A residents’ group formed to protest a proposed South Surrey biofuel facility is calling on people with respiratory and other health issues who live or work within 10 kilometres of the site to join the fight.
In a news release, representatives of the Clean Air Alliance note the group has found studies that “that reveal people living within 10 km of these types of facilities have an increased risk of visiting emergency rooms for lower respiratory diseases compared to those living in areas where no facility is located.”
Spokesperson Jean Vanderbyl – who says she lives one kilometre from the site and suffers from allergies and olfactory sensitivities – said the concern is the already over-burdened health-care system will not be able to keep up with the increased demand that she and others anticipates will result.
The “anaerobic digestion facility” is eyed for Semiahmoo First Nation land, not far from the Douglas/Peace Arch border crossing. It has been a source of distress for many area residents since news of plans for it became public in June of last year.
At the time, it was a partnership of SFN and Andion Global Inc., proposed for four acres of SFN land adjacent to Highway 99, approximately one kilometre north of the Canada-U.S. border and 40 metres back from the highway itself.
Andion has since become Taurus RNG, but company officials have said the change will not impact any of its projects.
It remains unclear, however, what, if any, impact Natural Resources Canada’s February withdrawal of $14.4 million in support will have.
READ MORE: Federal funding for proposed South Surrey biofuel project withdrawn
South Surrey-White Rock MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay noted in a March 2 statement that “Taurus (Andion) can apply for funding in the future but would have to restart the process.”
While opponents breathed a cautious sigh of relief with the NRCan news, they remain focused on efforts to not see the facility built in the proposed location, and say more detailed information on the number of compromised people who live within reach of its emissions will help fuel their case.
According to an Environmental Protection Notice published in Peace Arch News last September, Semiahmoo RNG GP Corp. applied for a permit to discharge more than 40 tonnes of pollutants from the proposed facility annually, including nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and methane.
Clean Air Alliance, the news release states, plans to create a map that represents every person who is at higher risk of being adversely affected by the emissions, to bolster a presentation to government bodies responsible for weighing in and approving the permit. The map will also be used to appeal the permit to pollute if it gets approved by Metro Vancouver, the release adds.
Anyone wanting to be included in the count may email cleanairwr.s@gmail.com with their address or crossroads, as well as the number of people in their household who have health conditions who could potentially be be affected.
For more information, visit www.nobiofuel.ca