The big question now is, ‘what took so long?’
It seems George Heyman, B.C.’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, is taking into consideration the concerns about ongoing odour issues in Chemainus emanating from Coast Environmental Ltd.’s facility on the Trans Canada Highway. An application for the new Organic Matter Recycling Regulation permit from the ministry is currently under review.
This is welcome news for Chemainus residents, who have been literally all choked up about the horrible smells around town and wondered what to do about it. Those who’ve been trying to express concerns reached one stumbling block after another to have their voices heard.
North Cowichan has said all along the facility is in compliance and comes under Cowichan Valley Regional District jurisdiction. People were directed to an Odour Nuisance Complaint Form on the CVRD website that proved frustrating to complete.
North Cowichan finally decided to take some action by writing a letter to the ministry that resulted in Heyman’s response. Amendments to the ORR are already underway that will hopefully lead to some clarity for the Chemainus situation - and others like it around the province - once and for all.
The rapid growth of recycling facilities of all types has resulted in the emission of numerous gases, depending on the material, that are simply nauseous.
Chemainus tourism faces a potential backlash without a hard and fast solution. We’ve already heard of people wanting to come here who are hesitant because they know about the stink.
We don’t want that horrible Lynyrd Skynyrd song That Smell - “ooooh, that smell, can’t you smell that smell” - becoming the theme song of Chemainus.