My husband was a leader in…

My husband was a leader in the original (2010-12) "Stop the Stink in Elmira" group of about 80 citizens, and one of the generous contributors to the environmental lawyer's $15,000 bill, so I know this story quite well. Our complaints were the location -- bio-energy plants should not be placed in a residential area --, the safety, the smells, and the noise, but above all, the truck traffic that the project would entail. As there is no bypass, the main street in town, Arthur St., which was the clean and quiet route for Mennonite buggies. Since those days, the traffic has increased considerably, and now the clip-clop of horses is rare and is not heard for the roaring engines and squealing brakes of transport trucks, including those headed for the Woolwich Bio-En plant and back. The company claims that through an "administrative error," it was only allowed 80 truck movements per day (40 in and 40 out). They said it should have been 160 trucks per day. However, the agreement, after the tribunal (Renewable Energy Approval Number 6428-GLBH Issue Date: March 26, 2012 says in #39 (3), "The government shall ensure . . . that there are no more than eighty (80) truck movements per day, i.e., forty (40) trucks entering and exiting, within the Facility at any time during the period of 06:00 to 23:00 hours." So I think we can assume that there was no error, but rather wishful thinking on the part of the Bio-En owners. Why would they leave this matter for 8 years without bringing the Ministry to court over it? And who was the administrator who supposedly did this? They also claim that there was to be only a 2-year ruling for 80 truck movements, after which they would be allowed to have 160 passes. No one among the citizens against even 80 trucks would have let that go by. We all know that the company wanted more, but that didn't happen. There are many reasons why we in the area are concerned. We now live in a "smelly" town, sometimes with traffics jams where long, noisy (one just went by my house, haha, as proof) transport trucks contribute waste smells that are beyond description. What is paunch mature? The glass in our windows rattle as those huge vehicles thunder by on the bumps and holes in the street that they have damaged. As well, diesel fumes leave particulate along the way and the latex in tires that break down present another toxic to people who are sensitive to that allergy (not me). The dust in my front yard, the porch, and inside the front half of my house, despite a retrofit, need to be removed twice a week. Two air cleaners run tirelessly to keep the air purified and my nose from plugging. We worry about the children going to school and back, sometimes twice a day. Their lungs are the recipients of the exhaust fumes too. The idea of having idling trucks backed up from the entrance of the plant on busy days is not welcomed. We worry about possible accidents; when 7 of these big vehicles meet at the intersection of Arthur St. and Church St., it is quite a job for them to sort themselves out as they attempt to make those awkward curves at the same time. Pedestrians and cyclists are put at risk. People are not attracted to our downtown commercial area with all this noise, smell, and ugly sights. Would you want to sit in a sidewalk cafe for a chat with someone in this setting? Elmira's unique "quaint" Mennonite culture now has an industrial aura. But for me, as a serious environmental activist of many years, the thought of that doubled number of trucks means twice the greenhouse gas emissions going into the atmosphere at a time when we desperately need to draw them down. What does it say about our local government when they have just declared a Climate Change Emergency, if the first step they take to do something about it is to approve twice the possible emissions? (We realize that there won't be 160 trucks every day.) People who don't commit to a belief that climate change exists are climate deniers. People who do commit have a duty to tackle the problem. If not, they are now known as the "new climate deniers." I would like to know the offset of the energy produced and the energy expended by those trucks. There is a hidden cost in there. Money does not mean more than survival. And let's face it, we don't have much more time to sit around and watch the existing greenhouse gases tear the Earth and every living thing in it apart. Your Ministry should en masse study Paul Hawken's DRAWDOWN and start implementing the drawdown processes while making electric trucks!!! I worry when I see that Woolwich Bio-en wants to allow trucks from all over Ontario, and elsewhere; that's way too vague for me to swallow. As is their request to obtain limited operation flexibility in certain aspects of the operations." That spells red tape, if the Ministry is at fault for that, there should be an improvement and a much clearer allowance for the company's self-regulation.
Here are some questions on my mind:
Will the tourist industry and commercial businesses in town be sustainable if they are affected by the increased truck transportation?
Could we not have rerouting to roads on the perimeter of the town so that fewer people are exposed to unpleasant-smelling materials or liquids that might leak, rather than parading these materials through the hub of our town. The pigs could be shipped out on those roads too.
What happened to the communication meetings?
Why was there not enough notification to residents about both the meeting and this comment opportunity? The company didn't post the notice twice.
Why doesn't Woolwich Bio-En's website mention the new changes?
Why can't we find the plant on a Google map?
Why isn't the actual location address available?
Why hasn't there been proper signage? Is the Bio-En plant a secret?
In conclusion, I worry that some of the changes that will increase their business will also add to the degradation of the environment.
How much water is used in the complete cycle of growing and processing the biomass? Is the Foodstock chosen so that less water is needed?
What specific wastes are used?
And now some other important worries: Are any jobs created from this initiative? Is there an emergency plan? What are the possibilities of an accident in the plant has such a large increase in bio-waste materials?