<\/p>\n Levine\u00a0withdrew his proposal<\/a>\u00a0on December 15th and a Ministry of Environment spokesperson\u00a0informed the quathet Regional District<\/a>\u00a0the same day.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have threatened me, verbally abused me, threatened my family. It\u2019s not worth it, it\u2019s absolutely not worth it. And it\u2019s all because this person called it toxic waste \u2014 and it\u2019s not,\u201d\u00a0he told CBC news<\/a>.<\/p>\n Levine added, \u201cIf you don\u2019t agree with the industrialization of an area, that\u2019s one thing to disagree with, but don\u2019t try to turn someone into [an] environmental monster that\u2019s going to dump hazardous waste on land and ocean and negatively affect people, because those are two different things\u2026. I was guided by the Ministry of Environment by this process, and I followed the process.\u201d<\/p>\n Variations of Levine\u2019s story appeared in\u00a0Cortes Currents<\/a>,\u00a0\u00a0The Squamish Chief<\/a>, and\u00a0Powell River Peak<\/a>.<\/p>\n He claims to have already lost $400,000 through the venture.<\/p>\n What Squamish wants to do with the old mill site\u00a0\u2013 from WATERFRONT LANDING Much of the opposition came through a Change.org petition called \u201cMajor Vancouver developer planning on dumping toxic waste into Desolation Sound.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u2018developer\u2019 in question was not Levine, but rather a Vancouver based company which he hoped would use his services. Levine has repeatedly said he does not have a contract with\u00a0Bosa Properties<\/a>, owners of the old Interfor mill site, and will also be seeking wood waste from sites throughout the Fraser Valley.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Squamish Chief\u00a0<\/a>reported that District of Squamish staff informed them that, \u201cthe District is not banning wood waste from being disposed of in town, but determined in 2017 that municipal land would no longer be leased for wood waste disposal, and that wood waste landfill on District property will be phased out by 2022.<\/p>\n As a result, Levine created a company and offered up land that he bought in Desolation Sound as a dumping spot for local businesses seeking to get rid of their wood waste.<\/p>\n He said he was hoping to attract the business of the\u00a0SEAandSKY<\/a>\u00a0Bosa-Kingswood project on the Waterfront, which has been looking for a contractor to take the wood waste, as the area was previously the old Interfor mill site.<\/p>\n However, Levine hadn\u2019t signed a deal with the company, as the province had yet to approve his project.\u201d<\/p>\n A\u00a0spokesperson for Bosa Properties<\/a>\u00a0confirmed that no contract has been signed.<\/p>\n The report which Vancouver based Keystone Environmetal prepared for Levine<\/a>\u00a0states, \u201cThe material to be landfilled will originate from several wood processing locations such as sawmills, dry land sorts and former sawmills where the saw dust, wood chips and bark was previously buried.\u201d<\/p>\n Screenshot of Change.orh petition<\/p><\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n The Change.org petition against a Major Vancouver developer dumping toxic waste into Desolation Sound was taken down, but not before it 9,544 people signed.<\/p>\n No one has explained how the petitioners came to use the name Save Desolation Sound\u2019s name without the express permission of that organization\u2019s board of Directors.<\/p>\n Though the petition clearly states it was started by Save Desolation Sound, the environmental group\u00a0denies any connection<\/a>, adding \u201cIt was initiated without any consultation with the SDS.\u201d<\/p>\n According to CBC News, \u201con Dec. 16, a Change.Org spokesperson told CBC in an email:<\/a>\u00a0\u2018The petition was started by a small group of local residents and I\u2019ve just learned that they are no longer comfortable speaking to the media.\u2019\u00a0The petition was taken down the same day \u201cat the request of the petition starter \u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The Change.org petition stated, \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to access reports on the waste materials that indicate high levels (up to 100X higher than legal limit) of a chemical called Toluene, which is highly toxic. Exposure during pregnancy can result in birth defects.\u201d<\/p>\n The post lists a number of other \u201chazardous contaminants\u201d and states \u201cThese contaminants were found in waste samples at levels ranging from 100% to 3,000% of the safety limits \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n A\u00a0Ministry of the Environment spokesperson<\/a>\u00a0emailed Cortes Currents that \u201cAccording to the application received by the Ministry, the source of the material was from the old mill site in Squamish.\u00a0 The proponent is required to fully characterize the waste before it can be moved however it appears to be primarily wood waste.\u00a0 Preliminary information received by the ministry indicated that the toluene is biogenic in nature, meaning it is a natural byproduct of wood decomposition and not from a petroleum product.\u201d<\/p>\n The Keystone report<\/a>\u00a0states there is toluene in the Squamish site, but the chemical markers indicating a petroleum origin are not present.<\/p>\n \u201cThe laboratory analysis and evaluation concluded that the toluene in the stockpile is biogenic.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the Lund Community Society<\/a>, \u201cThe wood waste materials are coming from a site in Squamish that is notorious for contamination from industrial activity, including a nearby mine.