A6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 12, 2003 Dear Sir: I was disappointed to read the Ministry of Water, Land Super dump not the answer | CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD and Air Protection's notice of Intent to Issue an Operational Permit for the proposed Farce- man Ridge Landfill. Landfil- ling is an antiquated method of handling waste. Instead of burying garbage many other communities employ recyc- ling and educational programs in an effort to reduce garbage. The recycling facilities we have in the Terrace area are minimal and underdeveloped. Instead of moving for- ward with a reasonable and progressive approach to waste, the regional district plans to build a mammoth dump 30km south of Terrace which is expected to col- lect garbage for the next 50 years. This wil! further com- mit our community to our current method of waste hand- ling, with no real incentive to reduce the volume of garbage we produce. Instead of promoting recycling and waste reduction, the regional district’s plan will mean those who wish to recycle will be penalised with tipping fees. They plan to open the Thornhill landfill only on the weekends to allow residents to access the mini-transfer station. The transfer station is a method of reducing waste by organising reusable and recyclable materials for future use. If a resident wishes to access this transfer station, they will have to pay for it, But if they put the items to be recycled into their garbage cans they will be taken away no charge (but not recycled). The location of. the proposed Forceman Ridge land- fill, at 30km south of Terrace means garbage trucks will have to drive that distance and back to dump garbage. As gas supplies dwindle over the next 50 years, the price of gas will increase accordingly and so will the cost of transporting garbage such a distance. The Forceman Ridge Landfill is to be located in an area with high grizzly bear habitat values; yet to my knowledge, a grizzly bear impact assessment has not been undertaken at this time. I am concerned about the proximity of this landfill to the Lakelse Lake community and recreational sites such as Chist Creek, Onion Lake and the Lakelse camp- grounds. The dump will push grizzly bears out of their current habitat and these bears will go somewhere. As well, the risk of illegal dumping will increase due to the remote location of this dump and because it will be closed to the public. The proposed electric fence at the dump will not pre- vent bears. from becoming habituated to illegally dumped garbage, nor the sounds and smeils associated Hey Terrace, listen up Dear Sir: As a former, longtime resident of Kitimat, I too, would like to applaud the position that both the mayor and council of Kitimat have taken in respect to the sell- ing of power by Alcan. As we are all aware by now, Alcan was given rights to our watershed in 1950 to produce a hydro electric generating plant in Kemano ‘to facilitate the production of aluminum. The agreement did not anticipate or give Alcan the right to exploit their water licence to generate power for sale. Concerns as to what would happen if Alcan were to be given the green light to sell power were raised by both myself and others at both the Terrace and Kitimat all candidates forums held prior to the last municipal elections. Further meetings have been held between Ter- race and Kitimat councils and mayors where the full im- pacts of Alcan selling power were fully discussed. It is a well known fact that between 200-250 Alcan workers and their families live in the Terrace-Thernhill region. This, coupled with the fact that the Terrace mer- chants depend extensively on sales generated through Alcan employees residing in Kitimat, speaks for itself. Terrace council's lack of public support of the posi- tion the Kitimat council has taken on this issue, shows either an ignorance by council members as to the de- vastating impacts prevailing if Alcan were allowed to go ahead, or personal motivation which would not be in the best interests of the community as a whole. Roger Harris, our MLA, continues to remain suspi- ciously silent on this issue, even though he professes to understand and agree as to the severe negative impacts that would be entailed by allowing Alcan to become an independent power producer within the terms and man- date of the provincial government. Kitimat cannot fight this issue alone. It is imperative that Terrace council and our MLA publicly come out in support of the Kitimat position of keeping power gener- ated to the production of aluminum. Alcan. must be forced to commit and expand their aluminum production in Kitimat, Power generated is not for Alcan to sell. An expansion of the Kitimat smelter would give long term viability and prosperity for every- one residing in the Kitimat/Terrace corridor. Ross Slezak, Terrace, B.C. LAAN travel China and Tibet evening Tuesday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. Skeena Valley Golf Course Learn more about this fascinating destination and our 23 day tour departing Oct. 17, 2003. ram includes: a video, information talk on chiga, fond our tour, refreshments and Chinese RSVP 635-2261 or emalt: g.clark@elan-travel.com Terra