The purpose of this site is to provide you with information about the Pinnacle Pellet shipping facility to be located on the waterfront and the risks to the community along with the loss of access to the waterfront. The environmental assessment process is being rushed through and the community has very little time to assess the impact. Based on my research, I have concluded that an industrial project of this size and impact should be located on Ridley Island.
The Pinnacle Pellet plant controversy is really a consequence of many unresolved issues about Prince Rupert’s waterfront. The community does not have legal access to the waterfront and there is no comprehensive waterfront development plan in place between the Port, CN, and the City.
Take a look through the links above and write a letter or email the Port at pinnaclepellet@feedback.rupertport.com  .
The Open House on May 29 was very well attended and a clear message sent that this project is in the wrong location. As a consequence of the public opinion expressed, the Port and Pinnacle will be holding a second public information session on June 18 to try and convince the community that this is the right location.
A legal opinion has has been delivered to Pinnacle and the Port asserting that they cannot exempt themselves from justifying the project and considering alternatives and only conduct a low level screening. You can read that (here).
In addition to the comments posted on this site, additional discussion can be viewed on hacking the main frame site.
Pellet Free Neighborhood 
I challenge ‘Frustrated’ to lay down some cash and buy my house!! If you wait a couple years, I’ll be selling it real cheap!! Give your head a shake man…
This is false information, one plant does not dictate the whole housing market, yes give your head a shake!
I am going to pack up and leave town if this goes up. This is an outrage and it like not a very Popular move. This thing is going to stink up Rupert and make it even uglier. Stop the Madness !!!
This is a transfer facility not a production facility, wake up.
ridley island would be a more suitable place for the pellet plant…add to the plant already existing out there!
This development would not only cause serious health issues for people, as well as limit the secenery, but the waterfront is a social arena for residents with or without dogs to enjoy a day’s exercise.
there is more dust and pollution from the 4×4 pick ups that run up and down the waterfront than what the transfer plant would produce.
You are only assuming that! Nobody knows for sure how much dust there will be, especially during vessel loading.
Does anyone have a link or copy of Pinnacle’s MSDS sheet for their wood pellet products? I haven’t been able to locate one online.
The current comprehensive format for the Canadian MSDS was issued April 30, 2007 by the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC), however it seems to be unavailable through a basic web search. The following
link http://www.shawresources.ca/files/images/MSDS_2010(1).pdf will lead you to a MSDS available from a company who is a member of WPAC.
If it is going to happen the city should reimburse us for the losses in property value at point of sale!
False information this plant will not cause a drastic reduction in housing values
Not true, nobody wants to live near a hazardous facility, and personally I believe I stand to lose up to $50 grand on the price I paid for this house.
I’d like to see new jobs in town as much as the next guy, but this seems like a bit of a step backwards. Rupert is a waterfront community with already limited access to a shoreline ravaged by remnants of old industry. It would be great to see some beautification proposed for this area, and the pellet plant built out at Ridley, rather than the current plan.
Just a reminder that the city of Pr Rupert and District of Port Edward has an appointed represenative to the Port Board of Directors….Frank Debartolo….contacting him to ask questions should be a priority.
Please understand that I am not opposed to this business coming to town, but rather the proposed location. There is a reason we have an industrial area; let’s use it!
Preparation for construction started at the site last week with test drilling. Bids closed for the dock late last month, negotiations are now taking place between Pinnacle Pellet, First Nations and a contractor to construct the dock.
I am not against the pellet plant – just the location.
you’re right doug. no one in this town is against water front industry. just keep it on the ridley is. or port ed. waterfront. the prince rupert harbor front is an embarrsasment as it is. boot CN out. more moorage for sporties and yachters. this town has had a bad reputation for harbor amenities for years with the boating communities south of the border. word gets around. i’ve been in harbors to the south and north, prince rupert is no world class port. shame on anyone that thinks it is.
I’m sure the Port Edward residents would love your comments. You have a commercial harbour at one end and a “sporties” harbour at the other end.You need to make up your mind.
Make it all a “sporty” harbour or a commercial harbour . Make it a “sporty” harbour means move the fishing plants out to Port Edward, lose that tax base then your taxes will really rise. You can’t have both. or maybe you can, with the proper development, open mind and cooperation.
Safety and health concerns adjacent to a residential area with increased noise levels, dust and exlposive hazard. We support industry but It should be located in a controlled industrial area. Is there not a pellet plant existing at Ridley Island just sitting there with convyor, car dumper and a silo?
