By Paul J. Henderson, The Times, Chilliwack, December 10, 2010
Stam says it's a clarion call to 'fight a little harder'
Mayor Sharon Gaetz was not happy to see the Minister of Finance including Metro Vancouver's proposed and controversial waste incinerator in the quarterly major project inventory released last Friday.
The major projects inventory lists all major projects proposed, planned or underway in the province valued at $15 million or more.
The highlights section of the press release issued Friday said: "The Major Projects Inventory (MPI) also includes 47 clean technology projects, with an estimated value of $17.2 billion, such as the proposed $500 million Metro Vancouver Waste-to-Energy Incineration Facility."
Gaetz wasn't the only one shocked to see the incinerator on the list. Coun. Chuck Stam brought the issue up at the afternoon meeting of city council on Monday.
"That was very, very disappointing," Stam said of the inclusion on the MPI. "But it emboldens us to fight a little harder and push a little harder."
Stam told council about a recent meeting he participated in as Fraser Valley Regional District vice-chair with Environment Minister Murray Coell and Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Stephanie Cadieux regarding Metro's waste plan.
"We outlined our case against Metro's proposal to built a waste incinerator," he said.
At Monday's meeting, council directed Gaetz to write a letter to the provincial government asking why the incinerator was on the MPI.
Earlier this year, Metro Vancouver's solid waste committee recommended building a waste-to-energy plant in the region. The plan was panned by the Fraser Valley Regional District, Gaetz and even the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce.
"I am extremely disappointed in the decision of some of the members of Metro's Solid Waste Committee's to recommend the in-region incinerator option to the board," Gaetz told the Times July 22. "The reasoning employed is not only unneighbourly but has no basis in science or economics."
The MPI does include projects that are simply at the proposal stage, some of which have been on the list for years. In the Chilliwack area, eight projects are included. The $52 million Chilliwack secondary and the $31 million Rosedale elementary and middle school replacements were there. Also included were three run-of-river hydroelectric projects, a $20 million B.C. Transmission Corporation upgrade and a $50 million, 480-unit residential project near Chilliwack Mountain.
In Agassiz, the massive Hemlock Valley Mountain Ski Resort expansion was on the list. And in Harrison Hot Springs, three run-of-river hydroelectric projects were on the MPI..
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