Dear Editor,
Below is a letter I composed recently and forwarded to those involved to try to stop Harvest Power’s constant assault on our olfactory and respiratory systems.
Obviously, it didn’t make a difference, because in the weeks following, the stench has been worse and more frequent.
It has become apparent that our mayor, council and Metro Vancouver, couldn’t care less about our air quality in Richmond, and a class action lawsuit needs to be launched to rectify this situation.
Attn: Ray Robb, Regulation and Enforcement Division Manager, Metro Vancouver
My name is Debra Marchessault and I would like to offer my input regarding the permit for Harvest Power.
My family has been in Richmond for four generations and never have we had to live through having a daily, unbreathable stench. We have seen farms come and go and lived through the cannery days, but Harvest Power is causing life in Richmond to be unbearable. Should we have to move from a city we’ve known for so long because an organics processing plant has disregarded the needs of residents?
How would you feel if you lived in Richmond and, during the hot summer, you can’t open your windows because your home fills with a putrid stench (and that is day or night). Trust me, your frustration would grow into terrible resentment.
What about people with lung conditions or breathing issues? Does this constant stench give them grounds for litigation?
My husband and I live in south Richmond, my parents live in central Richmond, my uncle lives in Burkeville and we have all been affected by this unbreathable stench.
On many occasions, I have contacted Metro Vancouver Air Quality, as has my mother, only to be told to keep track of when the stench occurs. Even though we go to the trouble of doing this, nothing changes.
Harvest Power is negligent in its procedures and should not be given the permit to continue. How can places suck as Port Kells, Surrey manage to have a zero emissions facility, but Harvest Power continues to be permitted to fill our lives, homes, lungs and noses with their unbelievable negligence? This whole situation stinks.
DebraMarchessault
Richmond
