Patricia Ross has met with the new environment minister, telling him Fraser Valley communities oppose Metro Vancouver’s proposed waste to energy (WTE) incinerators.
The Fraser Valley Regional District chair said minister Terry Lake, the MLA for Kamloops-North Shuswap, was generous with his time, and that in her half-hour presentation on Thursday she “dumped a lot of information on him.”
Ross, a veteran Abbotsford councillor who often champions environmental causes, said the FVRD has been gathering research on the issue for most of three years. Although Metro has accused the district of a knee-jerk reaction, she said it actually did about a year of research before going public with any opposition to incineration. She wanted to share that information with the new minister.
She said the more research the FVRD reviews, the more incinerators appear to be a bad idea for this area’s sensitive air shed.
“The notion that these are successful across Europe is absolutely ridiculous,” said Ross, noting that there are calls to shut incinerators down in Europe.
Lake would not indicate to Ross when a decision on Metro’s plan would be rendered. He has three boxes of research to review. However, she got the impression he would make the call sooner – perhaps within a month.