Manitoba

Springfield council green-lights hazardous waste plant despite opposition

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Tervita rep says company committed to safety; critics worry of risks to environment, land values

Jim Stevenson runs Eagle Industrial across from the site where Tervita will operate. He worries the presence of a hazardous waste company will drive away business and decrease property values in the area. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)

A community is granting a hazardous waste disposal company permission to set up a new facility just inside the Perimeter Highway despite numerous concerns from locals.

About 25 people attended a Springfield municipal council meeting Thursday where councillors voted 4-2 in favour of allowing Tervita Corporation to build a new waste transfer facility on a lot off Redonda Street.

"I'm disappointed that there wasn't enough vision within the council to see this is a bad decision," said Jim Stevenson, one of about 10 people who voiced opposition at the meeting.

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Assuming Tervita passes regulator hoops at the provincial level, council imposed 11 conditions on the permit, including a review four years from now that would determine whether the company will be allowed to continue business in the area.

Tervita Corporation employees Andrea Snodgrass and Neil MacDonald make their case for a new hazardous waste facility during a Springfield municipal council meeting Thursday. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)

Tervita primarily handles waste products from Alberta's oil and mining industries, though they also treat or dispose of pesticides, batteries, light bulbs, oil filters and scores of other hazardous byproducts from industrial or household activities.

Many of the materials at the new facility will be consolidated and treated before being sent elsewhere for further processing, the company said.

Councillors Rick Wilson and Glen Fuhl were against the application, citing fears of pollution and that the facility could hurt the local economy.

"All the regulations in the world do not help you if there's an accident," Wilson said ahead of the vote.

Ward 3 Coun. Rick Wilson was one of two councillors who voted against the proposal. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)

"To put an element like this into our premier industrial area increases risk, it reduces the ability of our business to attract investment."

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Coun. Howard Berdin supported Tervita's bid.

He said there are a number of businesses in the same industrial area that already sell or use a variety of hazardous materials every day that aren't currently held to the same tough regulatory standards Tervita will be facing.

"We're living in a hazardous waste society," he said. "Somebody's got to clean it up and protect it."

Springfield Coun. Howard Bredin voted in support of the Tervita application. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)

Stevenson feels strongly people in the area weren't properly consulted.

He owns and operates Eagle Industrial across from where Tervita's new facility will be constructed, and he worries the presence of the plant could have bad environmental and personal impacts on his employees.

He gave credit to Mayor Tiffany Fell for proposing the four-year review period, but is worried about what could happen in that time.

About 30 people, including municipal council members, attended the Thursday night meeting. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)

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"I'm just hoping that the valuation of our buildings haven't dropped enough that they lose tax base in the Springfield industrial park."

Stevenson pointed to incidents at Tervita facilities as evidence to suggest the company doesn't belong in the community.

Virden, Man., sued Tervita in 2016. The town entered into a contract with Hazco Environmental Services in 2006 to operate the local industrial waste facility.

In the lawsuit the town alleged the company put local ground water and soil health at risk.

Another incident at a Tervita plant near Unity, Sask., almost two years ago led to complaints about caustic odours making some locals feel sick.

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The Saskatchewan government investigated and found the smell came from a corrosive liquid waste shipment that wasn't approved for disposal at the site.

Test samples taken by Environment and Climate Change Canada found no serious long-term health effects should be expected.

Susan Ziemski, Vic Gerbasi and Heather Erickson spoke against the proposed Tervita plant. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)

Former Springfield municipal councillor Heather Erickson said because the community is serviced by well water, it isn't worth the risk.

"Whenever you put something like this on top of an aquifer you run risk of ruining our water or potentially eliminating our supply of water," she said.

Susan Ziemski wrote to members of town council asking them to not let Tervita open a new plant.

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"I think it's shameful to be bringing this into the community," she said. "We need these kind of plants but they just don't have to be where they decided to put it."

Tervita vice-president Michael Erickson said the risk of an accident or problem odours is very low.

Michael Erickson is vice-president of Tervita Corporation. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)

Erickson said the company works with local governments to ensure operations meet strict safety and environmental standards.

The company employs about 1,700 employees at more than 100 facilities across North America, including a facility in St. James that has been operated for over a decade with only a few minor incidents, said Erickson.

He said he understands why people might be reluctant to embrace the company but he wants locals to rest assured that there is nothing to fear.

"When it comes to hazardous waste station, the term hazardous waste is scary, I get that," he said.

"My desk is a stone's throw away from exactly what's being proposed here," said Erickson.

"As time progresses I'm hoping we can endear ourselves to these neighbours, partially through education and partially through exposure of just being good neighbours [and] alleviate those anxieties."