Chilliwack Progress
Gravel plan critics ‘terrorizing’ communities, minister says
Published: December 14, 2009 6:00 PM
1 Comment
B.C. Mines Minister Randy Hawes says critics of a proposed gravel removal plan for the Fraser Valley are “terrorizing” communities in the region by fanning the flames of unfounded fears.
And those critics may “unwittingly” be doing communities more harm than good, he says, as the plan would save taxpayers “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in legal fees, and maintain an affordable source of aggregate, most of which is bought by local governments with taxpayers’ money.
Hawes also says the charge that a memorandum of understanding recently approved by Fraser Valley Regional District directors was done “in lockstep” with the gravel industry is “frankly, a bunch of drivel.”
Public hearings were not held during the five years the MOU was being hammered out, he says, because there would always be someone opposed to some part of the plan and “we would not have completed the project.”
Having elected FVRD directors on the Aggregate Pilot Project committee was a “balanced way” of including residents’ concerns in the MOU, he insisted.
A similar process is now taking place in the Okanagan - with public consultation - because of the ground-breaking work done in the FVRD, he said.
The minister compared the APP process to the way developers work with city planners on proposed subdivisions, ironing out details before presenting the “product” at a public hearing.
“I’m looking at this (APP agreement) the same way,” he said.
Public hearings at the regional and municipal level will be held now that the MOU has been approved by the FVRD directors, and officials of the B.C. government and gravel industry.
The MOU uses a three-colour map to identify gravel resources in the region, with green designating reserves available for mining; red for areas not open to mining; and yellow where mining can take place under certain conditions.
Currently, mines can be located anywhere in the province by order of the chief mines inspector by authority of the B.C. Mines Act.
FVRD Director Dick Bogstie said that’s what has made the lives of some area residents “freakin’ miserable” and led to doomed court challenges by the regional district.
“I’ve been fighting gravel operations and quarries since the day I was elected,” Bogstie said, but he held his nose and voted for the MOU because it gave the region some control over the location of gravel mines, and thus some stability for homeowners.
“Everybody had to give up something,” he said, to reach the agreement. “It’s one of those things. There’s no winners in this.”
The MOU will also allow local governments to put restrictions on gravel processing, like noise and dust levels, and eliminate “double-trucking” that will reduce carbon emissions.
Some property owners will be “annoyed as hell” to find they are within a green area, Bogstie agreed, but he said he has not been able to confirm whether property values will increase or decrease as a result.
“We have to be cautious that we don’t create expectations that don’t exist,” he said. “We want to be as truthful with the people as we can.”
The MOU also proposes one fee charged by municipalities for gravel removal across the region, which was a key demand of the industry.
But Abbotsford Mayor George Peary said in an earlier interview that he doesn’t agree with that proposal, and he believes public hearings can still bring changes to the final agreement.
While some FVRD directors questioned whether those changes could stand up against provincial legislation, Hawes said the MOU itself protects them from being over-ridden by the senior government.
If any party “violates the conditions” of the MOU, he said, then the agreement fails “and we’re back to square one.”
Hemlock Valley electoral area director Wendy Bales wants the MOU scrapped, and a public advisory committee formed to present residents’ concerns in a whole new process.
Sumas Mountain resident Walter Neufeld said the public needed to be part of the process because FVRD directors on the committee had a conflict of interest in keeping gravel costs down for the government.
But Popkum Director Bill Dickey said ending the “turmoil” of the constant land-use complaints from residents was the main concern of area directors.
“We were not attempting to get some cost-savings for ourselves, but resolution to a huge amount of turmoil for us,” he said.
rfreeman@theprogress.comShowing 2 of 2 comments
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Bounder999 35 minutes ago
What absolute drivel this person spouts. I guess if you are a politician you can say anything you want.
Comment 2, by Chilliwack 5 minutes ago
I think it is the Liberal government that is doing the "terrorizing” of communities, not the critics as Mr Hawes stated it this article. They just want to shove down peoples throats this and similar pet projects such as fish farms, HST, run of the river projects, and gravel extraction on the Fraser River to name a few. They seem to do everything they can to prevent input from local governments,organized groups and the general public that are concerned about protecting our environment and way of life. The only bright spot will be that this will be the last term Mr. Hawes and company will be in government as they have become more aggrogant than ever, the people will not forget this time! I look forward to seeing them back on the other side of the House in 3 years time.!
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Topic: "There are safer places to get gravel" (Read 144163 times)