2 Terrace Review — Wednesday, N ovember 26, 1986 Hearing fails to relieve pollution worries TERRACE — A formal public hearing held Nov. 18 regarding the discharge of treated waste water into _Lakelse Lake has left lakeshore property owners with many of the same concerns expressed when the discharge permit was issued at the beginning of _ September. by Michael Kelly- Geoff Appleton and Jim Williamson both live with their families on the shoreline immediately next to the canal where treated effluent will be released from the Mount Layton Hot Springs Resort. Appleton and Williamson filed a joint appeal after the Waste Management Branch per- - mit was approved, and as a result the provincial director .of Waste Management, Robert Ferguson, convened a hearing to examine the grounds for their appeal and two others filed by Terrace residents Walter Melntyre and Kolbjorn Bide. ~ Asa gallery of about 50 people listened, Appleton expressed disagreement with: five factors in the terms of the permit and suggested corrective ac- tions. He requested that an upper limit be set for fecal coliform count in the effluent; “that random sampling to determine water. quality be done by public health inspectors in ’. addition to the monthly sampling by the developer specified in the permit; that an absolute prohibi- ‘tion be laid on the discharge of untreated sewage into the lake under any circumstances; that the addition of unspecified chemicals in the treatment process be forbidden; and that the ef- fluent discharge point be extended a minimum of 100 meters away from the shoreline by means of a submerged pipeline. Ap- pleton concluded his opening statement by say- ing, ‘‘No serious con- sideration should ever have been given to allow- ing sewage discharge into the lake. This permit should be revoked, and reconsideration begun in- to other ways of dealing with the waste.’’ Walter Mclntyre in- dicated concern about the effect on fish and wildlife of possible changes in water quality. He ques- tioned terms in the permit that varied from the terms in the original application by the developer, changes that raised permissable phosphorus levels in the effluent from 1.5 to 2.0 milligrams per liter, allow year-round discharge rather than the 180-day limit applied for, and the lack of a specified disposal site for sludge from the sewage lagoons. Kolbjorn Eide re- quested reconsideration of A recent hearing in Terrace that examined the terms of a waste management permit for Mount Layton Hot Springs Resort lasted four hours and drew about 50 observers. the permit, saying he is worried about the quality of drinking water for lakeshore residents, the preservation of salmon habitat and the recrea- tional values of the-lake. All three appellants were critical of the Waste Management Branch pro- cess for gathering and ad- dressing public concerns on the issue. Hot springs developer Bert Orleans attempted to answer the various con- cerns with a. detailed description of engineering that went into the sewage plant. ‘‘The former resort owner had a bad reputation, and I knew I would have to come up with a good system,’’ Orleans began. He pointed out that he has more to lose than anyone by damaging the lake ecology because he is the largest single landowner on the lake. ‘‘The resort cannot be a success with pollution,’ he said, The lagoon system, he explain- ed, was decided on after Tuling out ground disposal because of soil characteristics and mechanical] systems due to the possibility of breakdown. — Orleans said everything in the system is double the projected requirements to safeguard against failure. Treatment will include ad- dition of alum. to precipitate phosprates, a six-month holding period in facultative lagoons for purification, chlorination to destroy bacteria, and a final filtering through a cattail pond to remove the residual chlorine. ‘‘The EYEWEAR EXCITEMENT FROM Benson Opricar 4623-2 Lakelse Terrace, B.C. exeneat the: treatment and monitoring - will be an ongoing pro- cess, and I am willing to listen to anyone for sug- gestions to improve it. I. have tried to cover all pro- blems foreseen by the Waste point I think we have the best system possible,’’ he concluded. Ron Driedger, northern regional manager for Waste Management, Orleans’s position. ‘‘This is unquestionably the best municipal-type disposal system in the northern region,’’ Driedger said. He assured the appellants a strict monitoring process for detection of coliform bacteria in the effluent will be required at. the point where the discharge enters a drainage canal, at the point where the canal - enters the lake, and at four locations in. the lake adjacent to the canal. He explained that setting specified coliform count: levels in the permit was difficult due to variable rainfall dilution in the lagoons and other factors, and he added that the lack of specific levels in the -tees : plated systems when 9 Management : Branch and others. At this. the . supported. permit represents a stand- - jams __ ing polity in the Ministry “ae of Environment. Driedger .§ told Appleton that if ex-. cessive coliform levels traceable to the hot spr- ings operation § are detected, from the lakeshore as Ap- pleton suggested. When mit to discharge treated effluent into Lakelse Lake. ‘contested also came under _ criticism. Walter McIntyre Stated, ‘‘All these things ‘could have been settled ‘much earlier. I feel bad. ‘about having to put Bert ‘Orleans through a hear- -ing, it’s unreasonable to have to do this.”’ Driedger ‘explained that the Waste -Management Branch pro- ‘cesses an average of 800 ‘permits annually, and he Said it’s difficult to know - ahead of time which of those permits will en- counter public opposition. “For example,’’ he said, “the. City of Terrace is discharging primary sewage into one' of the most important salmon rivers in B.C., but this gentleman (Bert Orleans) has designed the best disposal system in north- ern B.C. and has shown continued on page 15 Wednesday Is DAY Men’s or Ladies’ dress or cotton blend b Winter you wear » “ e clean with cac Richards Cleaners Remember Paragon Insurance lf your licence 3223 Emerson St. Full Autoplan service with qualified, friendly staff All Classes of Insurance @ HOME-OWNERS’ POLICIES ®@ LOGGING EQUIPMENT @ MOBILE HOMES @ COMMERCIAL Skeena Mal! 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