Workbook Exercise Important To Do

Letter To The Editor
Vic Dawson
Cape Breton Post
Monday, March 24, 2003

This is an appeal for everyone who lives in any area close to the tar ponds or the former steel plant to tell the Joint Action Group what solutions are acceptable for the tar ponds and coke ovens site. Everyone is allowed to pick up a community options workbook dealing with the methods that can be used in fixing the mess.

It is not required that you sit through a formal session and be guided through filling out of the workbook. Workbooks are available at JAG, on the third floor of the Civic Centre, or by phoning 563-5584.

This matter is too important to be decided by a few hundred votes. What is done to fix up these areas will have a serious impact on our lifestyles and our property values for the future. We must choose between methods costing from $160 million to $450 million and lasting from four years to 11 years.

I for one do not want any burning of this material or trucking of it through our streets.
I have no faith in bioremediation, soil washing, pyrolysis, thermal desorption, plasma or hydrogen reduction. There would be a massive expenditure on plants and facilities which would probably fail, as did the first $50 mil lion incinerator project.

I do not like to chance the possibility of again being a national laughingstock if we waste half a billion dollars on this project and it fails.

I am a firm believer in the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Containment and capping is the safest, fastest, most economical solution. It can be done with mostly local talent, labour and equipment. Most of the money spent will stay in the community.

This approach did an excellent job on the marsh dump. If you agree with this and are not able to get out yourself, I may be able to pick up a workbook and drop it off for you to fill in. Please participate. This is a time in your life when your voice can be worth a million dollars.

Vic Dawson
Sydney