===== A message from the 'pulpstrat' discussion list =====
The GSX/gas-fired electrical plants are burning up the emails these days. The
connection with Elk Falls make this reading pretty juicey!
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2000 18:39:50 -0800
To: GSXlist <GSXlist@sqwalk.com>
From: Stuart Hertzog <stuart@gulfislands.com> Subject: New Information on
Campbell River
The November 2, 2000 edition of the Campbell River Courier-Islander reports that
new information has been laid on the table by Westcoast Power. This report,
compiled by Levelton for Westcoast power, looks like a whitewash aim at
reassuring people that the plant is not a major polluter.
The report is included below, together with another report that the mill boilers
to be replaced by ICP were actually shut down last December -- almost a year
ago. This brings into question the claim that ICP is required to replace the
boilers. How can this be if the plant has not required them for almost a year?
Two Letters to the Editor and a cartoon from the same newspaper are included.
These show that there is concern in Campbell River about pollution from the
plant, and that air quality in Campbell Rive is bad and can only get much worse.
STARTS NEW FIGURES ARTICLE----->
New figures to support Cogen cleanliness unveiled
By DAN MacLENNAN
Courier-Islander Reporter
ICP officials produced new figures at a hastily called news conference Tuesday
attempting to show that cogeneration plant emissions will be much lower than
earlier reported.
In the process they brought Mayor Jim Lornie back on board as a supporter a day
after he'd voiced concerms about the plant's environmental technology. They also
confirmed that ICP will lack two different pollution reduction systems used by
other plants in B.C.
For the first time since the plant's projected emissions became a political
football in September, ICP officials publicly attached numbers to their claims
that ICP will lead to a net reduction of emissions at Elk Falls mill. Several of
those numbers were much lower than the company's original claims.
Bob Humphries, manager of air quality modeling and assessment for Levelton
Engineers, said Tuesday that ICP will allow the Elk Falls mill to shut down
boilers #1 and #2 and put #4 on standby. He said ICP will produce 613 tonnes of
nitrogen oxides (NOX) per year, but the mill's annual -NOX production will be
reduced by 645 tonnes for a net reduction of 32 tonnes per year.
Then the new, lower figures came into play. Humphries said ICP will produce only
23 tonnes of sulphur dioxides annually, and reduce the mill's output by 452
tonnes for a net reduction of 429 tonnes per year. ICP had earlier pegged its
sulphur figure at 214 tonnes per year.
The original ICP figure for carbon monoxide (CO) output had been 912 tonnes per
year. On Tuesday that figure had dropped to 371 tonnes. Humphries claimed a net
reduction of 306 tonnes per year for CO at Elk Falls.
Humphries said the sulphur oxide change was due to an earlier miscalculation of
sulphur content in the natural gas fueling the generator.
The new figures also showed volatile organic compounds (VOCs), originally listed
at 169 tonnes per year, now down to 24 tonnes per year. Humphries said the first
figures had been based on a worst-case scenario. Even with the new figures,
there will be a net gain of 8 tonnes of VOCs per year at Elk Falls. Inhalable
particulate matter will show a net increase of 44 tonnes per year.
Figures not released before showed ICP will lead to a huge local increase in
production of carbon dioxide, (CO2) or 'greenhouse' gases. ICP will produce
781,275 tonnes per year of C02, while eliminating the production of 150,543
tonnes from the Elk Falls mill, for a net annual increase of 630,732 tonnes.
Controversy erupted around ICP in September when a study showed the plant will
have substantially higher emissions that the much larger Burrard Thermal plant
and the proposed Sumas 2 in Washington State. Both projects include selective
catalytic reduction(SCR) to reduce NOX and a separate catalytic process to
reduce CO. ICP officials said SCR was rejected because of the cost and its need
for large volumes- of ammonia.
Doug Fraser, vice president of operations and construction for ICP owner
Westcoast Power, said it would be impossible to add SCR technology to ICP now.
He said CO catalytic reduction was never considered for ICR After meeting with
ICP officials Tuesday morning Mayor Jim Lomie called the press conference to
"let the citizens of Campbell River know that we still have a worthy project,
that's still first rate."
STARTS BOILER SHUTDOWN ------>
MILL BOILERS ACTUALLY SHUT DOWN MONTHS AGO by MacLENNAN
Courier-Islander Reporter
Two old Elk Falls mill boilers that ICP is supposed to help shut down were
actually shut down months ago, Elk Falls environmental officials confirmed
Tuesday.
