can the City handle further sewerage in their system?
3. Rail-ties being burned in Williams Lake in the future - this is a problem since the Gov’t sold us down the rail to CN. This should not be happening.
4. Green-house gas reduction - we are not the problem. The lower mainland and the large industries in the cities should take the brunt. We do not have a choice in the rural areas.
5. The ever increasing loads of waste going to our landfills - the management of these landfills and recycling, composting, reducing plastic bag and bottle waste. Why is this happening? We cannot recycle all the things that should be recycled. Since the CRD has taken control of the waste management, and eliminated the dumps, there seems to be a large increase of waste, even city people bringing their waste out to the rural transfer stations. It is a blessing that the CRD took control of waste management and put in the waste disposal at Gibralter. We need to control the stations better or increase the cost to the tax payers. We have a good system if people would take part the way they should and not put all the furniture, stoves washers etc at the transfer stations.
6. Local food security - I do not know the problem here.
7. Use of cosmetic-pesticides on City lawns and parks - that is a city problem. We have enough problems trying to control the noxious weeds which destroy the grasslands. People don’t take care of their own property, let alone the Highways Dept. and our public roadways.
8. Reduction of air pollutants: Get rid of everything! (Priorities are) moving ahead with the problems in Mountview /Dog Creek Rd. Area to stop pollution and getting the Governments Federal And Provincial to deal with people’s concerns.
Something that took place several years ago was the inspection by Ducks Unlimited of properties on lakes (it was voluntary). This should be a mandatory inspection and people should have to live up to any recommendations that are made.”
Reply from City Councillor candidate Peter Bowman:
“The Scout Island Nature Center is a very important tool in educating the community not only in regards to wildlife but the environment in general. My two children (six and four) have both gone to the center and have learned so much. When I take them there for a walk they educate me in what they learned. There has been much promotion recently for schools and programs offered at the center, that it would be irresponsible to discontinue. As a small independent Band school we take full advantage of the Scout Island Nature Center and will continue to do so in the future.
Issues like the Aquifer, recycling, composting, green house gas reduction are ALL very important issues. As I travel throughout the country I see things done in other areas that we could be doing here. Water is very important and we need to look into ground breaking ways to reduce and reuse our water supply, especially when it comes to industrial usage.
With the issue of industrial expansion, which I would like to see to increase the tax base, we need to be sensitive to where we put it. No more industry in the valley or downtown core. Clean air is important to all of us.
These are just a few thoughts and ideas. The environment is important and we need to increase awareness to these issues before it is too late.”
Reply from City Councillor candidate Sue Zacharias:
“Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the environment of Williams Lake and the surrounding region close to the City limits.
Aquifer Levels- There has been extensive studies done on the well water situation in Williams Lake recently. Although we must be prudent and not waste water, constant recording and analysis must be done in order to track water use and its impact on our wells. Other sources of water should be identified and secured for the future. Some aquifer levels are, in my opinion, affected by cyclical weather over hundreds of years. Williams Lake has a very active Water Wise Program which educates children on conservation. We also have a very dedicated group in the Water Advisory Committee. The City also enforces Sprinkling Regulations, encourages Xeriscape Gardening and uses thoughtful planning processes in the City’s gardens and Parks. Water quality and a new water system for the Dog Creek Road and Woodland Drive area is an extremely urgent matter to be dealt with.
Industrial Water Use- Quite a number of industrial businesses use the treated water supply from the City. Although, the industrial businesses pay monthly for the use of the water by volume used [and this may be a lucrative source of revenue for the City], another source of water, such as water from Williams Lake or the Fraser River, makes more sense. A study would need to be done as to how the untreated lake/river or other “source” water would be piped to businesses for industrial use and then the cost to do it.
Burning of Rail Ties- The burning of any waste product in the City is unacceptable if it is proven to be unsafe and poses a grave danger to residents. The City has a very active Air Quality Roundtable Committee. The goals of the Air Shed Management Plan and the Air Quality Roundtable are to ensure that identified contributing sources are using the best technology available to treat air emissions. To use Pollution Prevention Plans to systematically reduce point and fugitive sources of industrial pollution. To encourage dust control measures at strategic locations in the air shed. Facilitate better regulation of all types of burning. Last, but not least, to suggest innovative approaches to reducing emissions from all types of motor vehicles.
Green House Gas Reduction- the City of Williams Lake’s “green fleet strategy” summarizes the research completed and identifies actions to be undertaken by city staff and managers in order to reduce emissions of the city fleet. It allows for the City to make an organized and directed approach to improving the overall efficiency of the City’s fleet during its operations. This also has the positive side effects of reducing fuel and maintenance costs, improving the resiliency of the fleet, and promoting environmentally conscious actions to the community. I believe many residents and businesses can also take advantage of the same recommendations in the “strategy” and adopt these for our own personal or business use. Many residents are now focused on reducing GHG’s in their own homes. Businesses need to be encouraged to get on board as this will save money for them and increase the bottom line. The new Permissive Tax Exemption adopted by the City of WL Council encourages industry to reduce GHG and build “Green”, as part of the criteria, in order to qualify for the exemption.
