INDEX PCB Digest - 2/6/02
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1) Press release - 2/5/02
Liberals Set to Give Thumbs Up to Toxic Burning Plans
2) Northern Daily News - 2/5/02 - Headlines and Front Page
Close watch
Serre suggests a citizens' committee to monitor Bennett activities
3) Northern Daily News - 2/4/02 -Editorial Page
Bennett agrees to call for study
 
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1) Press release - 2/5/02
Liberals Set to Give Thumbs Up to Toxic Burning Plans
 
Public Concern Temiskaming (PCT)
For Immediate Release:                                                             February 5, 2002
 
Liberals Set to Give Thumbs Up to Toxic Burning Plans
 
New Liskeard – Bennett Environmental’s plan to burn and dump international hazardous waste in Northern Ontario is being given cautious support by Federal MP Benoit Serré. According to an article in the Northern Daily News, Serré says he is waiting for the results of the provincial EA before giving the project his full support but he is confident the proposal will be successful because studies, paid for by the company, have been positive.
 
Terry Graves of Public Concern Temiskaming, warns citizens not to share Serré’s faith in Ontario’s streamlined EA process.
 
“Of course the studies haven’t found anything wrong,” says Graves. “They’re not supposed to. Same as with the EA. The Ontario Tories have stripped the EA to fast track proposals like this – not to subject them to true scientific scrutiny.”
 
Graves points out that under the new EA rules, the Bennett proposal will be exempt from  full public hearings and exempted from an independent peer review. This, despite the fact, that Bennett is looking to use Northern Ontario as a site for international contaminants such as PCBs, wood preservatives and dioxins.
 
Graves says Serré needs to realize the threat an international toxic industry could pose to the region’s economic base.
 
“We have a region heavily dependent on agriculture and outdoor tourism,” says Graves. “I would have thought that Mr. Serré would realize that turning Temiskaming into a toxic burning zone for Mexican and U.S. waste could do serious damage to what is already a fragile economy.”
 
While Serré says he will support the project when it passes the EA, provincial MPP David Ramsay (Liberal) says he wants more studies done by Bennett before giving his approval.
 
Graves is concerned that the Federal and Provincial liberals are missing the point. “The Liberals seem to be worrying about fine tuning the system,” says Graves. “When a much more fundamental issue is staring them in the face --- why international toxic operators are being allowed to use a poor region of Northern Ontario as a burning and dumping site in the first place.”
 
For more information contact:
Terry Graves (705) 672-3450  (705) 647-7307
 
-30-
 
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2) Northern Daily News - 2/5/02 - Headlines and Front Page
Close watch
Serre suggests a citizens' committee to monitor Bennett activities
 
by Rick Owen
Northern Daily News
 
Kirkland Lake
 
Timiskaming-Cochrane MP Ben Serre would like a citizens committee set up to monitor Bennett Environmental's soil treatment, if it is built.
 
He explained what he would like to see is a committee to monitor on a regular basis, the company's monitoring system. Serre said he has made this suggestion to Bennett.
 
This suggestion is something Bennett is already doing at its Quebec facility. Danny Ponn, Bennett's COO, said if they followed the same pattern in Kirkland they would have a Ministry of Environment representative, one from the company, one from the workers, one from town council, and two or three people at large from the town.
 
This committee he said would review the operations and would get monthly or bimonthly reports and would see what material is coming in, what is being treated and what is on its way out. As well they would be able to monitor the operating parameters because every day they could make graphic measurements and monitor that they could look at.
 
The committee that Serre is proposing would be made up of citizens from Kirkland Lake and the surrounding communities and they would monitor the testing by the Ministry of Environment and make sure that it all meets the guidelines.
 
While Serre is on record of not giving the project support until it has passed an Environmental Assessment, he said at the end of the day he is very confident the Bennett proposal will be successful, and the early studies have not indicated any problems.
 
Serre said he is able to support this project, because there is a great deal of contaminated soil in Northern Ontario and if down the road there is a problem the plant could be closed down. The MP said this is the difference between Bennett and Adams Mine, because once Adams Mine was started it couldn't be closed down.
 
When Serre visited Bennett's plant in Quebec, he took advantage of the situation to talk to people in the street and in restaurants about the Quebec Bennett operation. His conversations, combined with the way Bennett has conducted itself with public consultations and the Environmental Assessment has left a positive impression on the MP. "I haven't seen anything so far that would prevent me from supporting this project." He also recognizes that some people may have concerns but he is confident that when the Environmental Assessment is completed it will be positive.
 
2) Northern Daily News - 2/4/02 -Editorial Page
Bennett agrees to call for study
 
Bennett Environmental Inc. is going out of its way to satisfy all the environmental concerns of even its worst enemies.
 
The latest concession is an agreement to conduct a baseline study as requested by the opponents, who didn't think a full environmental assessment is enough.
 
The request for the base line study came from Timiskaming Cochrane MPP David Ramsay, the same guy who was for the Toronto trash deal, then against it when he found more votes on the other side.
Ramsay was also once for the Bennett proposal, but is now wavering with the promise of more votes from south Timiskaming.
 
Well, we're pleased that Bennett is being so patient with Ramsay and some of the other opponents and has decided to grant the base-line study request. Of course, if that comes back favourable, we suppose the opponents could always appeal to the pope again...or the International Olympic Committee or some place else where they could get lots of publicity. They've tried that before.
 
We would hope that if the full environmental assessment is completed on the Bennett project, the base-line study is completed and all the other comprehensive studies are finished and everything comes back favourable, the environmentalists and guys like Ramsay and his south Timiskaming friend Ben Serre would join together and support the Bennett project. After all, we're all supposed to be working together for the economic benefit of the region.
 
It was former Kirkland Richard Denton, who once touted the Bennett project as one that was cleaning up the environment. Of course, Denton isn't mayor anymore, so now he's not out supporting this project anymore.
 
It's easy to see how the sides get drawn up here. There's a mini-civil war going on here between north and south Timiskaming and it's not doing either side any good.
 
Bennett Environmental Inc. is going out of its way to satisfy all the environmental concerns of this area's residents. We would hope that after all those concerns are addressed and satisfied, the opponents of the project would lay down their weapons and accept a new economic opportunity for the entire region.
 
Bennett is offering Kirkland Lake and Timiskaming a unique opportunity to diversify their economy and create new jobs and prosperity for many people desperately looking for work.
 
We applaud Bennett Environmental Inc. for its patience , and its diligence in working to provide us with all the information we need. We also appreciate the company's efforts to address the environmental concerns.
 
And we would hope at the end of all this, the people of Timiskaming, north and south and the politicians who are supposed to be representing us can all be on the same side and that is the side that promotes economic prosperity for the entire district.
 
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