Spills at woodfibre
Small leachate spills occurred in the last week of November on the Woodfibre LNG site and did not reach Howe Sound, the company revealed on Monday.
Work on the site is continuing to deal with the historical landfill and leachate treatment plant and supporting infrastructure, said Jennifer Siddon, communications manager with Woodfibre.
“During the last week of November 2016, Woodfibre LNG staff identified five incidents where leachate diluted with rainwater spilled onto the ground at the Woodfibre site,” Siddon said in a news release. “Each incident happened during periods of intense rain and was reported to the BC Ministry of Environment and Emergency Management BC.”
Woodfibre LNG reported all five incidents, and four of them are estimated to be above the reportable amount of 200 litres, but that has to be verified through the investigation by the Ministry of Environment, Siddon said.
Leachate occurs when water gets into decay at a landfill and creates contaminated water.
The incidents happened more than 100 metres from Mill Creek, according to the company.
Woodfibre staff, as well as engineering and environmental consultants, are currently monitoring the site 24 hours a day, Siddon said. This monitoring will continue until a permanent solution is implemented.
Diesel spill at gondola
A diesel spill has been reported at the Sea to Sky Gondola summit fuel storage tank.
A valve on a diesel storage tank was inadvertently knocked open during snow clearing and around 2,362 litres of marked bio-diesel were spilled, the Sea to Sky Gondola said in a press release. The tanks sit on a large pad designed for containment and the pad and dry snow surrounding the tank contained the leak and prevented any exposure to the surrounding area, the release said, adding the spilled fuel has since been secured and will be removed to be properly recycled at an off-site facility.
All required regulatory agencies have been notified and a detailed environmental assessment will begin Monday by a contracted third party. There is no observable impact to the environment and no issues for operations or for guests as a result of this accident, according to the release.
More naloxone availability
In the wake of the increasing drug overdose crisis, Vancouver Coastal Health is expanding the availability of take-home naloxone kits, which block or reverse the effects of the drugs. Take-home kits are now available from Squamish General Hospital and Mental Health and Addiction Services in Squamish. From Jan. to Dec. 10, there were 111 overdoses in the Howe Sound region: 32 at Squamish General Hospital, 60 at the Whistler Health Centre and 19 at the Pemberton Health Centre, according to VCH. The vast majority of overdoses also involved alcohol.
Crowd funding tuition
Quest University has launched an unorthodox method of providing student scholarships – crowd funding. The school aims to raise enough for 20 “Access Grants,” full-ride scholarships for students in need, according to its fundraising website and letters sent out to potential donors. The university will match every dollar donated. For more information on the campaign, go to chimp.net and search Quest Access Greants.
Woodfibre office moved
The Woodfibre LNG and FortisBC community office has been temporarily relocated. The new office is in Amblepath at #43-40137 Government Rd. and will be open until the original office on Cleveland Avenue is renovated after an arsonist set fire to it on Nov. 3. The temporary office is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 pm. The original office renovations are expected to take a few months, according to Woodfibre LNG officials.
Cold tough on homeless
The recent cold weather is bringing more people to the Squamish Helping Hands Society shelter. One night last week saw 22 people overnight, according to the society’s executive director, Maureen Mackell.
“We are noticing that people are also getting sick and we are, therefore, noting an increase in referrals to hospital,” said Mackell. The society currently has two programs running to help those without homes: the Emergency Shelter Program and the Extreme Weather Program, which operates 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. from November to April, depending on the weather. During the extreme weather there is also a taxi program through Whistler Community Services, which will ensure people can get a ride to Helping Hands from Whistler, Mackell said.
Kent new vice-chair
Rick Price will continue as chair of the Sea to Sky School District’s board of education for the coming year.
Trustee Laura Godfrey was also nominated but declined. She had been serving as vice-chair but also declined to hold the job for the coming year. Her colleague, Ian Kent, will now fill the position.
The board picks the positions for the year at each December meeting.