Waste and Waste Management of our Landfills- I have recently spent one year as a committee member of the Solid Waste Review Committee with the City, CRD, First Nations and Business stakeholders to design a Solid Waste Management Plan for now and in the future. This plan provides direction for the types of garbage, recycling and other waste reduction programs we need to develop over the next 10 years. The goal created a plan, with input from residents and businesses that will meet our needs for managing waste – for the good of our communities, our environment and our wallets.
Key options were presented at the open houses for feedback in the past few weeks:
- Increase convenient access to recycling, including controlling sites to reduce contamination and clean-up costs.
- Develop “one-stop” Eco-depots for convenient recycling of products such as electronics, paint, waste oil, batteries and household hazardous wastes
- Gauge public interest for yard or food scraps collection and composting
- Improve education and enforcement programs
- Gain input on “user-pay” programs and tipping fees
- Manage wood waste
- Investigate waste-to-energy options.
Improvements are being made all the time to our landfill and the operation of it. Eventually, I believe, we will be the envy of other towns when it comes to Waste Management. We strive to be the best.
Reduce and Re-use and Recycle- Awareness and education is the key to the three R’s. Much headway has been made in this area of waste management. The City has implemented a recycling program using recycle bins for garbage pickup. The recycle bins are co-mingled at this point in time. The acceptance from the public to recycle has been amazing. The amount of recyclables being picked up and not thrown away is staggering. Because of the residents combined efforts, thousands of tons of materials have been recycled instead of filling up the landfill. Personally, I would love to see this expanded to the outer fringe residents just outside the City’s boundaries. I believe people are ready for this and would pay a few cents more for this service.
Local Food Security- I believe the public is becoming more aware of food security. I support the stocking of our store shelves and promoting local food co-ops/markets selling our locally grown fruits, vegetables, beef, chicken, poultry products and milk. I would gladly pay a bit of a premium to eat these foods and I personally support this as much as I can find to buy.
Use of Pesticides is a controversial issue and one that has many pros and cons. There are circumstances where pesticides are used that are warranted and other situations where an alternative could or should be used. The public will continue to be asking questions and insisting on providing alternatives to the widespread use of pesticides.
PROS: Kills pests and prevents or stops the growth of fungal, bacterial and viral diseases in crops. This increases yield, protects the soil for future sowing and that increases overall profits!
CONS: Could get into the human food chain. Could contaminate local streams, rivers or water supplies causing untold damage to wildlife or people. Could cause the person applying the spray harm.
Again, as in most issues that are not widely known or talked about, education and awareness and the public’s insistence on change- once educated and aware- will dictate alternatives that are hopefully safer but still cost effective.
Air Quality is an extremely important issue because we actually live in a bowl-like air shed. As mentioned below the Air Quality Round Table has done an amazing job of bringing this awareness to the forefront of the community. They have worked diligently with industry to find new and innovative ways to reduce fine particulate emissions and monitor the air shed. Also the Committee has made great strides in providing funding for the wood stove exchange program, which has been very successful.
Scout Island Nature Centre is a jewel in the middle of our City. I once read in the WL Tribune that a conservationist, from California, called Scout Island the 8th Wonder of the World because of the diversity of birds and ducks that migrated from all over the world and stopped, at some point, at Scout Island. The support needs to “be there” from the community. As the area is used and enjoyed by City and Regional District residents, School District classrooms and First Nations, everyone should be contributing from the vast tax base from inside and outside the city. An important step would be to collaborate with all levels of our local government partners to hire a person who would apply for grants from all sorts of financial institutions such as Federal reserves, provincial reserves and trusts or foundations that support this kind of Nature Park and Education Centre. Volunteers don’t always have the time or expertise to do the grant writing.
Parks are definitely a priority in Williams Lake as has been recently proven in the Master Plan for the Parks and Recreation Study done in Williams Lake. The normal “Average Open Space Standard across Canada” is 11.75 to 20.0 acres per 1000 population and Williams Lake has 114 acres per 1000 population. So we are very fortunate to have this in place already and a Master Plan too!
The plan lays out a large number of concepts and initiatives, priorities and strategies, as well as guidelines and classifications that when adopted will help the City of Williams Lake manage, develop and grow its parks, trails and outdoor recreation opportunities. The priorities and strategies outlined within it will become the guide for all future for capital and operational planning in the recreation area.
