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Harvest Power, organic compost to power plant.
Photo by Chung Chow
Something this way smells
It’s hot. You’re trying to sleep. The window’s
open. Suddenly, a stench wades in from outside. What can you do but shut the
window?
You can make an official complaint.
Luckily, smells are regulated.
“Our rule in Metro Vancouver is that no
business can discharge air contaminants unless they are covered by a Metro
Vancouver permit or a Metro Vancouver bylaw,” says Ray Robb, division manager
for environmental regulation and enforcement at Metro Vancouver.
But with the coming legalisation of
marijuana, comes the fear of the distinctive smell that could waft from
newly-legal grow-ops.
In light of the five-year long fight about
odours from Harvest Power’s composting facility in East Richmond, candidates in
Richmond-Queensborough riding were asked how would they regulate grow-op aromas
to protect the rights of residents and business owners?
Aman Singh, running for the BC NDP said: “If
we were elected, we would make this decision in consultation with the municipalities,
the federal government and the public.”
BC Liberals’ Jas Johal said: “I think this
will all come from consultation from the feds, the province and the
municipalities. As well there may be a need for a municipal bylaw.”
Michael Wolfe is the riding’s BC Green Party
candidate and a teacher at McNair Secondary. He says of Harvest Power’s odor: “We
are at No. 5 and Williams roads so are the first to get the smell. A Green
government would support research, development and implementation of innovative
strategies to achieve the desired environmental results.”
From Metro Vancouver’s perspective, Ray Robb
says the techniques employed by illegal grow-ops to avoid detection, would be
required of legal grow-ops.
“We’ve checked with Washington State, [where
marijuana is already legal] and activated charcoal filters online in the air
exhaust pipes are the way to go.”
The filters to take out the distinctive
grow-ops’ smells are similar to what’s in a home air purifier or a Brita filter
but larger.
Robb says each grow-op will start off under a
separate permit but will likely eventually be covered by industry-wide
regulations, adding, “The politicians are the ones who pass the regulations.”
Metro Vancouver received many complaints from
Richmond residents about odours emanating from the facility, which spurred the
company to make changes at Metro Vancouver’s insistence.
“They have definitely improved things however
more needs to be done,” says Robb. “If a smell is capable of causing material
physical discomfort, or if a smell is capable of injuring the health of a
person, you can lodge a complaint.”
Airborne compounds needn’t be poisonous to
make you sick. Just the stench alone can make you ill.
“Our experts have told us you can have other
responses, for example a bad smell can raise your blood pressure or constrict
blood flow; it can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night,” according
to Robb.
He also says that bad smells can lead to
longer adverse health outcomes.
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