\u201d<\/p>\n In their\u00a0description of the proposed development at Waterfront Landing park<\/a>, the District of Squamish states, \u201cprevious industrial use has led to some site contamination.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2019,\u00a0Municipal environmental co-ordinator Caroline Ashekian<\/a>\u00a0informed the Squamish council that \u201cthe waste [in Waterfront Landing] wouldn\u2019t contaminate the area, but it could result in structural instability.\u201d<\/p>\n Parts of Squamish mentioned in text \u2013 Roy L Hales<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n Keystone states that the Bliss Landing site would use:<\/p>\n \u201cwood waste that originates from the wood processing industry and have not been treated with glue, paint, or preservatives. The proposed waste may include bark, branches, broken logs, hog fuel, mill ends, wood chips, shavings and saw dust. The proposed waste will only be accepted at the Proposed Landfill with sufficient evidence that the concentration of contaminant of concern are less than the\u00a0Contaminated Site Regulation (CSR) standard for Industrial Lands<\/a>\u00a0(IL), including consideration for:<\/p>\n This report also mentions a reduction in the amount of material to be received. Levine\u2019s Environmental Protection notice stated this will be 375,000 m3 over a 15-month period. Keystone adds that, \u201cThe landfill authorization was modified several weeks ago to only authorize receipt up to 200,000 m3 of material at the Site.\u201d<\/p>\n Kayaking in the Copeland Islands, near Bliss Landing\u00a0by Dale Simonson via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n Jeff Levine has a relationship with the old Squamish mill site\u2019s Vancouver based Developer.<\/p>\n The Squamish Chief identified Levine<\/a>\u00a0as \u201da contractor for\u00a0Bosa Properties\u201d in a 2018 article about the removal of a half sunken sailboat from Mamquam Blind Channel.<\/p>\n A year later, Levine was\u00a0called \u201ca Bosa Properties consultant\u201d<\/a>\u00a0in a report about the proposed pedestrian crossing over the channel.<\/p>\n He has also been\u00a0\u201ca spokesperson\u201d for a proposed basalt mine<\/a>\u00a0owned by a totally different company.<\/p>\n In fact, the Squamish Chief has\u00a0mentioned Levine in at least 22 articles\u00a0<\/a>since 2009. A large number of these deal with the Sea to Sky Adventure Company, which he owns, but Levine also spoke about development of the downtown core and Waterfront Landing, a proposed Squamish Gas project and the Sea to Sky Gondola Project.<\/p>\n Levine is\u00a0also mentioned in the Squamish Reporter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0his name appears in the minutes<\/a>\u00a0of the District of Squamish Council in nine separate occasions.<\/p>\n There have been some complaints about Levine not giving adequate notification for the proposed wood waste landfill. According to the\u00a0Lund Community Society website<\/a>, \u201cThere has been none or very limited public consultation on this project.\u201d A Bliss Landing resident, who declined to comment on record, emailed Cortes Currents that he was not aware of Levine contacting anyone in the neighbourhood. Though the project is in quathet Electoral Area B,\u00a0director Mark Gisborne said<\/a>\u00a0the first notification he had of the project was when someone asked him about it through Facebook messenger.<\/p>\n Cortes Regional Director Noba Anderson said that Levine does not have to contact individual directors, just the Regional District. She added that, though the Bliss Landing area is within sight of Cortes, she has no jurisdiction over what happens there.<\/p>\n A Ministry of Environment spokesperson informed Cortes Currents that it was Levine\u2019s responsibility to notify the public, but \u201ca consultation report is required as part of the final application to the ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n The spokesperson directed me to a webpage where it states that, in addition to notifying the regional district, the applicant must:<\/p>\n Bliss Landing area \u2013 Roy L Hales<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n The\u00a0Lund Community Society<\/a>\u00a0is concerned that, \u201cMost of the site\u2019s surface water would likely drain north into Hinder lake, through Malaspina Provincial Park, across the Sunshine Coast trail, into Okeover Inlet and, finally, into Desolation Sound Marine Park.\u00a0 Any ground water that leaches into the ground would only be a few hundred meters north and above the community water wells and aquifers.\u201d<\/p>\n They are also concerned about the close proximity of an\u00a0 industrial landfill would be built near existing parks and recreational trails.<\/p>\nWithdrawing the proposal<\/h2>\n
![\"WATERFRONT](\"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-23-at-5.21.29-AM-457x500.png\")
<\/a>
SUB AREA PLAN, Squamish Community plan (2017)<\/p><\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nNot a Vancouver developer<\/h2>\n
![\"Change.org\"](\"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-19-at-9.15.26-AM-500x452.png\")
<\/a>Change.org petition taken down<\/h2>\n
Toluene is present<\/h2>\n
Other chemical pollutants<\/h2>\n
![\"Parts](\"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-23-at-6.25.16-AM-500x460.png\")
<\/a>Proposed Bliss Landing wood waste landfill<\/h2>\n
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200,000 m3 of material<\/h2>\n
![\"Kayaking](\"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/3769878781_5fedd8622f_c-500x374.jpg\")
<\/a>From the Public Record<\/h2>\n
Notifying the Public<\/h2>\n
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![\"Bliss](\"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-23-at-8.10.13-AM-492x500.png\")
<\/a>Environmental Concerns on land<\/h2>\n