Letter to TNRD

Here is the letter we sent off to TNRD this week. If you have written letters and would like to share them on the blog please send them my way (sylvia@webbedfeat.com). It might inspire others to write letters as well!

July 27, 2009

Mr. Don May, Manager, Environmental Health Services

Thompson Nicola Regional District

300- 465 Victoria Street

Kamloops V2C 2A9

Dear Mr. May:

We are writing with respect to the future handling of garbage and recycling in the Lac Le Jeune area. By now you will have received several letters outlining the many reasons Lac Le Jeune residents are opposed to a change to our current system. The reasons are very obvious to residents, but perhaps not as apparent to individuals who do not spend time in our community. They include:

• Our current system works. We are especially pleased with the recent introduction of an attendant and recycling bins at our transfer station.
• The current punch card system encourages recycling. With curbside pick up there is no incentive to recycle.
• Curbside garbage attracts bears and other animals.
• This plan is in conflict with BC Ministry of Environment advice for rural communities to “seriously consider eliminating curbside pick up”.
• Several residents are part-time, making it difficult to comply with scheduled curbside garbage pick up.
• We are concerned for the safety of children who wait for school buses, given the higher risk of dangerous animals in the area resulting from garbage.
• Curbside pick up would require that we invest in new containers. It is more likely that residents will need to store these large containers outside, which is odourous and, again, will attract animals.
• Many residents have long and/or steep, gravel driveways. It is difficult to wheel containers to the curb.
• Garbage containers on the streets are unattractive.

We are permanent residents of Lac Le Jeune and are actively involved in our community. We are particularly interested in enhancing communication among our community members so that we are aware of challenges and issues and make informed choices together. We maintain the Lac Le Jeune blog (http://laclejeune.blogspot.com) where residents are posting information regarding the plan to implement curbside garbage collection. There is currently a petition being circulated that has quickly filled with signatures of local residents opposing the planned change to our garbage collection system.

We were relieved to receive your notice last week of a public meeting to discuss the future of the Lac Le Jeune refuse transfer station. To our knowledge, this will be the first time Lac Le Jeune residents have been consulted about changes to our garbage collection system. Our initial correspondence received (but not by all residents) June 22, 2009 from Mrs. Ronaye Elliott stated that the decision to implement curbside garbage collection resulted from “the meetings that I have attended to listen to the people”. It was certainly a surprise to our community that a new “plan” was already underway; we were not included in the meetings Mrs. Elliot refers to.

We understand from your letter that at the August 11, 2009 public meeting you will be outlining options for future handling of garbage and recycling. We assume one option includes maintaining the current system. We are confident that when TNRD representatives read our letters, and listen to our reasons for opposing curbside garbage collection, they will agree that our current system should not be changed.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert C. Brown and Sylvia Currie

PO Box 5037

Lac Le Jeune, BC V1S 1Y8

(250) 377-0063

gonefishing@webbedfeat.com

cc:

Mr. Steve Wasylik. Conservation Officer Services

Mr. Greg Toma, Chief Administrative Officer. TNRD

Mr. Peter Hughes. Director Environmental Services. TNRD

Mr. Martin Dickson, Environmental Service Technologist. TNRD

Mrs. Ronaye Elliott, Director Electoral Area "J" (Copper Desert Country)

Reminder: Worm Composting Workshop

There are a few spaces left in the Worm Composting Workshop this Thursday evening! Call TNRD to register: 250-377-8673.

Raising awareness: garbage and bears

In light of the upcoming public meeting to discuss the future of the Lac Le Jeune Refuse Transfer Station, and the ongoing discussions about concerns regarding curbside garbage collection, these excerpts from articles may help to raise awareness regarding garbage and bears.

This is from the BC Ministry of Environment website:

As more people — and more garbage — move into traditional bear habitat, more bears are becoming garbage-conditioned, and have to be destroyed. It’s a terrible waste of life. It’s also costly: the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks' Conservation Officer Service spends about $1 million a year dealing with bear/people conflicts.

