Creosote forum fills TRU's Grand Hall

I wondered how Kim Sigurdson felt sitting in front of approximately 500 people who wanted him to fail.

Sigurdson was one of the anticipated guests at the public forum that discussed his company's, the Aboriginal Cogeneration Corporation, plans to build a gasification plant to burn creosote-soaked railroad ties in Kamloops.

The forum was hosted in response to the public's outcry against the plant. The forum began with Sigurdson giving a short speech about what his plans for Kamloops were, followed by a representative from the Ministry of Environment discussing the process the ACC had to follow to obtain an air discharge permit.

Sigurdson said that he knew there was a problem and that problem was that these railroad ties needed to go somewhere.

"We went out and got this technology," he said, explaining how he and his wife "thought we could solve this big problem."

Sigurdson explained that he believes himself and his wife to be environmentalists and they wanted to find a green solution but they were also trying to run a small business. He was sending a message to Kamloopsians that he wanted a green solution as much as they did.

When the question was raised: why in Kamloops? Sigurdsun replied that it was the best situation for the plant to be able to efficiently process the most amount of ties due to its proximity to the rail system.

Also, "this is also a place with a lot of people... and we could employ these people," Sigurdson said, much to the distaste of the crowd who jeered and booed at this notion until the moderator told them not to interrupt.

In response to the environmental concerns Sigurdson said "its emissions that come out are less than a wood stove." A statement he would repeat several times throughout the night when the question of pollution arose.

After wards the Ralph Adams, the representation from the Ministry of Environment and air health expert, took the stand. "The role of the ministry of environment is not to lobby or speak on behalf of the ACC," he began before outlining the process the ACC had to undergo obtaining their permit.

Since the ACC was able to pass the two necessary tests, that it meets emissions and health standards, the MOE did not have the authority to deny the permit, the representative explained.

After both had spoken the night was left for questions: alternating between the two lines of people at the microphones and written questions the moderator read out.

The most powerful question of the evening brought nearly the entire crowd to their feet with applause when Nina Johnson, a TRU professor, introduced her two children, six and four years-old, and asked how her children could be subjected to being guinea pigs without their mother's consent.