4 Terrace Revi iew —— Wednesday, September 18, 1991 _ Public meeting reviews Orenda mill issues by Tod Strachan . It began at 6 p.m. and ended five hours later. There were 11 people on the stage. There were close to 200 people in the audience at the peak of the meeting; 25 of them ‘made presentations but covered no new ground. By 10 p.m. about half the audience had drifted away. And at 11 p.m. the meeting came to a close. In a nutshell, this is a recap of the long-awaited official Major Project Review Process public information meeting on the Orenda Forest Products proposal to build a groundwood pulp and paper mill near Lakelse Lake. It was held in the R.E.M. Lee Theatre in Terrace Sept. 12. Setting the scene for the public information meeting were a few comments from the moderator, Judge Goulet, and an explanation of the Major Project Review Pro- cess by MPRP co-chairman David Parsons, who said the deadline for public submissions is Oct. 11 and for government agency sub- “Inissions it’s Oct. 21. . This was followed by a slide ‘show explaining Orenda’s high fech coated paper mill proposal _and then came the introductions of the members of the panel. From Qrenda there was the company - president Hugh Cooper, vice-presi- dent Frank Foster and board secre- tary John Sparks. There were six consultants on ‘hand: Hatfield Consultants biol- “ ‘ogist Betsy Gordon, Golder and Associates hydrogeologist Don Burnett, Peter Sagert of Cirrus Consultants, responsible for air and water concerns, A. Donnelly and Associates economist Aidwyn Donnelly, Grig Cook of Common- wealth Construction, and Gordon Mitchell of Tampella Paper Machinery from Atlanta, Georgia. With these formalities out of the way, it was time for audience participation. Of the 25 official submissions, two came from mem- bers of the Duluth tour, 10 from Terrace area residents, cight from Lakelse Lake residents, four from Prince. Rupert and one from Kiti- mat. Their concems? “Most applauded Orenda’s — high-tech, low-emission approach, but none gave Orenda’s Dubose Industrial Site proposal their full endorse- ment. , Those representing the Duluth contingent endorsed the safety of the proposed manufacturing pro- cess and noted the need for econ- omic development in our area in order to ensure a diverse and stable economy in the Northwest. But at the same time, they noted the need to thoroughly investigate things like air emissions to make certain any particular development, Orenda in this case, is environ- mentally safe. Then came more specific con- cerns: from Prince Rupert, the need for the MPRP to direct Oren- da to schedule a public information meeting in Prince Rupert. Parsons said, "No." The relatively small number of people involved didn’t warrant the expense. But it was argued that any environmental damage to the Lakelse River and subsequently to the Skeena River system would have a greater impact on commercial fishermen than anyone else. Provincial and federal agencies would consider environmental impacts, replied Parsons. Another public comment from Prince Rupert: With the native land claims issue hanging over their heads, commercial fishermen have no guarantee the fish are - theirs. So how does Orenda know _for certain the trees within their licence area are theirs? There was no real answer to this question. A comment on the social impact of an influx of new Lakelse Lake residents due to the development of the mill was redirected to the Regional District of Kitimat Stikine. Terrace area residents expressed concerns over the review process, the environment, and the trend towards industrial development in the Kitimat Valley corridor. Issues of note: The make-up of the Major Project Steering Committee. Is it "arms length"? Yes, said Parsons. There were concems about fish and wildlife habitat, and the pro- tection of underground water reserves. The Dubose site is on a tidge between the Lakelse and Kitimat watersheds. An accidental spill could damage both systems. Of particular concern was the ash- filled landfill, which would have a high basic (alkaline) ph level. There is plenty of water and feder- al and provincial agencies would address these issues, the audience was told, and if the mill was built, Orenda would monitor the ph level of underground wells. And according to Orenda there would be plenty of time to correct any contamination of underground water; it would take seven years for a spill to reach the watersheds. Several members of the audience ‘tried to make the availability of ar VAR sufficient wood fibre an issue, but without success. According to Parsons, that’s outside the mandate of the Orenda mill review. And according to Cooper, there is plenty of fibre; even if inventories have been over-estimated, they only need 50 percent of their annual allowable cut — the pulp- — Continued on page 24 Terrace R.C.MP. Victims Assistance Program VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! TVAP is presently accepting applications from people J interested in becoming VICTIMS SERVICE WORKERS. Successful applicants will receive 30-40 hours of training and must be R.C.M.P. Security Screened. VICTIMS SERVICE WORKERS will deal directly with Victims of Crime ¢ acting as a liaison person between the Courts, Police, Social Agencies and the Victim. ° Candidates must be mature, responsible individuals who possess strong inter-personal skills. * be 19 years of age or older ¢ be willing to make a committment to work 16 hours per month. . Men and women of all ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to apply. 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