The B.C. government is doing more than responding to bear/people conflicts. We’re encouraging people to take responsibility for garbage and other bear attractants to prevent problems from occurring in the first place. That requires the cooperation of the public, local governments, and industry.

On the BC Ministry of Environment website "Public education and research" is listed as one of the solutions. In our community we are already practicing the solution. Moving to curbside garbage collection would certainly be a step backwards.

More public information and education is needed to change public behaviour about dealing with garbage and other bear attractants. Government is also addressing other issues — studying the effectiveness of translocation, and considering garbage management options such as direct disposal of garbage from homes to bear-proof collection bins, incineration of garbage, and odor control at landfills.

This article was published in the July 17, 2009 edition of Logan Lake Weekly.

BEAR AWARE PROGRAM

Council was shown a Bear Aware PowerPoint on the computer by Megan Robertson from BC Conservation; there is a real problem with the humans leaving garbage out, Garbage Disposal containers can also be a problem if not locked tight, as well as bird feeders, un-cleaned Barbeque equipment and fruit trees as they attract the bears. To date there have been 40 complaints so far this year, a fair amount of complaints for a town this size.

Ten Bears have been removed and destroyed, as they will return to the area. The population is definitely growing in our area. There is only one Bear Trap in our area.

Bear resistant Garbage Bins are now being used and the new cans won't open for the bears. Please don't put your garbage out the night before pickup, pick ripening fruits and knock flowers off to prevent the fruit growth. Anyone encouraging the bears can be fined $575.00.

Councillor Youd said that he had called in to report a bear here on the weekend but the call was not returned. Apparently all calls go to Victoria, B.C.

While bears are not are only concern with the planned changes to our waste management, they certainly are top on the list. We want to avoid the consequences of garbage bears in our area -- certain death of the bears, risks for children waiting for school buses, encounters with residents and pets...the list goes on.

photo by Walkadog

Notice of Public Meeting

This letter was mailed to all Lac Le Jeune residents. Please attend this meeting!

Notice of Public Meeting
Future of the Lac Le Jeune Refuse Transfer Station

Please attend to learn about and provide your feedback on options for future handling of garbage and recycling in the Lac Le Jeune, Walloper Lake, Face and Pasca Lake areas:

Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Time: 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Lac Le Jeune Resort and Conference Centre

For further information please contact Don May at the TNRD.

Don May, Manager, Environmental Health Services
Thompson-Nicola Regional District
300 - 465 Victoria Street
Kamloops, BC V2C 2A9
Telephone: (250) 377-7199
Toll Free in BC: 1-877-377-8673
Fax: (250) 374-6489

Petition

Are you opposed to curbside garbage collection in our area? Some Lac Le Jeune residents are organizing a petition. It is available at the transfer station so next time you drop off your garbage and recycling, consider signing the petition. Obviously, the more names the better so individual signatures are better than one signature to represent a household. The petition states, simply:

We support the existing system of garbage collection because it serves the needs of our community. We ask the TNRD to reject curbside garbage collection for our area.

A sign of things to come

This sign was put up at the entrance to the old downhill ski area last week. For information about this application contact Planning Services, TNRD.

• by phone: 250-377-8673
• in person: 4th Floor - 465 Victoria Street
• by email: planning@tnrd.bc.ca

Letter from R.H. Elliot

Several people have mentioned that they did not receive the June 22, 2009 letter regarding changes to the waste management program in Lac Le Jeune so I have copied it below. As already mentioned in earlier posts, there are many reasons to oppose this new program. If you are also opposed, please write that letter as soon as possible! To date we have not heard from anybody in our community who is in favour of curbside garbage collection.

