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MERRITT HERALD FREE
THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
Biosolids protest to go around the clock
Protesters against biosolids took to Highway 8 with their picket signs for the afternoon shift on Tuesday by the Lower Nicola Band fire hall. Protesters will be out for 24 hours a day in Lower Nicola and further down the highway in order to deter trucking companies from bringing biosolids to a composting facility in the Sunshine Valley. Emily Wessel/Herald
By Emily Wessel THE HERALD
newsroom@merrittherald.com
Picketers will be out in full force for back-to-back 24-hour protests to discourage companies from trucking biosolids into the Sunshine Valley. The around-the-clock protests began Tuesday at 6 a.m. and will go “as long as it takes” until no more biosolids are brought into the Nicola Valley, organizer Georgia Clement said. Protesters gathered at two spots along Highway 8 to catch trucks coming from both directions. Tuesday morning, they were
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successful in blocking one loaded truck from entering the Sunshine Valley. Picketers stood in front of the truck and talked to the driver, who eventually turned around, Clement said. Clement said she was hopeful the arrival of the driver with a full load of biosolids in tact should send the company that sent him a message. “They need to start paying attention to the issue. First Nations are being totally ignored,” Clement said. The protests continue overnight so people can try to turn trucks
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around if they attempt to transport during the night, she said. “The whole highway is now shut off to biosolids trucks,” Clement said. While stopping trucks from coming through is the short-term goal, Clement said the bigger picture goal is to get the provincial government to increase its biosolids regulations and to consider options for disposal besides land application. Most of all, the protesters want other cities to deal with their own biosolids, which are the solid materials left over from water treatment.
“The objective is to have the government change their policies and have biosolids stop being spread on land,” she said. “We don’t want anybody’s imported sewage.” Among the picketers’ concerns are the lack of consultation, selfregulation by biosolids companies, and the unknown health risks associated with spreading biosolids on land near a water source. “Of all the places in the entire province, they have to put it right above a 44-lot subdivision and right beside a reserve and right beside a fishery?” Clement said. Anyone interested in joining the
protest can phone Millie Mitchell between 8 and 11 a.m. at 250-3783952. Locals will have the chance to bend the ear of NDP environment critic Spencer Chandra Herbert on any topic related to the environment tonight between 5 and 6:30 p.m. at the Coldwater Hotel banquet room. Chandra Herbert will be in the Merritt area all day meeting with politicians, area chiefs and residents of the Sunshine Valley to discuss the biosolids controversy. To confirm attendance for the public meeting, contact Harry Lali at 250-280-4338.
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