- was in council’s best interest to
obtain all information possible. He
said that an independent study
. would offer something to compare
the facts as presented by others
and would help to convince the
- public. that Terrace and Kitimat
councils were not lobbying for
fast-track approval.

King didn’t win the debate, but
‘he was able to convince his fellow
aldermen that his idea was worthy
of further discussion and received
the unanimous support he needed
to have the matter moved to a
Committee of the Whole Meeting.

Earlier in the meeting, council
heard a number of presentations,
Rob Brown of the Terrace chapter
_ of the Steelhead Society. didn’t
receive a reply to a question ask-
ing why the official announcement
- of Orenda’s decision to build their

pulp mill south of Lakelse Lake

was distributed here on City of
- Terrace letterhead. ee
Brown then told council he had
talked to an Orenda official and
had been told that the company’s
prospectus on the project wouldn’t
be released until the end of July.

He explained that this would slow

the approval process a little but

council should still be asking for a
longer review process. A process
in excess of 80 days as was sug-
gested to council in a letter from

Terrace resident Bill Hayes.

' Chamber of Commerce president

Sharon Taylor told council the

chamber members encourage and
Support "sensible" development. .

"We would welcome such develop-

ment,” she said, "provided it does

not adversely affect the quality of

Al6 Terrace Review — Wednesday, July 24, 1991 - Sen a |

Orenda —

Fea ts
Niatedaehs

our air or of our rivers and
streams." To this she added, "We
believe that any new proposal has
the right to be heard... The people
that live here should have the
opportunity to learn everything
possible about the enterprise and

be allowed to evaluate all informa- .
* tion in a clear and logical manner."

Terrace teacher Mary Deleeuw
told council that she and her hus-
band, a biologist with the Ministry
of Environment, moved to the
Terrace areca three years ago
"because of the wildlife, it’s close-
ness to the wilderness, and it’s
closeness to the ocean".
Deleeuw then told council that she
disliked the idea of a pulp mill in
the Kitimat Valley but could

accept the concept if she felt it

wasn't being forced on the public.
"I feel very strongly this is being
rushed,” she said, and described

council's acceptance of the project

on behalf-of the public “presump-
tuous".

And finally, in a letter to council,
Bill Hayes suggested that the
municipal councils of both Terrace

‘and Kitimat as well as individuals

and community groups should be
asking both Orenda and the MPRP
for more than 40 days in which to
respond to the pulp mill proposal.
He also suggested that these same
groups should be asking for the
immediate release of all govern-
ment studies on Orenda’s original
site near Meziadin.

One of the 15 area residents
attending Monday night’s council
meeting was Lakelse Lake resident
John How, and in an interview
Tuesday he suggested that there

are several very basic concerns that
should be addressed before anyone,
including municipal governments,
should offer the Orenda project
any support. .

In the first place, he says, it was
obvious from the discussion in
chambers that none of the city
aldermen supporting the project "in

principle" really understand exactly .

what the MPRP is. This may have
been demonstrated when King
suggested amending the joint Ter-
race-Kitimat resolution.

King asked for assurance that an
environmental review would be

done by the MPRP. Laurent said
yes, the process of public input can

last 30 to 40 days. To Cooper,
though, it apparently didn’t matter.
"Ti’s set out in legislation,” he said.
"It has nothing to do with us."

At this point, King suggested his
amendment to the resolution and
put forward the idea of asking for
funding for an independent review.
To which acting mayor Darryl
Laurent responded: "I’m not sure
exactly what additional studies are
required. I don’t understand ‘the
MPRP any better than you."

How has his own perception of
the MPRP. "It’s a black box pro-
cess," he says, "where you put a
project in and it comes out sani-
tize a ~

But a lack of understanding of
what the MPRP is all about is only
a part of the problem. How says he
attended the Orenda open house at
Mount Layton Hot Springs last
Thursday night, an event he now
describes as a “garden party". He
doesn’t fault Orenda specifically.
Company officials were trying, he

says, but with a lack of informa-

tion there were no questions to
ask.

There were plenty. of people.
there. According to How, an

Orenda count indicates something
like 250 to 280 attended during the

‘four-hour open house, There was

an attractive slide presentation
offered by Orenda public relations
people. But there were information
packages that were "very deficient"
in information and there was no
prospectus. The prospectus, How
was told, won’t be ready until the
end of the month, Without detailed
information, How: thinks, it is
impossible to know what questions
to ask.

How did ask some questions but .

says he wasn’t always satisfied
with the answer. The mill near
Meziadin, for example, was going
to produce 30.5 tons of solid waste
every day. But the one south of
Onion Lake is only going to pro-
duce a truck-load each day. How
said he was told the waste will go
into a landfill until Orenda finds
out what’s in it and -who it can be
sold to, a process that could take
three years.
Another item How says raises his
concern is a neatly drawn line-of-
site profile in the Orenda informa-
tion package that scems to indicate
the mill won't be visible from
Lakelse Lake. But the profile
doesn’t extend all the way to the
north end of the lake, How points

out, only. to the north end of the.

Furlong Bay campsite. In reality,
says How, the top of the mill’s 30-
metre stack will be visible from
much of the north and west sides

of the lake as well as the top of
the airport hill.

The stack will emit about 350
tonnes of steam a day, How says
he was told, but adds that he was
also told there would be nothing
but ‘hot air emerging from the
stack. "We’re not getting informa-
tion of any value," says How. "The
company seems to be the only
source of information."

But not everyone was unhappy
with Orenda’s open house, Kiti-
mat-Stikine Regional District
director and Lakelse Lake resident
Sandy Sandhals was at the open
house meeting as well, and in
general, he thinks, a lot of people
were pleased. Various opinions
were expressed, he says, and Sand-

hals believes a lot of people left
the meeting less opposed to the
project than when they arrived.

At the same time, however,
Sandhals says there are some
people who are totally opposed to
the project who won’t change their
minds no matter what they’re told.
Is Orenda in a rush to begin build-
ing their mill? Sandhals thinks they
may be, but not as much as they
seemed to be when the site was
first announced. "I think the dead-
lines they set have fallen by the
wayside," says Sandhals.

Orenda announced yesterday that -
public forums similar to the one
held for Lakelse Lake residents
will take place in Kitimat Aug. 7
and Terrace Aug. 8 A _ public
relations representative for the
company said times and specific
locations haven't been determined

yet. .

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