R. H. Elliott
Director, Electoral Area "J"
(Copper Desert Country)
300 - 465 Victoria Street
Kamloops, British Columbia
V2C 2A9

Tel. (250) 377-8673 Fax (250) 372-5048

June 22, 2009

Dear Electoral Area "J" (Copper Desert Country) Residents:

REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE WASTE MANAGEMENT:
all big words, all words that create nightmares

For this Regional Director it has been an effort to accomplish the goals set out by the Board and by the meetings that I have attended to listen to the people. Therefore I have set in motion some changes to the PLAN.

Copper Desert Country Area "J" constituents will have door to door pick up of garbage and recyclables starting July 2009 for Savona and Cherry Creek. Further, Paska Lake, Face Lake and Lac le Jeune will have changes in their waste collection system but these will not happen until the late fall, more news on this when we get our new truck. Tranquille Valley will continue with their container for now with changes being investigated that will best match the communities needs. More news to come on this later.

Contracts have been worked out with the Savona Improvement District for Cherry Creek and Savona. Please watch your mailbox for further details from the TNRD explaining collection times, what can be recycled and what cannot. Payment for this new service will be on the taxes.

No tipping fees, no gas to travel, curb side service for garbage and recycling:


Win Win

Yours truly,

Director Ronaye H. Elliott Electoral
Area "J" (Copper Desert Country)

Lac Le Jeune Owls

These photos were taken at Lac Le Jeune by Peter Sulzle.

Barred Owl

Great Gray Owl

Grey Horned Owl

Proposed Curbside Garbage Collection continued

This comment posted by Bev Lorimer is so full of good information I thought I should post it as an article instead:

Three or four weeks ago I sent an email to TNRD re the proposed garbage changes. My reply was in the form letter that we all received from our regional director.

LLJ residents will be taxed to pay for pick-up ( as stated in letter from TNRD regional representative). Part time and/ or seasonal residents will pay the same.

The point that Elna Strand made re bears should be a real issue. Just ask residents in Kamloops, North Vancouver, and Coquitlam about their bear / garbage encounters.

In the summer and fall when the wildlife are about we can get rid of our household waste twice a week. Weekend residents can get rid of it as they leave on Sunday. When curbside pick up was first discussed a few years ago the plan was for weekly…..OR LESS FREQUENT pick up.

For those of us who take recycling and composting seriously we will now be penalized because the tax man does not care who disposes of what! We all pay the same for the service.

The Lodge and the Park will have to go along with this weekly (?) program too. The Strands pointed out that local ranchers will be affected as well.

Many complained about the “dollar a bag” program but I think the majority of us have gotten quite used to it. The result of that program was to maintain the transfer station and to have an attendant. Our community is now much more interested in recycling and composting and we need to be able to continue to do this.

TNRD addresses below:

• Greg Toma. Chief Administrative Officer. TNRD
• Peter Hughes. Director Environmental Services. TNRD
• Don May. Manager Environmental Health Services. TNRD
• Martin Dickson. Environmental Service Technologist. TNRD (looks after our area)

…..all reachable at TNRD 300- 465 Victoria St. Kamloops V2C 2A9

And the instigator of this plan is our regional representative on the TNRD Board (this is an ELECTED position)

Mrs. Ronaye Elliott
PO Box 171, Savona, BC. V0K 2J0

Our letter writing and phoning made a difference the last time TNRD wanted to close our transfer station. Please write the above representatives. If you are having trouble composing a letter there are neighbours who will help.

Here are a few more notes to add to Bev's excellent observations and advice:

The email address for our regional representative, Roanye Elliott, is ronaye@direct.ca. I have already sent her a message pointing her to these blog posts.

Another person you may wish to include in your correspondence is:
Mr. Steve Wasylik
Conservation Officer Services
1259 Dalhousie Drive
Kamloops, BC V2C2A9

This advice is on the Canadian Bear Smart website under For Policymakers - Become a Bear Smart Community section, and also on the BC Ministry of Environment website.

Community officials should seriously consider eliminating curbside pick up. Providing bears with access to garbage creates the potential for human-bear conflict and an unsafe environment for residents.

Garbage Collection in Lac Le Jeune?

