Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

BIOSOLIDS CONTROVERSY

Turtle Valley residents protest biosolids dumping outside Kamloops City Hall

Apr 29, 2019 | 12:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — On Saturday, residents of Turtle Valley gathered outside Kamloops City Hall to protest the transportation and application of City of Kamloops Biosolids to a piece of property near their homes.

A few dozen protesters set up in front of Kamloops municipal headquarters armed with banners and signs expressing their concern and displeasure with the agreement. Those residents are concerned not enough work has been done to understand the possible impacts of land application of the Class B biosolids that the city produces, as well as the potential runoff from the biosolids, could end up in the local watershed.

Image Credit: CFJC Today

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“In the spring, when the runoff comes, the water is going to come into… Chum Creek,” Turtle Valley resident Coral Davis tells CFJC Today. “Chum Creek flows into Little Shuswap Lake, which flows into the South Thompson. That comes right back here, but it’s also going to end up in the ocean, so it’s going to be everywhere. It’s not just Turtle Valley. It’s going to be everywhere.”

“It falls into the watershed that goes right into the Shuswap,” Bruce Fenimore says. “This is not fertilization, this absolutely a toxic dump. When you dump over 700 tonnes per hectare, totalling 35,000 tonnes overall in this year alone, and it’s scheduled for the next three years after this, it’s not right.”

One of the most vocal opponents to the plan has been Connie Seaward. She says she’s frustrated that the city has been unwilling to engage with Turtle Valley residents on the program to dispose of the city’s biosolids, which is what prompted the rally outside of city hall.

“Everybody agrees that this starts at a municipal level, it isn’t provincial,” Seaward says. “For Kamloops to tell Turtle Valley ‘Call the Ministry of Environment because it’s at a provincial level and there’s nothing we can do,’ it’s a cop-out at this point. This is the City of Kamloops’ sewage problem, and it starts here. We need to get in, and we need to speak with the Mayor and Council. They can’t ignore us forever, and that’s why we’re here, and we’re doing this.”