Highlights from our March 18 meeting

1) Mary Forbes on behalf of the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society gave a fun and interactive presentation on bottled water which included trivia questions (with a colourful talk show host), “taste tests” of bottled, City, and well water, and a draw for a free PBA free stainless steel water bottle. Mary is available to give these presentations to other groups within the community by appointment and can be reached by calling 250-398-7929. The handout entitled “Toxic footprint off bottled water” is available by emailing spc-coordinator@xplornet.com and will soon be available at www.ccconserv.org

2) Communities that Care Project Update:

a) The Spencer West event at TRU on February 22 (after his presentation at Williams Lake Secondary) was well received and attended by invited community members.

b) On February 24, Anahim Lake held a public forum and two CTC programs were chosen for the community: Positive Action which is a school based program (Kindergarten - Gr. 12) designed to improve academic performance and reduce behavioral problems, and Parenting Wisely which addresses family management problems.

c) Carrie has been in contact with Mark Totten who is a consultant and keynote speaker on evidence based programs and developing community prevention strategies. There is a possibility of bringing Mark to Williams Lake to give a workshop and the logistics are still in the discussion phase. For more information on Mark Totten and Associates his website is: http://www.tottenandassociates.ca

3) Diana presented serious concerns about the EPCOR power plant chipping and burning creosote soaked railway ties.

Four issues are of major concern: The ties are being stored behind the Station House Gallery, these ties are leeching into the creek below, the toxins present potentially serious health concerns (Rob Higgins and Marten from TRU are currently investigating these further), and the ties are combustible and catch on fire on a regular basis.

There are currently 20 rail cars sitting there and the ties are being chipped into sawdust to be burned. Emissions from the plant have not been monitored or inspected since 2001. Chips that have combusted stay burning/smouldering for months at a time. The homes upwind from the area are experiencing air quality issues, and an ash pile on the creekside of Soad Creek Road most likely also contains remnant of these toxins.

The CCCS is working with the Ministry of Environment about the leeching and burning concerns. City Council has asked CN to not give anymore ties to EPCOR although they have no legal recourse to stop the burning of the ties.

Update since March 18 – The burning of creosote soaked railway ties at the power plant have stopped.