current: Tiny B.C. town all fired up

Tiny B.C. town all fired up

By Gary Mason
Globe and Mail
16-Nov-2006

VANCOUVER

Randy McLean knows why B.C.'s Liberal government is considering dumping a coal-fired generating plant in his backyard.

"Because they feel they can get away with it here," says the mayor of Princeton, a tiny community 14 kilometres from where Compliance Energy Corp. plans to build the facility.

"We live in the boonies. We all know they'd never try this in an urban area because they'd get voted out of office. But they figure they can get away with it here, and it's an NDP riding to boot." And it will likely remain one for some time if the Liberal government gives final approval to coal-fired energy in the province.

B.C. Hydro has signed 30-year contracts with Compliance, for a 56-megawatt plant near Princeton, and AESWapiti Energy Corp. for a 184-MW plant at Tumbler Ridge. Greenhouse gas emissions from B.C.'s electricity sector would more than double if the two coal projects go ahead, according to environmental organizations.

In addition to greenhouse gases, both plants will emit other dangerous pollutants that have the potential to create serious health problems among area residents, according to local doctors.

Mr. McLean is not some disgruntled, left-wing loony. He's a card-carrying provincial Liberal. And he doesn't understand how B.C. could consider coal-based energy technology when Canada is being savaged on the international stage for its dismal environmental record.

Dr. John Bosomworth of Princeton plans to do everything in his power to stop the plants from going ahead. He has released a preliminary assessment of the potential health effects that would flow from the coal-fired plants.

"Some particles from [coal-fired] emissions are small enough to enter the smallest units of the lung, producing increased smooth muscle and fibrous tissue in the airway," Dr. Bosomworth wrote in a paper obtained by The Globe and Mail. "Increased airway smooth muscle produces increased frequency of asthma in children and chronic lung disease in older folks."

Ground-level ozone increases as a result of the breakdown of other greenhouse gases. An extremely reactive molecule, ozone is an irritant and has been demonstrated to increase the frequency of asthma attacks in children.

Mercury and other heavy metals are also byproducts of coal-fired plants. According to Dr. Bosomworth, there is no safe level of these substances. "Consumption of mercury by mouth has been shown to lead to predictable patterns of disease and death."

Mr. McLean has already heard from residents who plan to leave his town of 2,800 if the plant goes ahead. At the same time, he worries about attracting health professionals, such as nurses, to the area if the project wins final approval.

"No one is going to want to raise their kids in the shadow of a coal plant," the mayor says. "And who could blame them? People won't be able to get out of here fast enough."

Down the road, Keremeos Mayor Walter Despot is also irate. The mayor and other municipal officials from the area recently met with B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner to express their concerns. Mr. Despot said they left the meeting feeling both plants were "done deals."

Like Mr. McLean, Mr. Despot doesn't understand why the B.C. government would move to coal-based energy when other governments are moving away from it.

"Look at Ontario," Mr. Despot said. "They're phasing it out. I mean, it's absolutely terrible. This is a threat to the entire south Okanagan. What is this government thinking?"

Meanwhile, up in Tumbler Ridge, Mayor Mike Caisley acknowledges opposition to the plant is growing in surrounding communities. That includes hunting and fishing grounds held by the West Moberly First Nations, an hour's drive from Tumbler Ridge.

Chief Roland Willson said he opposes the plant for environmental reasons, and plans to fight it.

"In light of what's going on globally," the chief said, "how can they even be thinking of coal-burning power? It's insane and ridiculous. And they want to put it in our backyard because it's out of sight, out of mind. That almost makes it worse because it's like they're trying to take advantage of the folks who live up here."

Chief Willson does not believe there is much his band and others opposed to the project can do during the environmental assessment process, which he says is designed to "steamroll" projects through.

"What you're left with is civil disobedience," he says. "Someone has to go out there and create such a ruckus they actually stop it. I'm not saying that's what we're going to do, but we all need to think of a way to get through to this government that it can't do this.

"It's wrong for a thousand different reasons."

gmason@globeandmail.com