The people in this area stand to collectively loose millions of dollars in property value while the owners of pinnacle will take their profits out of town. This is unacceptable, the little people loose again and some will not recover from this loss. This neighborhood is a wonderful place presently with everyone walking dogs, biking and plenty of children in strollers being pushed around for fresh air, it will be devastated if this goes through. Will the rest of the city pay the taxes for this areas property devaluation, will pinnacle? I think everyone in this area should ban together and defer their taxes until it is decided if they’re living in an industrial site and if so pay a much lower percentage rate! Actions speak louder than words. They have to put this on Ridley where it belongs!!!!
First: People will not loose millions of dollars in property values, that is another scare tactic used by self interest groups.
Pinnicle has a development plan for the waterfront. We are sending a strong message that this city is closed for business.If you think taxes are high now, just continue rejecting businesses.The average homeowner will not be able to afford the taxes.
This is a transfer facility not a production facility. The dust will be at minimum as the majority of the product will be enclosed.
Using your plan of having the waterfront as a residential neighborhood means that you should be dismantling the fishing plants along the waterfront and putting in recreational and residential facilities from Rushbrook to BC Ferries.
By your own statements you are not being honest and killing Prince Rupert.
Move out of the nineteen seventies and into the twenty first century.
Dear Len,
Thanks for your comments. From your post it would appear you are responding to a wide variety comments made on this site and perhaps in the public meetings.
1. Property value loss – It is estimated that Pinnacle will pay about $350,000 in taxes to the city. It is clear that homes close to the facility will be less desirable. Using the 2012 property tax assessments for area, total property values are about $77.5 million. By estimating the decrease in property value, there would be a decrease of about $15 million. Based on the taxation rate, this would reduce tax revenue by approximately $220,000. Thus the Pinnacle shipping facility will result in a modest net increase in tax revenue. The question being discussed by the community is whether or not this is a reasonable trade-off.
2. Pinnacle’s development plan for the waterfront, announced at the June 18 Open House, includes paving the road and making it more accessible to the public. This is an excellant idea and one the community has been advocating for with the Port and CN for a long time. This website and public comment is helping to guide waterfront development so that the best solution emerges from the discussion. We question how solid this plan is because all that land is owned by CN and they have not been participating in this discussion, and that plan has not been discussed with the City so far.
3. Who has a plan to make the waterfront a residential neighborhood? That was one person’s comment at the open mike on June 18. What everyone is asking for is that a Waterfront Development Plan between the City, the Port, CN, and the community be put into place that addresses all these questions. The City has been waiting six months to have a meeting on that. The Port was asked to committ to this plan but so far have declined to do so.
4. I really like what you said about moving out of the 1970’s and into the 21st Century. The 1970’s was a time when these type of projects went ahead without discussion or consideration of the consequences. Through the public debate that is occurring, Prince Rupert is taking charge of its destiny and expressing its vision of itself. The only self-interest group here is the community at large which wants the best deal for its future.
Len,
i can tell you first hand that yes people will loose in regard to property values. i’m personally trying to sell my house and i’ve had many through it. the comments are it’s a beautiful home, a reasonable price but we just can’t purchase knowing that a pellet facitily will be going up across the street. no scare tactic by a self interest group, just the facts.
Hello: I live in a small town in Northern Michigan called Boyne City. A wood pellet plant called Kirtland Products began operating in our town in November of 2011 and it’s been a nightmare.
They are located in a populated area within 2 blocks of our public school system. The noise, odor, dust are unbearable for many of us. We would move but now realize that our property values have plummeted.
Do everything you can to stop this from happening to your town because once it’s up and running and you realize it’s a mistake it will be too late. I encourage you to check out tube and check out noisy and stinky pellet plants to see what we are going through. I encourage you to visit other pellet plants. Make sure they’re up and running. Many plants only run tours where they shut down for the day.
We are currently working very hard to have Kirtlands conditional permit pulled but we may be fighting an up-hill battle.
Again, DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING TO YOUR TOWN!
Its a closed in storage facility to load a ship, not a pellet production plant sheeeesh!
noise levels will increase thanks to the train and ships and being a combustible hazard it should be nowhere near a residential neighborhood. Especially across the street. If there ever was a fire inside one of those silos, i wouldnt want to be around when the tin blows its roof.