February 10, 2004

Re: Issuance of Class One Waste Transfer Lice nse

to 124 Lee Road Waste Transfer Operation on Salt Spring Island

Thank you for taking the time to meet with us last Thursday.

We would like to reiterate our profound disappointment in the issuance of this license and in the manner that it occurred. We believe that a Class One License waste transfer operation is a significant expansion of the activity that had been approved for the site in 1998. We feel that the Islands Trust's decision to withdraw its objections to the license was based on flawed legal advice which referenced a precedent of questionable relevance, and that it ignored existing evidence on the limited scope of waste transfer operations being undertaken at 124 Lee Road (including documentation in its own files) and made no attempt to reconcile conflicting information.

We believe that Island's Trust's decision was taken for administrative expediency without sufficient consideration being given to the impacts on neighbours and are astounded that such a controversial matter would have been left to the discretion of Trust staff rather than addressed by Trustees. We feel betrayed because both Islands Trust and CRD staff assured many of us on different occasions that a Class One license would not be granted, and because our many attempts to contribute relevant information to their legal deliberations, which would refute claims made by the applicant/operator, were rebuffed.

We are concerned that the Island Trust's requirement that the applicant/operator not allow public access (a "right" he has under the Class One license) has absolutely no legal authority. Also, by applying this condition to its agreement with the applicant/operator, the Trust is effectively saying that it does not support the proposed land use that a Class One license allows. Does this incomplete approval meet the requirements of the by-law in respect of granting a license? Is it reflected in the terms of the license issued to the applicant/operator?

We believe that the site is geologically unsuitable for a full scale waste transfer operation and should not be approved for this use on technical grounds. It sits at the top of a watershed on a slope which is very steep in some areas (ref. "Salt Spring Soil Survey Report # 43 and Topographic Map"). The surface and sub-surface soils in the area range from rock to clay and silty clay-loam with some areas having a sandy gravelly loam over compact till. Surface water flows across the breadth of the hill downwards. Neighbours below the waste transfer site hold water rights to springs and other sources that are fed by water flowing through the site. Several potable water wells exist in very close proximity to the site. Also, ponds used for irrigation and water for livestock are fed by water flowing through the site and down the hill. Ditches that catch the water feed Fulford Creek and run into the valley and eventually to Fulford Bay.

We have seen no evidence that an adequate technical assessment of the suitability of this site was performed prior to the license being issued. We are particularly concerned about the threats posed by this operation to our supply of potable and agricultural water and are not confident that the surveillance proposed by the CRD -- basically on an exception basis after a problem is reported -- will be effective in protecting our water.

We also believe that a waste transfer operation of this scale is totally incompatible with the rural residential and agricultural character of the neighbourhood. Several residences exist in very close proximity to where the waste transfer operations will be conducted. We are concerned about a dramatic increase in odour, noise, and populations of predatory birds and vermin such as rats that will spread disease and threaten small animals. There must be more suitable areas available on the Island for such an operation.

In summary, we challenge the validity of the Class One Waste transfer license issued to 124 Lee Road on the grounds that:

1) the information on which the Islands Trust based its determination of the grandfathered rights of the applicant/operator was incomplete and the legal advice it obtained was flawed, and

2) the Class One Waste Transfer license conditionally issued goes beyond the land use approved by the Islands Trust (as stated by Mr. Gauld).

We do not consider this license to be in place as all the conditions for its finalization have not yet been met.

We believe that the Islands Trust are morally, if not legally, obliged to protect the interests of the undersigned. Accordingly, we request that:

∑ In keeping with its stated commitment to "positive, open and accountable local government", the Islands Trust reassess its determination of the grandfathered rights granted to the applicant/operator at 124 Lee Road. In doing so the Trust should consult its own records and allow all interested parties to present evidence on the scope of operations historically conducted on this property.

∑ The Trust then specify the limits of a waste transfer operation to those consistent with grandfathered rights supported by all the evidence presented.

∑ Notwithstanding the above, the Islands Trust immediately establish the necessary legal authority (e.g a covenant registered against the 124 Lee Road property) to prohibit any waste transfer activity involving public access.

∑ The CRD reflect the limitations in land use stipulated by the Islands Trust in any license contemplated for 124 Lee Road. A fundamental consideration is the exclusion of public access as stated by the Islands Trust which disqualifies the site from use as a Class One waste transfer operation. The terms of any license should specify a benchmark of public access for accountability and control. Since no public access has previously occurred this benchmark should be "zero" and any use of the site by other than the named licensee should be disallowed (e.g by Ron's Disposal).

∑ The CRD commission an independent technical analysis by qualified personnel of the suitability, in respect of geology, slope, surface and sub-surface soils, drainage and odour, of the site at 124 Lee Road for any level of waste transfer. The technical assessment should establish the appropriate level of waste transfer license to be issued (if any) and provide benchmarks against which the adequacy of the containment plans which the applicant/operator must submit for final license approval can be determined. Until the site has been thoroughly assessed, the CRD should limit the use of the site.

∑ The CRD communicate in writing to the undersigned their program for monitoring and enforcement of any license issued.

∑ The CRD advise the applicant/operator that the Class One license conditionally issued is not final until all these steps have been completed.

∑ The Islands Trust and CRD advise the undersigned in writing when any or all of these steps have been completed.

In conclusion, we agree that "rights" are important and should be preserved, but in a situation with many diverse interests, the rights of all should be balanced. In this case Mr. Hedger carried on his operations without any legal authority prior to the adoption of the 1998 by-law as it was never intended by the Trust that such an operation be carried on by a private operator in this area . We understand that you acted under legal advice that you could not control the user only the use but we do not agree that you acted properly in settling the matter where you had the moral high ground. The case on which Mr. Hedger's solicitors relied was not binding upon a Court in this Province and in view of the equities might well have been distinguished. Then, having accepted their argument, we believed that you erred again in allowing the expansion of the use (which we believe is at the heart of this issue) at the expense of the rights of others.

We look forward to your response.

Elaine Kozak and Marcel Mercier 1880 Fulford-Ganges Road	Janice and Bill Harkley 151 Lee Road
Mary Harkema and Darcy Hughes 1830 Fulford-Ganges Road	Ray and Phyllis Hatch 1929 Fulford-Ganges Road
Harry Warner 140 Lee Road	Ken Rainsford and Lisa Lynn 1832 Fulford-Ganges Road
Charlie Eagle and Judi Horvath 1803 Fulford-Ganges Road	Steve Grayson and Delaine Faulkner 162 Lee Road
Paul Troop 1901 Fulford-Ganges Road	Anthony McEwen and Elizabeth Anderson 1860 Fulford-Ganges Road
Tom Pickett 120 Lee Road	Barbara Slater 104 Lee Road