Written by GORDON HOEKSTRA
Citizen staff
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Wednesday, 09 July 2008 |
Red indicates areas that are considered a high-sensitivity smoke zone, while yellow is a medium sensitivity smoke zone. (Graphic courtesy Ministry of Environment)
The high sensitivity zones also include boundaries around all of northern B.C.'s major communities, including Quesnel, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, Smithers, McBride and Valemount.
The new rules -- which are going through a public input process that has been extended to July 21 -- are part of a new slate of air pollution regulations the province is creating that will be enacted provincewide.
The province earlier released a 17-page paper outlining the proposed open burning changes, which says the Ministry of Environment is contemplating the introduction of "sensitivity" zones in the province, where open burning is severely restricted in high-sensitivity zones.
More recently, the ministry released the overview map of the sensitivity zones (www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/codes/open_burning/index.htm) in response to feedback it had received on the proposed changes.
B.C. Environment senior official Sean Sharpe said he expects the preliminary boundaries will be fine-tuned using computer modelling information being developed as part of efforts to improve air quality in Prince George.
But Sharpe, the regional manager of air protection in Prince George, said essentially the zones show there will be no open burning in populated areas.
Prince George has perennially been among the communities in B.C. with the worst fine particulate levels. The microscopic particles are considered a health hazard because they can penetrate deep into the lungs. They have been linked to heart and respiratory diseases, as well as asthma.
Under the proposed regulations, after a two-year phase-in period, there would only be special circumstances that allow open burning in high-smoke sensitivity zones. Those include burns for pest control, although not for the pine beetle, and to reduce wild fire risks in communities. In each case, special permission would be needed from the environment ministry.
During the two-year phase in period, open burns of piles of woody debris in high-smoke sensitivity zones could be burned using forced-air technology, which includes air-curtain incinerators. The large fire boxes use forced air to help burn woody debris more efficiently, which creates less air pollution.
The rules would be less restrictive in medium and low-smoke sensitivity zones.
The new open burning rules don't cover off small backyard burns and camp fires, or the burning of slash from logging that has not been put into piles.
A recent study commissioned by the Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable found that pulp mill emissions, mobile sources and wood burning are the major contributors to the smallest fine particulates measured downtown.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 September 2008 )
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