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Stinky situation can be example of what not to do

It might not seem like it – or even smell like it – but there appears to be some headway being made to deal with the stench emanating from the composting operation in East Ladner.

It might not seem like it – or even smell like it – but there appears to be some headway being made to deal with the stench emanating from the composting operation in East Ladner.

Why it’s taken this long, and why government has refused to use blunt force, are issues for another day, but what Metro Vancouver has conveyed to the City of Delta has to be considered the most encouraging news yet in a saga that has dragged on far longer, and caused far more frustration in the community, than was necessary.

The idea of negotiating an air quality permit with an operation that has been fouling the air for years is bizarre, but given that’s what’s happening, at least it looks like we’re finally getting somewhere. Green For Life Enviro-Smart Organics has been given the option of a permit that authorizes emissions from a fully enclosed facility or one that temporarily authorizes emissions from the existing facility but would not allow it to continue in its current form after a certain date.

Assuming that turning waste into compost is a lucrative undertaking, one the company wants to continue, Enviro-Smart appears to have no other choice but to enclose its 72nd Street operation if it’s going to do business here in the long term. An enclosed facility that can properly manage odours should finally address the stench that has permeated East Ladner and beyond for years, so the sooner we get to this eventuality, the better.

The fact that so many people have had to endure nauseating conditions for such a long time shows there’s clearly a flaw in the way operations of this kind are regulated. If an enclosed facility is the only real way to ensure neighbours don’t suffer, why isn’t that a condition from the outset? Why wait for the inevitable odour problems?

Hopefully that’s something that comes out of Metro Vancouver’s ongoing efforts to get a handle on those operations that create odours across the region. The issue is rearing its head frequently enough that the regional district has embarked on a process to devise better ways to regulate potential polluters.

It’s come too late for the folks in East Ladner but at the very least the situation here can act as an example of what shouldn’t be allowed to happen going forward.