Lessons from Ryley: Community Involvement in Hazardous Waste. Notes on a Presentation to Canadian Federation of Municipalities

The citizens of Ryley (a village east of Edmonton) were the first known to have the courage to say yes to the concept of a hazardous waste treatment facility in their community. In a formal plebiscite an amazing 95 per cent of voters turned out and voted 77 per cent in favour. The victory paved the way for the ultimate siting of the Alberta Special Waste Treatment Facility and subsequent program implementation. I will relate my experience as the field representative in Ryley and the techniques in public participation and public education utilized. In order to put it into context I'll also touch on the mega effort that preceded Ryley and subsequent activities. As we move through the case, I will touch on issues such as political leadership, community ownership, putting the issue into perspective, telling the story in manageable pieces, public meetings (or not), appropriate resource people and working with the media. Fighting NIMBY is not a short term exercise (our kids have it too) and we must develop long term plans. I will close with some examples of proactive measures.