Photo: City of Penticton

The Campbell Mountain landfill compost site

Board members with the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen aren't quite ready to trash their regional compost plans for the final few months of their term.

The board voted on Thursday to hold a workshop to dive deeper into why the region needs a compost and biosolids facility. 

The discussion on the compost facility was the first since the board declared plans were "back to square one" in early February. RDOS staff said since 2013, about $400,000 has been spent to get to this point in the compost planning.

"We were ready to go on this [workshop] two months ago, so we've lost two months. It's not rocket science, we just need to get on the same page here," West Bench director Michael Brydon said, who made the motion to hold a workshop.

"If we put everything to the next board, we might as well stop having meetings now," he continued. "If we're that lame, let's admit it."

However, chief administrative officer Bill Newell said the "window is closed" for making any real progress on a compost facility this year.

Newell advised the board it will be difficult to find a consultant and plan the workshop before the municipal election in the fall. 

"Why don't we wait and inform a full board that's got a four-year mandate on this important topic? I just don't understand why we're going back," he said. 

Of close to two dozen compost sites studied, locations in Marron Valley and Summerland were deemed as the best two — both of which were promptly shut down by board members, who were split on the choices.

Summerland Mayor Peter Waterman expressed disappointment that the compost facility hasn't been presented as a major environmental issue, adding people in Summerland may have been less opposed if it was.

"It’s a climate action initiative, it’s a green initiative. It’s something we should all be concerned about."

Summerland Coun. Toni Boot told other board members the regional district board, and its residents, need to find a way to move forward with planning a compost facility.

"I think there a number of constituents out there that think 'that's Penticton's problem.' It's not Penticton's problem, it's all of our problem."

Without a new compost site, the province could demand that a greenhouse gas capture system be installed at the Campbell Mountain landfill to remove organic food waste, costing about $46.7 million — more than double the estimated cost of building a compost facility.

The City of Penticton is also spending on a consultant report to study options for their own sewage waste, currently composted at Campbell Mountain.