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Burning faces hazy future |
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Written by GORDON HOEKSTRA
Citizen staff
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Monday, 14 July 2008 |
Logger Terry Campbell has been given the green light by the B.C. Ministry of Environment to burn waste piles of woody debris behind L.C. Gunn Park -- just above the city -- in the next few weeks. But the open burns, a concern because of the fine particulate air pollution they create, could be a thing of the past as the province eyes new rules on open burning in populated areas. (Citizen staff photo)
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FORESTS MINISTER PAT BELLHART HIGHWAY
Last Friday, a plume of smoke could be viewed rising above the treeline south of Highway 16 East, past the provincial jail. In the partially logged forest between the highway and Gunn Road, half a dozen large piles of logging waste were being burned.
Logger Terry Campbell had been given the green light by the B.C. Ministry of Environment to burn some of the piles if the venting and wind conditions were right. The logger was issued a permit from the Prince George Fire Department on that basis.
B.C. Environment official Mellissa Winfield-Lesk said a disposal plan was negotiated where some of the piles on the eastern part of the logged property were allowed to be burned, but others nearer the highway would have to be moved to higher ground, chipped or incinerated with a forced-air burner.
Winfield-Lesk, the head of environmental quality in Prince George, said while the open burning is not something the environment ministry likes to see, an effort was made to identify the pollution risk but be reasonable. "It's making the best of a bad situation," she said.
The ministry is in the midst of consultations on proposed regulation changes that would severely restrict open burning in populated areas, labelled high-sensitivity smoke areas. The boundaries would encompass the logged area behind L.C. Gunn Park.
Campbell said he believes that there remains a place for burning of slash piles east of the city and perhaps north along the Hart Highway. If the wind conditions are right and the slash is free of dirt and has been piled properly, he thinks burning can still be done with minimum smoke impact. He pointed out that there are strict guidelines around open burning, including having the piles out by 5 p.m.
Campbell also said there is a higher cost to chipping, or grinding, and the cost is not accounted for in the Crown timber fee charged for the salvage beetle-killed timber licence. He said while land developers may be able to factor in the additional cost, it is much tougher for small scale loggers.
Asked about factoring in the higher costs of disposing of wood waste in an air-pollution free manner on Crown timber, Forests Minister Pat Bell said he's already asked his staff to look at the options.
He said he sees no reason that burning of logging waste cannot be eliminated or greatly reduced, particularly when it's close to cities. There's a potential, for example, to chip it for use in wood pellet manufacturing, or for producing post and rails right on site, said Bell.
The Prince George North MLA, who was once a market logger, pointed to the province's introduction of legislation this spring that will create new tenures to feed energy plants with wood debris left behind from logging the province's forests.
If there are other policy barriers, they need to be removed, said Bell.
The municipality has bylaws that designate no-burning areas that include the CNR industrial site, but not the BCR industrial site or the lands east of the city. Prince George fire chief Jeff Rowland pointed out that if the wood debris piles are clean, the venting index is good and it's OK with the ministry, the burn cannot be stopped.
The city, however, in its beetle savage logging plan adopted a no-burn policy because of concerns over air pollution.
None of the wood waste that has come off of logged city lands or Crown lands covered under Prince George's community forest licence has been burned. Instead, the waste is chipped and left on wet sites, chipped and transported to P.G. Pulp and Paper's co-gen energy plant or ground into the ground on site, said city environmental official Mark Fercho.
There is an added cost, noted Fercho.
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.
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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