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Doctors unite across border to oppose SE2 By Trudy Beyak Washington state “Physicians for Social Responsibility” joined doctors from the Fraser Valley on Tuesday to oppose Sumas Energy 2 (SE2), which they say will be a public health hazard. Excessive greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants from the power plant will be trapped in the (Upper) Fraser Valley funnel-shaped air shed, said Pat Martin of the Washington physician group. The power plant is unacceptable to Canadians and Americans because it poses health and safety risks, said Martin, a U.S. resident who lives six miles from the proposed power plant. “The air we breathe is important,” Martin pleaded before the Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). More than 500 people crowded into the Nooksack Secondary high school gym that night to attend an EFSEC public hearing. Many were disappointed they couldn’t speak because of a lack of time. Sheriffs asked people to remove sticks from their signs before the three-hour public meeting began. Battle lines in the Sumas Energy 2 controversy are clearly marked: The environment and health of the Fraser Valley and Whatcom County versus profits for an American company, and jobs and energy for the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The dilemma is being felt in the City of Sumas, where the current mayor and council supports SE2, in contradiction to some local residents who oppose the power plant. Connie Hoag, a Whatcom County resident, said Sumas City is enforcing a bylaw to remove “No SE2” signs from residential yards and lawns – yet, pro-SE2 signs were planted along the roadway to Nooksack. About two-thirds of the speakers at the public meeting, mostly Canadians, spoke against the power plant. Supporters of the plant tended to be construction workers. Brad Owen, a construction union spokesman, said SE2 will be the cleanest natural gas power plant in Washington state and will pump up to $400 million into the local economy for construction jobs. The company will create jobs for 300 construction workers and hire 25 full-time employees, in addition to generating tax revenues for police and fire services in Sumas, he said. Those who spoke against SE2 represented a wide cross-section from society. They included Fraser Valley and Whatcom County residents; Chilliwack and Abbotsford Chambers of Commerce, local business leaders; the Abbotsford school district, Gerry Scott, B.C. Lung Association; David Suzuki Foundation; David Cadman, Society of Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC); Dr. Michael Budzinski, speaking for Fraser Valley doctors; federal politicians; Bob Mills, Canadian Alliance environmental critic’ Randy White, Langley-Abbotsford MP and City of Abbotsford councillors. Attending the meeting were local provincial MLAs Barry Penner and B.C. Agriculture and Fisheries Minister John van Dongen, Abbotsford Mayor George Ferguson, acting chief Bob Hall of the Sto:lo First Nations and Sumas First Nations Chief Bea Silver. Abbotsford Coun. Simon Gibson, speaking on behalf of council, said the city has agonized over whether to accept the additional sewage flow from Sumas Energy 2 (SE2). He said council “had not imagined an SE2” when the sewage agreement with the City of Sumas was signed (in November, 1997). He asked EFSEC to deny approving the power plant, because Abbotsford does not want SE2 in its backyard, but added the city does not “intend to pull the plug” on Sumas. He said that Abbotsford is discussing its options on the contract, but there has been no decision yet to cancel it by the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD). The city, in fact, passed a motion on Oct. 15 to ask the FVRD to notify the City of Sumas that it would not renew the contract upon expiry of the 20-year contract because of opposition to SE2. The city has not yet forwarded the motion to the FVRD. The FVRD and sewer board haven’t voted on the city’s motion yet, Gibson told The Abbotsford News yesterday. |
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