AZ - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 3, 1998 New regional dump location remains a touchy subject THE DECISION on whether to improve the Thornhill landfill to handle the region’s garbage or build a new sub-regional dump near Onion Lake is proving tougher than first thought. Although the Thornhill site’s operating costs would be somewhat cheaper, new numbers have shown the difference isn’t huge, and the Onion Lake site offers a number of other advantages. Thomhill area residents have long assumed = the studies underway were mainly aimed at justifying development of the Thorn- hill site, Technicians had described . the Thornhill landfill in the past as an almost ‘‘ideal’’ site because of underlying clay that helps contain any leachate from the dump. But Kitimat-Stikine regional district officials and others involved in the selection process — who were. at an open house to answer questions last Wed- nesday —- say the Onion Lake site is being seriously considered, “There were some very good questions from people wha live close to the Thom- hill landfill,’ said Stew Christensen, chair of the ad- visory committee charged with recommending a preferred option, ‘We'll have to look at all of the in- formation that we have again before making a recommendation,”’ That could come as early as the next regional district board meeting, on June 27, he said. The big cost of developing the site near Onion Lake is the construction of a clay liner under the landfill to trap leachate. “Dollars can make ithe Onion Lake site an accept- able site,’* Christensen said. The estimated cost to each regional district taxpayer of developing. and operating the“'@nion.Lake site, aver- aged out over 30 years, is $66 per year for a home with an assessed value of $100,000. For the upgraded Thorn- hill site, the cost per year is estimated at $47 per year for a house with an assessed value of $100,000, But since those costs re- place the $57 per year regional district taxpayers _ HERE OR THERE? Landfill consultant Tony Sperling points at a display put up at a meeting last week. Establishing a superdump by expanding the one in Thornhill or by heading south toward Kitimat at Onion Lake continues to occupy the time of regional district officials. now pay for the Thornhill dump operation, the two op- high ground well away from any significant sireams. tions really translate into ei- ~ Consultants say ground- ther a slight saving from the -water doesn’t begin until present bill to a slight in-' Crease. One other possibility — that the district of Kitimat: might someday also use the ° Onion Lake site and share in * the cost of operating it — is another consideration. - . ‘ i “150 feet below the site and the flow of that groundwater ‘is to the south — suggesting * that anything that does reach “that level would be carried away from Onion Lake. Both proposals call for a state-of-the-art dump The estimated cost to each regional dis- trict taxpayer of developing and operat- ing a dump at Onion Lake, averaged out over 50 years, is $66 per year for a home with an assessed value of $100,000. But Christensen said ini- tial indications from a study being done in Kitimat is that that community could con- tinue using its own dump for another 25 years. Once a clay liner is in place, however, Onion Lake is considered a better sile environmentally. One of its main ad- vantages is that unlike the Thornhill dump, which sends a flow of con- taminants into wetlands that flow into Thornhill Creek, the Onion Lake site is on Phone: 604-689-0878 James W. Radelet RADELET & COMPANY Barristers & Selicitors Tax Law * Trusts * Corporate & Commercial 1330 - 1075 West Geargia Street, Vencouver, B.C. V6E 3C9 designed to all but eliminate toxins from discharge. Tests of the flow of ef- fluent coming from the dump show that it barely passes a test for toxicity. ‘That means that five out of 10 fish left in the water were dead after 96 hours, com- pared to zero dead fish in a contro] test using clean water. But technicians also be- lieve the wetlands between the dump and Thornhill Creek act as a buffer, help- ing to eliminate virtually ail Fax: 604-689-1386 What happens when you take a fresh, hand-cut onion ring and combine ‘it with a mouth watering, specially seasoned burger, topped with a slice of reai mozzarella and a slice of processed cheddar! 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