A north Okanagan farmer has plans for his land that are raising a stink with his neighbours.
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Sofie McGarry, Salmon Arm 1400 AM Easy Rock:
Dead Animal Composting Site in Grindrod
During an informational meeting in Grindrod last week, Robertson Farms announced that they are in line for some government funding - about four million dollars worth - to become a Dead Animal and Animal Waste Composting Facility. But Karen Dittloff, spokesperson for Concerned Citizens of Grindrod says the way they presented the information raised a lot of warning flags.... 'There wasn't a formal meeting where anyone told about the proposal. You went around and you read all these posters and then there were individual representatives. They would answer questions on a one to one basis..because they didn't allow a question and answer period.' Dittloff said there were many concerns, including the method of composting - the 10 tons of dead animal waste processed daily would be composted using plastic bags. Dittloff discovered that this method doesn't work in the cold. She said another concern is that many of the animals being processed will have been euthanized which means they'll be filled with toxic chemicals. Part of the proposal is to spread the composted matter over 994 acres in the area, which means the groundwater would be contaminated. Dittloff said that the timing was interesting. The deadline for the application is June 15th. MLA's aren't sworn in until June 8th leaving no time for residents to air their concerns with an MLA and get another meeting set up.
'The company, Himara consulting group are not required to hold another meeting. They have satisfied the requirements for the government . The only way a meeting would be required would be if the public had enough concern to ask a government body such as an MLA to hold a meeting to voice their concerns.' Another concern is the Enderby Cliffs, a beautiful tourist attraction near Grindrod that may end up in a smelly situation. The composting facility is to process about 10 tons of waste material daily. Dittloff says the composted end product will be spread on land in Grindrod at a rate of 11 tons per hectare. She says this could cause problems in many areas as well as for tourism...'The Robertson Farms is located directly below the Enderby cliffs and every year busloads of tourists to do the cliff walk. The air currents rise up the face of the cliffs, so is the smell going to greet those tourists when they reach the top?' Dittloff says that's not the only problem. The composted material could be made up of dead animals that are euthanized so the toxic chemicals would contaminate the groundwater. Dittloff is hoping that they will get another public meeting in place for residents to address these issues and more.
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