This news is out of the blue, and seems a little odd in light of the recent efforts to improve the Lac Le Jeune transfer station with scheduled hours, staffing, and a recycling program.

A few months ago a couple gentlemen in a large pick up were driving slowly down Lookout Road, looking back and forth at each property. They stopped to chat, probably because I was watching them so closely. Either that or they wanted to know why I was pushing my dog in a jogging stroller. "Don't mind us -- we were asked to check out this area for possible curbside garbage collection."

I didn't think much about it at the time. I mean, why on earth would we want curbside garbage collection in Lac Le Jeune? These guys must be hoping for some work, but I don't think they'll find it here, I thought.

Well this week the news spread quickly. Apparently Thompson-Nicola Regional District IS moving full steam ahead. I'm wondering, has anyone in Lac Le Jeune been consulted? I can't imagine there would be too many residents in favour of this plan.

Are you opposed to curbside garbage collection? Then you should write a letter to the TNRD. Here is the letter mailed by Elna Strand last week. It nicely covers all the key issues:

June 30, 2009

Chairman and Board

Thompson Nicola Regional District

#300-465 Victoria Street

Kamloops, BC

V2C 2A9

Dear Sir;

We live at 3897 Lookout Road, Lac Le Jeune. There is a rumor that the TNRD plans to change our garbage collection from the present system of a central collection station, to curb-side collection.This decision appears to have been made without due consideration for local conditions. I am opposed to this change for the following reasons:

1. Curb-side collection means that garbage will be beside the road for, at the least, several hours. This is unacceptable because it will attract bears and other wildlife. This is a rural, holiday area with a variety of wildlife. With our current system for handling garbage we have no garbage dependent animals near residential areas. At the present time we have a bear and a cub in the area. We do not see these animals as a problem. However, with curb-side garbage collection they will rapidly become a problem.

2. This area has many part-time residents. They come for week-ends throughout the year. The current system allows them to dispose of their garbage on the week-end. Curb-side collection would, undoubtedly, not be on the week-end which means that garbage will sit beside the road for several days.

3. There are also a few ranches in the area that use the central collection station. How will they be served by curb-side collection?

Curb-side garbage collection may be appropriate for suburban areas with full-time residents. It is not appropriate for a rural area such as ours with many part-time residents. Any garbage disposal system should meet the criteria of being convenient for all the residents, and not attract wild animals into residential areas. I do not see that curb-side collection meets these criteria.

Significant decisions, such as a change in garbage disposal, should take local conditions into consideration and should not be made without consulting local residents.

Our community association is the Lac le Jeune Conservation Society. It will hold an annual general meeting this summer at which time the garbage situation can be discussed. I am forwarding a copy of this letter to the President of the Society, Rick Van Rijn, for his information.

Please reconsider curb-side garbage collection for Walloper Lake and Lac Le Jeune.

Sincerely yours,

Elna Strand

Box 5009

Lac Le Jeune, BC

V1S 1Y8 Tel: 250-314-0647 email: strand@direct.ca

Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association

Are you a member of the Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association? The dues are only $5.00 per year per household, and it buys you peace of mind that there are concerned individuals discussing our needs and taking action when we're faced with environmental issues in our community. Better yet, get involved!

To pay your 2009-2010 dues just send this information via email to Linda Légaré (lmlegare AT telus.net). Mail your $5 to:
Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association
c/o 1952 Eastwood Ave.
Merritt, BC V1K 1K3

Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association
Membership Application/Renewal
July 2009- July 2010

Name: _________________________________________________

Mailing Address: __________________________________________

Phone: ___________________ Email _________________________

Lake Address (PO Box & street address): __________________________

Lake Phone: ________________________

___Full Time resident
___Seasonal Resident

Which best describes your Lac Le Jeune property location? (This information will assist the Area Reps)

___East
___Upper Subdivision
___Lower Subdivision
___Lookout Road
___Little Lake
___Town Site
___Other: Please Explain ______________________________