Incinerator Hearing Put Off

Written by Glen Morrison Thursday, 04 March 2010 12:16107,5 KISS FM:

Grindrod and North Enderby residents are getting a bit more time to deal with a proposed test incinerator for animal carcasses.NORD Chair Herman Halvorson says there was a procedural error on notifying residents of the public hearing and that meant the scheduled hearing Wednesday became a public information session. "It's going to be revamped and the staff has got to redo the application and do proper notification. It was an error on staff which happens from time to time so we could not take it to third reading and adoption." Halvorson says everyone agrees there must be a means of dealing with animal waste, that's environmentally proper and acceptable to the residents.

Richard Yntema is applying to rezone one hectare on Matthews Road from large holding to agricultural industrial to install an incinerator to dispose of animal carcasses originating from a slaughtering facility on his property. He currently has to truck the waste to Calgary which he says is very costly. NORD staff say the proposed incinerator will be monitored by the Ministry of Environment for emissions and the ash residue, for toxicity issues. Residents such as Karen Dittloff are concerned about health and air quality issues, and say if the land is rezoned it could open the door to more incinerators in the region.