Maple Ridge Times
http://www.mrtimes.com/issues05/124105/news/124105nn3.htmlUpper Pitt finally cleaned up
The upper Pitt River is squeaky clean.
The cleanup of a former landfill on the banks of the Pitt River is finished.
Environment Minister Barry Penner and Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell announced the project's success on Friday.
Clean up began in October, and it was a pricey undertaking.
Originally budgeted at $270,000, the total cost surged to $3 million and took an extra month to complete.
The frustrations of locals, who had called for the cleanup, reached a boiling point in September.
It was then flyfisherman John Nelson took 350 kilograms of trash he had cleaned out of the Pitt to Victoria.
He also took along a letter, demanding the province do something to clean up the mess.
The problems began surfacing early in 2005. The river channel had migrated and was eroding the riverbank. This exposed the old landfill and garbage began washing downstream.
Everything from Styrofoam coffee cups to rusted appliances and old cars found their way into the river.
In a press release, Bell said the government worked as quickly as possible to clear away the debris under the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands' Crown Contaminated Sites Program.
"We were not prepared to see this eyesore inflict damage on the environment and tarnish our province's reputation as a leader in sustainable environmental management," Bell said.
Excavation of the site took longer than planned because there was much more garbage than originally thought.
In total, more than 22,000 tonnes of debris was removed - more than double first estimates.
The site has now been tested to confirm that it is clean.
The entire former landfill was excavated and waste was barged out to a disposal facility in Richmond.
The old landfill was back filled with clean fill material and an erosion barrier was erected to stabilize the riverbank.
published on 12/20/2005