Three Interior projects intended to turn slaughterhouse waste into clean compost are dead in the ground.

The B.C. Liberal government announced Monday it will not fund capital improvements for slaughterhouse composting projects at Westwold, Grindrod and Silver Creek designed to help B.C.’s agriculture industry.

All three were bitterly opposed by residents, who mounted challenges to the program.

In Westwold, rancher Dennis Ryan said the community raised $6,000 in three days to fund an independent water analysis that posed questions about safety of community water.

“I think that may have been the determining factor,” said Ryan, a community member who helped lead opposition.

“You have a professional with an unbiased opinion.”

Despite that opinion and doubts cast by residents, a Ministry of Agriculture official said there were no environmental risks that could not be dealt with through rigorous standards.

Ken Corraini said there was not a significant enough financial benefit to the slaughterhouse industry to justify the funding. Small, federally inspected slaughterhouses in the Interior helping to satisfy local demand include Kam Lakeview Meats in Cherry Creek and Medallion Meats in Westwold.

The ideal proposal would be environmentally safe, supported by the community, take both everyday slaughterhouse waste and specified risk materials such as spinal cord tissue and be cost effective.

None of the projects provided enough of these benefits,” he said.

“At some point it doesn’t make sense to spend the money anymore.”

Government will fund Interior Agri-Solutions Inc., an Alberta company with operations in B.C, which will truck both waste (brain and spinal cord tissue) that requires special handling as well as thousands of tonnes of carcass material without risk to Alberta.

Government funding will go toward collection bins and other capital items involved in storage and transport, but not trucks.

Joe Heemskerk, the Westwold feedlot operator and rancher whose project was bitterly opposed by residents, said he is disappointed but not surprised by the decision.

“Feedlot operators supported it big time and got shouted down,” Heemskerk said. “B.C. Cattlemen (Association) never supported it.”

Heemskerk said government should look at the beef industry’s pleas for help with a careful eye after it did not back slaughterhouse composting operations.

“Government shouldn’t give them any money for anything. I tried to help the B.C. industry.”

Another Westwold resident, Trevor Caldwell, said people in the valley are sympathetic to the need for local processing but said government officials ignored real health and environmental concerns.

“Putting it on Crown land would be the ideal situation. I know that would be remote but we’re sending it to Alberta.”

Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake, who heads the B.C. Cattle task force, said strong opposition by residents was among the determining factors in the decision.

He hopes a deal can be made to allow composting at a landfill operated by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

“The TNRD is still discussing it. That’s still a viable option.”

Heemskerk said despite the setback he has no intention of slowing growth of his Westwold View Farms.

“We’re going to expand the feedlot…. We’re not going to sit still. We’ve got three kids and intend to keep them going.”

cfortems@kamloopsnews.ca

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