Members of a group opposed to the expansion of Catalyst Paper Corporation’s Wildwood landfill have alleged that water tests from springs in the area indicate pollution is escaping into the environment.
Dave Harris, a member of Powell River Legacy, made a presentation at the company’s February 8 community stakeholders’ meeting to share the results of independent water testing. He said he and other members of the group took three samples in December: one at a spring that is sampled as part of the company’s formal testing program for the landfill; one at a spring at mid-slope on the Wildwood hill; and one at a spring by the Wildwood bridge. The group paid to have the samples tested. “It was determined that there are high levels of aluminum and iron in the spring in mid-slope,” he said. “It indicated that some of this water was coming out from ground that was probably from the landfill.”
The group collected six more samples in January from springs on the slope below the landfill and again paid to have the samples analyzed. Testing results indicated high levels of phosphorous, aluminum, uranium, manganese and lead.
Harris said the results were sobering. “With this in mind, my opinion is that the landfill is not in compliance, that it creates pollution in the immediate environment and it’s a problem that has to be investigated and solved and probably, I would guess, see the landfill closed down,” he said.
Shelley Metcalfe, an environmental protection officer with the ministry of environment, told Harris she had just received his letter about the second samples, but had referred his first submission to the ministry’s environmental impact biologist for review. “Generally the concerns that she would raise were that there are methodologies that the ministry requires of permitees and of ourselves that are standard when you’re doing sampling,” she said. “We’re not sure those occurred when the samples were taken.”
Because the ministry doesn’t know the sampling protocols that were used, Metcalfe said, it raises the question of the usefulness of the data. Metcalfe also said sometimes in BC background levels can be high in groundwater for some metals.
Harris also contended that the company’s waste permit doesn’t provide a complete picture of the environment surrounding the landfill and, given the different areas of run-off, the geographical location of the sampling the ministry requires is inadequate. “Basically, the permit is inadequate,” he said.
Metcalfe referred to the 2010 landfill report that Catalyst will be submitting next month. “Just because there’s water coming out of a spring doesn’t necessarily mean it’s water that’s been influenced by possibly the landfill,” she said.
Some people attending the meeting demanded that the ministry take its own tests.
Metcalfe said the ministry would “review the data and groundwater monitoring again” and “take a closer look at the matrix when they submit their data for 2010.”
Sarah Barkowski, Catalyst’s environment manager for the Powell River division, said she has asked Golder Associates Ltd. to respond to the first set of tests. She also said she would set up a time to go over Golder’s response with Harris and any other interested people.
