A three-hour public information meeting will be held on a proposed composting facility east of Fort Langley.
The company that wants to build the plant, Glenval Organics Ltd., has booked the event for Wednesday, Jan. 16 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Thompson Room at the Fort Langley Golf Course at 9782 McKinnon Cres.
The meeting is not a formal public hearing, only an information session, according to Ray Robb, the Metro air quality district director who has the authority to issue an air quality permit for the plant.
The Glenval Organics Ltd. application to locate the plant on a 12.32 hectare property 25330 88 Ave. has drawn complaints from area residents and at least one member of Langley Township council, who say there hasn’t been enough public consultation.
Langley Township Councillor Charlie Fox said the proposal will make Langley the “dumping site” for all the green waste from all the other municipalities in Metro Vancouver.
Fox said the whole area is a flood plain and sensitive peat bog.
Fox was not satisfied with the operator’s promise to restrict the type of waste to limit odours, saying that could change down the road.
Glenval promises the facility will not smell bad because it will only use yard waste but nearby residents like Katherine Kinman, who is renovating a nearby farm house, are not reassured.
She is concerned the plant will drive down property values and says she and her neighbours are “outraged” and intend to fight the planned development.
Glenval Organics spokesperson Scott Temreck describes the site as a “former fill and gravel pit” that is properly zoned for composting.
Temreck said the company intends to become the first yard waste compost facility in the Metro Vancouver region to receive an air quality permit and promised the plant will “meet or exceed all environmental regulations that apply to the composting industry.”
He predicted traffic will be “minimally increased” along 88 Avenue, adding a maximum of 16 trucks a day to the 2,500 to 5,000 vehicles that travel the route every day.
