FortisBC’s response in the Squamish Chief’s Oct. 15 edition to my letter that appeared on Oct. 8 invites comments. I am encouraged by the clarification that Fortis plans on keeping a dialog going with the Valleycliffe residents. But the open house held recently was not a dialogue but rather an information-gathering meeting. Meaningful dialogue requires a transparent exchange involving questions from the residents and responses by Fortis in an open forum meeting. Could we expect this to happen quite soon?
Also, it is regrettable that this dialogue is so late in coming for I would have thought this dialogue could have been initiated long before the addenda were filed with the EA office.
Incredibly Fortis considered an alternative to the industrial area location on the basis of “input we received during the EAO review and Squamish Nation’s independent assessment” and yet put forward a proposal to the EA office without any consultation with the newly affected community.
The Fortis response included “location on the other side of the bluff” in reference to noise reduction. A simple examination on Google Earth will reveal that the small and low bump on the flank of Mt. Mulligan would hardly provide meaningful visual shielding and noise buffering for a 40,000-square-metre site (e.g. 330 x 1300 feet). We verified this by walking at the proposed industrial site.
One is encouraged that the letter acknowledges “potential noise continues to be a concern for some residents, so we’ll keep studying it in coming weeks and months...” Fortis needs to recognize now that as part of the ongoing noise studies, more is required than a mere tweaking of the modelling done by its consultant.
A fairly simple test should be set up by placing a suitable noise source (helicopter?) at the proposed plant site and measuring the sound level at the site and at five or so locations in the affected neighbourhoods under appropriate atmospheric conditions.
Fortis must realize, hopefully sooner than later, that the local residents decided to live in this area only over the past 10 years because of the dead quiet this community offers, especially at night.
To be a responsible neighbour, Fortis needs to aim for much lower noise level increases that those permitted by the Oil and Gas Commission.
Herbert Vesely, P.Eng.
Squamish
