FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 10, 2005

Water Levels and Emotions Run High Over Proposed Landfill Site.

Cumberland Bay, N.B. A public meeting sponsored by the committee opposed to the Grand Lake Industrial Waste Landfill was held in Cumberland Bay on May 9th. The current flood conditions have many Grand Lake residents remembering that one of the reasons their area was chosen as a preferred site for an Irving Industrial Waste Landfill was that it has the potential for sufficient dilution at the discharge point. Dilution is NOT something residents want to entertain as flood waters slowly begin to recede from their wells, gardens, pastures, blueberry fields, cranberry bushes, and beaches. They are asking: "What needs to be diluted to the point that it must be discharged into the lake at times of high water, like now?" They question: "What will our water and land be like after years of spring flooding and whatever needs diluting begins to accumulate?"

The point was made that Mother Nature is giving us all, the NBDELG, the Irvings, and residents a wakeup call as to what she is capable of. The flooding this year, certainly not what it was during the 100 year high of 1973, clearly illustrates the expansive area the discharge from such a landfill could migrate to.

With the proposed landfill looming in the future, local contractors are already feeling the economic impact as property owners are hesitant to buy or improve property around Grand Lake. Some people feel they deserve to know now if the company plans to go ahead with its plans for the Coal Creek site.

Despite the committee's success in attaining an order for a Comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment, some increasingly vocal stakeholders angrily insist that NO landfill be placed anywhere in the Grand Lake Watershed. The committee has agreed to be vigilant and let the process take place but some feel this is an issue they could well end up going to jail over. One commented, "they don't have enough jails to hold the number people who feel exactly like me."

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