Editor:
I am writing to you for information concerning the operation of Pinnacle Renewable Energy’s pellet manufacturing plant near Burns Lake, B.C.
Mr. Leroy Reitsma, the chief operations officer of this company has proposed to build a pellet manufacturing facility at Chase, B.C. The size and scope of the operation appear to be similar to the existing facility near Burns Lake, estimated to produce approximately 500,000 metric tonnes of pellets per annum, require transport of between 28 and 30 B-train loads of biomass per day, and seven or eight train cars daily to handle the finished product. The plant would create 25 jobs and provide tax revenue for the Village.
The Village of Chase is located approximately 50 kms east of Kamloops, B.C., at the junction of the South Thompson River and Little Shuswap Lake. The village is a small community of about 3.05 square kms in area, and the plant would be located inside the village boundary adjacent to a residential subdivision.
A number of residents feel they could potentially be impacted by establishing this plant, and although we are not necessarily opposed to this type of manufacturing, we certainly have concerns about its proposed location. The site is within 600 meters of more than 100 residences. Our concerns are over the emissions from a 24 hour per day operation (noise, lighting, fugitive dust and particulate matter) in such close proximity to residences. We feel our environment and health may be seriously jeopardized if the company builds in this particular location.
It would seem the meteorology and topography of this area closely resembles that of Burns Lake.
Our objective therefore is to learn as much as possible about Pinnacle’s operation, in order to educate ourselves and prepare a factual and logical argument on this proposed location.
We would be most interested in learning of the impact of the Burns Lake pellet plant on people who live nearby. We would be very appreciative to have feed-back on what we might anticipate in Chase, should this proposal go ahead.
Len McLean
Chase, BC
Email: 4_mclean@telus.net