"They've been down since last December," said Chuck Easton, El Falls environment
coordinator.
One of the arguments for the value of the Island Cogeneration Plant is that it
will produce steam for the mill, allowing Elk Falls to shut down its two oldest,
and dirtiest boilers, #1 and #2. Additional pollution caused by ICP will be more
than offset by the loss of emissions from the two boilers, say proponents.
But can the shutdown of the two boilers be attributed to ICP if the boilers are
shut down roughly a year before ICP produces any steam for the mill?
Easton told the Courier-Islander it can. He said Elk Falls has been making up
for the loss of the two boilers by running boiler #4 "a little bit harder."
Number 4 will continue to be run during the transition process.
STARTS LETTER ONE---------------->
Letter to the Editor
NDP doing "political dance" around vital Cogen clean air issues
In the October 26th Courier-Islander North Island NDP MLA Glenn Robertson
accused BC Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell of "trying to score cheap political
points" with regards to the Island Cogeneration Plant. But it is Mr. Robertson
himself who is guilty of playing the "Elk Falls Jobs" card at the expense of a
reasoned debate. This is a thinly veiled attempt to steer the focus of the Cogen
emissions controversy away from the real issue.
Let's not be fooled, people. What is truly at play is the NDP's hypocritical
censure of the Sumas 2 project given the less stringent standards afforded to
mill towns like ours. Our MLA doesn't seem to be able to grasp this
contradiction. Rather than reach for a win-win solution of maintaining jobs and
improving the air we breathe, his first instinct is to carpet-bomb the critics.
So, this brings up an important question in my mind. Is Cogen as clean as it
could be? I don't believe we have received a respectable answer. What we do know
is that technology exists to make it cleaner. Sumas is an example of this. Even
the Ministry of Environment says it could be cleaner, but the NDP appear to be
performing a political dance around the issue by blaming the opposition for
questioning the issue. Isn't that their job? Thank goodness someone is asking
questions.
Like so many of the NDP's North Island initiatives the people of Campbell River
may have to fight.tooth and nail to be given the respect they deserve from
Victoria. We had to speak up for our new highway when cutbacks were going to
knock it down to 2 lanes. We had to speak up again when the expense of a safety
meridian was to be excluded from the same highway. Will we have to do battle yet
again to get the first-rate air quality we (Campbell Riverites and our
environment) deserve?
Steve Simons
Campbell River
STARTS LETTER TWO------->
The Real Chocker in Campbell River is Wood Smoke
Frequent mention of the cogeneration plant emissions and now car air care pulled
out of the bag to impress who? ... Not this reader .. What appalls me is that
there is no mention made of the real choker - namely wood smoke. Recently
beautiful sunny weather blessed our beautiful city, but in the cool evening foul
wood smoke forced me to close my house up again.'And yes welcome to the
beginning of the six month wood smoke house arrest season. It is really sad no
apparent progress has been made regarding this main polluter. I have never had
difficulty breathing around my home.due to vehicle exhausts, and let us judge
the cogen plant once it is in full operation. 1, and many others, however suffer
from air gasping existing blatant wood smoke emissions. And how does one tell
their good nice neighbors not to choke their friends? I fully support those that
bum wood, however if smoke can be seen pouring from their chimney'once in full
operation there is something wrong with the installation and or its operation.
It is my firm belief that the air chair councilor's increase in votes came from
wood burning homes due to all the unfavorable related statements made by him.
He'appeared to condone or act indifferent to present wood burning practices.
Now, in my view, it is difficult f6r that chair to face some of his voters to
regulate the worst local polluting producing source. This Thanksgiving some of
our friends came up from Vancouver (where car air care makes sense). Arriving in
the evening they could smell the city's wood smoke from inside their car while
driving into our city...Something needs to be done to regulate and eliminate
polluting producing chimneys.
Ernie Wouters
ENDS LETTERS-------->
--
Regards,
Stuart
(250) 889-3436 (cell,messages)
<stuart@gulfislands.com>
--
Peter Ronald, Campaign Coordinator
Georgia Strait Alliance
Email: peterr@island.net
WWW: http://www.georgiastrait.org/
Tel: 250.361-3621 Fax: 250.361-3682
Mail: Box 5591, Victoria BC V8R 6S4 Canada
