BFCC UPDATE AND STATUS OF BIO-EN

This is a very unusual Sunday posting for me. It seems as if currently there is a lot of ongoing issues in Woolwich Township, the Region of Waterloo and indeed the province.
A little over a week ago the Bio Fuel Citizens Committee came to an agreement with the Bio-En proponents. It was both a comprimise and a disappointment. Having said that I certainly have no knowledge as to what they could have done better or differently. Waiting forever for a "Hail Mary" from the Township probably would result in more disappointment. Some will applaud Woolwich Township's best efforts and others will bitterly criticize what they may interpret as empty promises during the last election. I am holding my comments/fire until further information is forthcoming.

The agreement includes the formation of a Citizens Liason Committee (CLC) as well as some funding for it. Reports as to truck traffic in and out as well as contents of the trucks will be made available to the committee on a regular basis. A complaints procedure concerning noise and odours etc. will be set up as well as data on complaints shared with the CLC. All of this while second best to having the facilty at least a couple of miles away from residential subdivisions nevertheless holds promise for the operators to be responsible to the public. I have two decades plus of experience with CLC's and to put it mildly they are a mixed bag. The CLC's must always be 100% accountable to each other. Be very wary of "executive committees" and or special status or delegation of responsibilities to any one individual. What I have seen are one or two individuals through incredible machinations and manipulation suddenly become in charge of every decision and end up circumventing the rest of the committee. This is my concern and warning. Here however is the good news. I have seen three members of the BFCC in action, under pressure doing a fabulous job. I know a couple of others including Derek, Michael and Bob indirectly, and am very impressed. The three I've seen under fire and under pressure regularily at CPAC are Dan, Vivienne and Sebastian. They are absolutely incredible and with this much strength and integrity I believe you folks are off to a great start.