Western Forest Products (WFP) is intending to apply for a refuse permit to allow for a wood waste landfill to accommodate wood waste from the Stillwater dryland sort.
At the August 16 qathet Regional District planning committee meeting, directors received a delegation from WFP representatives to outline the proposal, which has plans to dispose of an estimated 6,000 cubic metres per year of wood waste on a parcel of crown land approximately four hectares in size.
Brad McRae, government relations director for WFP, said dryland sort waste consists of materials such as bark, trimmed ends, branches and dredging. He said there is no domestic waste planned for the landfill. The material is not suitable for other uses except boiler hog fuel and landscape material, he added.
“There is no hazardous waste under Environmental Management Act (EMA) definitions,” said McRae.
He said there is no local consumption of the material with the closure of the Catalyst Paper Tis’kwat mill. It is unsuitable material for alternative uses, surplus materials are available on the coast, and there is an inability to store materials in the current configuration, he added.
Ken Mackenzie, manager of the Stillwater operations, said up until December 1, 2021, WFP was delivering the hog fuel to the Catalyst pulp mill, where electricity was produced. He said there is a glut of hog fuel on the coast, currently.
“There is really limited alternate use for this material,” said Mackenzie. “There is very little wood in it, so it can’t be made into pallets or any other products. We have been supplying it to some local gravel pits that are making it into landscape materials, but that’s a very limited market here.”
Mackenzie said the material is being stored at the dryland sort, but it can’t be stored there indefinitely. He said WFP is looking for temporary storage until the landfill is potentially approved by the province.
WFP manager Will Sloan said the EMA sets up strict criteria for locations of landfills regardless of what goes into them.
“The site for the landfill is well outside the bounds of the criteria that the EMA lays out,” said Sloan. “The closest stream is 200 metres away and it is 550 metres from the nearest registered water intake. It’s 230 metres to private lands off to the east so it’s well outside the criteria the ministry has laid out for site selection.”
McRae said WFP has started with public notification, plus completion of data gathering by a consultant for submission for review by the provincial ministry of environment and climate change. He said the ministry then reviews the application, followed by a technical review process, which can take up to 12 months.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said company representatives had mentioned that some of the material could come from dredging. He asked what kind of materials.
Mackenzie said if there is any dredging it would come from where the crane is located and it would be the same as what is on the deck.
“There would be no soil, or we are not dredging into the earth,” said Mackenzie. “That would be a violation of the department of fisheries, so we couldn’t do that.”
Public raises issues
Electoral Area C director and committee chair Clay Brander asked if the landfill would be used for local operations only, or from other operations, also. Mackenzie said it would be from the Stillwater operation.
Brander said he has heard from some concerned residents about leachate from the operation and odour.
“They’ve dealt with the odour coming from the dryland sort in the past,” said Brander. “There are natural springs in the area and a creek located below the proposed site. Is it possible to locate it possibly in another area or further back so it would not be so much of a concern to local individuals?”
McRae said a technical review of the site is being conducted to see if it is appropriate. He said if there are issues with it, then the application has to be reevaluated.
“We have been in discussions with a couple of members of the public,” said McRae. “They have raised these issues and we are addressing them.”
According to a staff report, the landfill is located on crown land between Dixon Sort Road and Whittal Creek in Electoral Area C.
The committee voted to recommend the regional board receive a staff report regarding WFP’s notice of intent to apply for a refuse permit for the landfill.
