South Peace Historical Society

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  • Table of Contents

    • Part 1: First Nations of the Peace River Region
    • Part 2: The Fur Trade Era
    • Part 3: Transportation and Communication
    • Part 4: Old Timers and the Price of Land
    • Part 5: Dawson Creek: The Story of the Community
    • Part 6: Mysteries, Adventures and Indian Legends
    • Part 7: Arts, Crafts and Recreation
    • Part 8: Agriculture
    • Part 9: Church Histories
    • Part 10: Schools
    • Part 11: Health Care
    • Part 12: Industries and Enterprises
    • Part 13: Policing the Peace
    • Part 14: Pouce Coupe, Rolla, and Other South Peace Communities
    • Part 15: Chetwynd and the Fort St. John Area
    • Part 16: The Alberta Peace
    • Part 17: Natural History of the Peace River Region
    • Part 18: Interviews with Old Timers
    • Part 19: Remembering Our Veterans

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BN17-13: Regional Landfill Decision Nearing

Recent Items – 2001

Jan. 12, 2001, By Mark Nielsen, Daily News Staff

The quest to convert the Bessborough landfill site into a regional operation has moved a step closer to realization.

The Peace River Regional District (PRRD) board of directors voted 11-2 Thursday to proceed with preliminary design and obtaining the necessary approvals.

Despite heavy criticism from residents in the Bessborough area, Dawson Creek rural director Albert Erbe, who voted in favour of moving the project forward, said it nonetheless remains the best site from both an environmental and economic point of view.

“Bessborough is the only logical site,” he said.

But Dawson Creek municipal director Blair Lekstrom, who will also be the B.C. Liberal candidate in the next provincial election, voted against the motion.

Lekstrom said he would also like to see the same work done for a site north of the Kiskatinaw River as that planned for Bessborough. The Kiskatinaw River site was on a shortlist of options put forward by consultant Konrad Fichtner.

But Fichtner has recommended against the Kiskatinaw River site for several reasons. Prime among them was that it would require 12 kilometres of new roads and about five kilometres of road upgrading, and that a synthetic liner would likely be required.

But Lekstrom said the option still deserves consideration because of the remote location. “Certainly, I would not like to live next to a garbage dump, I don’t think people will,” he said. “At the end of the day, but I’m still not convinced that we need a liner at mile 28, at Kiskatinaw. Those are the things I need to know before I can do it.”

Charlie Lake director Larry Houley voted against the motion because he thought further investigation was warranted into the possibility of a regional landfill that would serve both the North and South Peace.

The Bessborough proposal is intended to create a landfill for the South Peace, serving homes and business from the East Pine west, and to replace the existing landfills in Dawson Creek and Progress.

Although Bessborough is the highly-favoured option, Harald Hansen, the PRRD’s director of field services, said that it’s still not completely guaranteed that it will become a regional landfill.

To meet Ministry of Environment requirements, more extensive test drilling must be performed to more accurately assess the depth, quality and consistency of the clays under the site, to determine the level of groundwater and asses its flow, direction and speed, and to improve information on geotechnical and soil stability issues.

“The decision now to spend this type of money is to prove out the site and to show what we believe to be the case,” he said. “If it’s not the case, then that will have to be looked at.”

No firm figure was given on how much the next step will cost, but Hansen indicated that it would be in the $50,000 to $60,000 range.

This article is taken from the Peace River Block Daily News, Dawson Creek, with the permission of the publisher. The Daily News retains all rights relating to this material. The information in this article is intended solely for research or general interest purposes.

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BN17-14: Earthquake Hits Northern BC, Alberta »

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