Mayor Malcolm Brodie appears to be holding his breath on two fronts when it comes to the industrial-sized composter he was instrumental in bringing to Richmond.
One, the odours that waste-to-energy company Harvest Power are emitting across Richmond are “completely unacceptable,” said Brodie. Two, Metro Vancouver is set to issue a new permit for the company by Friday, however the City of Richmond will not be privy to reviewing it until it has been agreed to by both parties.
“What we want is a reduction in odours. It is that simple,” said Brodie, wearing his mayor’s hat.
“But we’ll have to wait and see,” what the new permit stipulates, added Brodie, chair of Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste Committee and the National Zero Waste Council.
A staff report to city council notes Harvest Power has requested a 10-year permit. The city has yet to see the draft and it’s unclear what new odour-mitigating and enforcement measures will be introduced.
“What we’ve asked for is for Metro Vancouver not to issue a 10-year permit. They (Metro Vancouver) have indicated to us that they will not,” said Brodie.
At issue is increasingly foul odours making their way across the municipality, from the east Richmond composting site, which creates soil from organic waste and converts escaped gas into electricity. Over the past few years, Harvest Power has taken on more organic waste, as Metro Vancouver aims to reduce its ecological footprint at the landfill. But Harvest Power doesn’t have enough odour mitigating technology to keep up with the demand, according to the City of Richmond.
City staff want Harvest Power to improve its technology. For instance, a new waste-to-energy facility in Surrey, which will compete with Harvest Power, features a 70-metre emissions stack, high-tech “bio-scrubbers” and a closed composting operation.
At Harvest Power, the waste can sit in open-air piles and there is no stack.
The odours have been a cause for health concerns for many Richmond residents.
“In the past, this company seems to have promised no higher level of odours, but recently their odours seem to be more frequent and unpleasant across Richmond,” Richmond resident Brian Bennett told the Richmond News.
“These odours are, in fact, volatile organic compounds, and they are increasing. I highly doubt that the (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) would allow their operations in any metropolitan area in the United States. I’m not sure why their emissions are allowed here in Canada, especially in the Metro Vancouver area,” said Bennett.
Recently, Harvest Power is said to have done some work to mitigate odours, such as improving drainage, not taking in materials that cause significant odours and repairing pipes.
But since Jan. 1, Metro Vancouver has received about 300 odour complaints that identify Harvest Power as the “suspected source,” according to a city staff report.
Brodie said identifying the odours and enforcing the existing permit has proven difficult in the past. The city wants more explicit measures in a new permit, with the real potential for monetary fines.
If a Richmond resident believes they have been affected by Harvest Power odours they may email comments to Metro Vancouver’s district director Ray Robb by Friday to provide official input for the permit. The email is [email protected].
