You’ve gotta love the irony.
While the Lung Association is busy staging the “pop up” campaign #TakeaBreather at Richmond Centre to bring awareness to lung health, half of Richmond is gagging on the putrid fumes emanating from Harvest Power’s organic waste recycling plant.
Inhaling a stench so strong that people have to barricade themselves indoors hardly seems a fitting way to celebrate what the Lung Association has dubbed Lung Month.
According to the association:
• 1 in 5 Canadians struggle with chronic breathing problems;
• Chronic lung disease is not only a leading cause of death but also the number one reason for adult emergency visits;
• B.C. researchers predict chronic lung disease is set to overwhelm our hospital systems if we don’t take stock.
And, as one letter writer notes, you can bet all those noxious gases and nasty microbes creating the smell are also finding their way into our respiratory systems.
There are a few things about this situation that make me choke. The first is why the City of Richmond has decided not to appeal Metro Vancouver’s decision to grant Harvest Power a permit to continue operating for another four years, despite a huge number of complaints. According to the mayor, the city has received confidential legal advice that such an appeal would be unsuccessful. I get the legal advice part, but why confidential? Our government has made a critical decision about something as fundamental as the air we breathe; we have a right to know the full rationale.
Secondly, while the city is backing down, Harvest Power is charging ahead. In fact, it has the gall to appeal the part of the permit that holds it accountable for complying with the conditions it actually agrees should be met. Harvest Power spokespeople have bent over backwards assuring residents they feel our pain and that the status quo is not acceptable. It points to plans that will ensure improvement. Yet, it balks at having to face enforcement if those changes don’t happen. That hardly instills confidence.
The final insult is not just the fact it is now up to concerned citizens to take on this sizeable, American corporation, but that they have to pay for the pleasure of doing so by registering an appeal at $25 a pop. Granted, it’s not a king’s ransom — but, really? Citizens have to pay to do the job of our regulators?
Most infuriating is the fact this is such a solvable problem. The technology and know-how is out there to ensure the facility doesn’t smell. Solving one environmental hazard by recycling needn’t create another. But to do it right, we need strong regulation that ensures this “green” company recycles some of its profit into making itself a good neighbour.
