Thoughts on new EV charging stations in the City of Langley

I received an email from the City of Langley with news that they have installed two electric vehicle charging stations in the community. One station is at City Hall and the other station is located at the City’s Operations Centre at 5713 198 Street. Both stations will initially be free to use, but will eventually charge 9ȼ per kilowatt hour. According to the press release, the Fraser Basin Council’s Community Charging Infrastructure Program has provided $15,000 towards the charging station project while $13,000 was contributed by the City. You can find more information about charging station locations in Metro Vancouver by visiting ChargePoint. The City also has an FAQ page for information about its charging stations. With these new charging stations, the South of Fraser will have a total of five public charging stations.

While electric vehicles can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there are some caveats. Right now BC gets most of its electricity from hydroelectric power which has a lower GHG emission profile than natural gas or coal-fired electrical generation. Hydro's GHG profile is also significantly lower when compared to a gasoline powered engine. But BC sometimes runs out of power during peak usage periods and has to buy power from other producers to fill the gap. If more people purchased electric vehicles, there is the risk that BC would have to buy more power from producers that use coal or other dirty fuels to generate electricity.

According to one study, an electric vehicle GHG emission profile is directly tied to the type of energy used in the production of electricity. In BC, one solution could be to charge a much higher rate for electric vehicle charging during peak electricity usage and a lower rate when energy usage is low to reduce the use of “dirty power” running BC’s electric vehicle fleet.

Even with clean power, there is still the matter of dealing with the toxic battery waste from electric vehicles and dealing with the full lifecycle environmental impacts from automobile usage. Also, the use of electric vehicles does not negate the need to build compact, complete and accessible communities. Community designed around electric vehicles still create obesity, congestion, and sprawl like communities designed around regular gas-power vehicles.

All this to say that while it is good to see more electric vehicle infrastructure, electrical vehicles are only one part in a toolkit to build a healthier, more sustainable South of Fraser and BC.

Metro Vancouver's garbage going to Abbotsford

Within the Lower Mainland, Abbotsford is a community that some people go to in an attempt to escape some of the taxes and regulations in Metro Vancouver. One example is that people head to Abbotsford for cheaper gas that they think will save them a few dollars per fill. Of course because of this “leakage”, TransLink receives less revenue to pay for roads and transit, and has to look to other revenue sources. This isn’t the only thing that is leaking into Abbotsford.

Apparently in an attempt to bypass Metro Vancouver’s tough waste management regulations, some waste haulers are dumping Metro Vancouver’s commercial and multi-family residential waste in Abbotsford. These haulers not only avoid paying the fees to maintain our waste management system, but also avoid the material ban on recyclables and others rules that prevent material from ending up in the dump.

In Metro Vancouver, all waste should end up at a regional transfer station where it is subject to inspection for compliance with Metro Vancovuer’s waste regulations and charged Metro’s rate for waste management. Waste haulers that are bypassing Metro Vancouver’s waste system are using the Abbotsford system because it has weaker regulations and lower fees.

Metro Vancouver is currently looking at rules to prevent this from happening, but there is opposition from the waste haulers sector.

If I was a citizen of Abbotsford, I’d be pretty upset that my waste system was being using by some Metro Vancouver waste haulers because it has weaker standards and cost less. I would be demanding that my government do something about it. Abbotsford already gets our air pollution, should they be getting our waste too?

Metro Vancouver and the Port

One of the documents that Metro Vancouver provides to municipalities in the region is called “Board in Brief”. This document provides a high level overview of the various actions that the region is taking. The most recent update was included in the City of Langley's Council Meeting Agenda for this evening. One of the interesting items in the brief was in relationship to Port Metro Vancouver and the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

As I’ve posted about previously, Port Metro Vancouver has been busy updating many of its long term plans including its land-use plan and plan for the proposed Terminal Two in Delta. One of the concerns about the Port is that it has no accountability to the region as it is a federal entity. The Port isn’t subject to the regional growth strategy for example. In fact the Port doesn’t even pay property tax to local government, but an in-lieu payment to be a “good citizen.” The full public consultation style that the Port uses on some of its plans are not required under federal law. Considering that we now have weak federal enviornment protection and the Port isn't subject to local laws, the Port can pretty much do whatever it wants on the land that it acquires and could approve projects that the region opposes.

This has the Metro Vancouver Board concerned especially when it comes to the ALR. According to the Board in Brief:

Metro Vancouver has expressed concerns regarding Port Metro Vancouver’s acquisition and use of Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) lands on several occasions in the past. Expansion of Port activities on designated agricultural land would undermine Metro Vancouver’s Regional Growth Strategy.

Metro Vancouver’s Board has sent a letter to the Port expressing their concerns, but the reality is that the Port could choose to ignore this letter.

I’m sure that everyone in the region, include Metro Vancouver, understands the important role that the Port plays in creating job in the region, but I wonder if the Port should be subject to the Regional Growth Strategy. Is it right for the Port to be able to remove land out of the ALR without due process?

Another federal entity that is not subject to the Regional Growth Strategy is the YVR Airport Authority, and they are trying to build an Outlet Mall on Airport Land which goes against the growth strategy. Besides removing land from the ALR, what would prevent the Port from doing a similar thing as YVR?

Langley's Upcycling Design Challenge

I received the following information about a contest that the Township of Langley in association with the Langley Arts Council is putting on. In honour of Earth Day this April, both organizations are hosting the Upcycling Design Challenge.

Upcycling involves creating something new (either an art piece or something more functional like furniture) out of something that would otherwise be thrown away.

This is a judged contest with a first place price of $500, second place price of $200, and third place price of $100. All submissions will be displayed in an exhibition at the Langley Arts Council Gallery in April.

All pieces must be submitted between April 8 and April 13 to the Langley Arts Council Gallery at 20550 Fraser Highway. Details about the contest, including the entry form, can be found on the Township of Langley's website. The contest is open to City and Township residence.

While I’m not and artist and won’t be submitting an entry, I think this is a very innovative way to celebrate Earth Day and bring awareness around the issue of waste generation in Langley.