Priorities for Maintaining Environmental Quality in Our Area:
An Official Community Plan is a general statement of the broad objectives and policies of the local government respecting the character of existing and proposed land use and servicing requirements in the area covered by the Plan, in this case the entire City. I support and endorse, wholeheartedly, the OCP and ICSP concepts.
The OCP serves as a foundation for all policies, regulations, and decisions pertaining to land use and development in a municipality. The Plan provides guidance for economic, environmental, physical design and development, and social considerations. It promotes the quality of life, future growth, community development, economic, environmental, affordable housing, targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the area and social well-being, provision of amenities and services, and transportation systems. Specific environmental sustainability themes addressed in the OCP include protection of environmentally sensitive areas, reductions in greenhouse gases and sustainable transportation. Specific social sustainability themes addressed in the OCP include anticipating demographic shift, accessibility, affordable and flexible housing, neighborhood livability, and food security. The City of Williams Lake and the residents of the City have gone above and beyond with a plan for sustainability to take us into the next 30 to 50 years with our Integrated Community Sustainability Plan [ICSP] completed, this past year. Williams Lake won a Sustainability award nationally this year at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Convention for our work in Sustainability planning. I believe Williams Lake will continue to set standards for other communities to follow for environmental stewardship and leadership. I hope to be a part of that commitment to ensure success in this area.”
Reply from Deb Bischoff, CRD Area D Director elected by acclamation:
“Each Fraser Basin workshop I attend I voice the need for the CRD to create a region wide Sustainability Advisory Commission. With a new board maybe I'll make some headway.”
Reply from City Councillor candidate Richard Vollo:
“In my opinion Scout Island is an exiting asset that we should be promoting more aggressively. In concert with that I would look toward developing plans to improve overall access to the site. There are opportunities for the development of primary recycling facilities and the manufacture of useful products from the recycled materials. Much more work needs to done regarding the attracting of such businesses and how Williams Lake can best adapt to their particular needs.
“It is important to keep our water/sewer and other vital services Public. This is key to ensuring that the City remains accountable for the delivery of these services. Recently, the emissions from the pellet plant have become a concern and I understand that the owner of this facility is working to mitigate/limit those emissions. I would make it a priority to work with all levels of government to further decrease the emissions from this facility.”
Reply from City Councillor candidate Surinderpal Rathor:
1) “I have always enjoyed working with Fred McMachan and the WL Field Naturalists to protect Scout Island as a crown jewel of Williams Lake and love to continue doing so. I would work towards ensuring Scout Island remains as a crown jewel of Williams Lake by giving the WL Field Naturalists the necessary resources/tool they require 2) I would encourage industry to be environmentally friendly by promoting the 3 R's (Reycle, Reuse and Reduce) and be leading by personal example and also giving industry tax incentives to remain here and expand their operations 3) Top 3 Environmental Goals: a) Water - Educate public on methods to reduce water consumption and use of water friendly products in the homeb) Emissions - Work with the public, industry and other groups, as per personal practice and City policies, to reduce emissions impact on the Williams Lake Airshed by encouraging Council to be proactive in ensuring its emissions are the least harmful on the environment. Also work with Ministry of Transportation to develop bike paths from 150 Mile to Wildwood to accomodate bike lanec) Local Food - continue to support local community gardens & farmer markets.”
Reply from City Councillor candidate Laurie Walters:
“Scout Island is a treasure for our city and surrounding communities. Generations of families who have lived in the Cariboo for many years have created memories at scout Island Nature Centre lands and nature house. The City of Williams Lake provides Scout Island with financial support and works with the Williams Lake Field Naturalists to maintain the lands and nature house. I support the continuation of this partnership and developing new partnerships with the Cariboo Regional District and our Regional Tourism Association and other interested groups. The expansion and promotion of regional tourism to our area is a priority for me as a City Councillor and I strongly believe that valuable community attractions and resources such as Scout Island Nature Centre lands and Nature house would benefit from increased visitors and usage of the facilities.
“This council has worked very hard over the last three years to be more proactive in the ‘who, what and where’ of new industry /companies coming into our city. Williams Lake has great opportunities to be creative in how we diversify our economy. We are living in times where we simply cannot ignore our environment. It bothers me that we have industry so close to our lake and I am encouraged that with our new Official Community Plan these types of developments will not happen in our city again.
“The Williams Lake Official Community Plan exemplifies details for maintaining and improving the environmental quality of our City. This plan was put together with in-depth participation from individuals and community organizations that attended events and provided their ideas and feedback in the process. The OCP is grouped according to social, economic, and environmental, sustainability themes. Environmental Sustainability portion of the OCP covers the Protection of environmental sensitive areas, reductions in Greenhouse Gases and sustainable transportation. These themes address our aquifer and air shed quality which would be for me the two key priorities for maintaining and improving the environmental quality of our city.”
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