Tsunami debris arriving on B.C. shores is less than expected: officials

VANCOUVER – Officials with the federal and B.C. governments say the West Coast is seeing less debris from the Japanese tsunami than expected, though they are still preparing to hand out $1 million in cleanup funding from the Japanese government.

The provincial and federal environment departments have staged a briefing at the Japanese consulate in Vancouver, explaining the 1.5-billion tonnes of debris that they expected to arrive on the West Coast of North America hasn’t materialized as quickly as anticipated.

Paul Kluckner of Environment Canada says it’s too early to say for sure whether that’s because the debris isn’t coming or if it’s just delayed, but he says experts are hopeful the debris volume will continue to be lower than expected.

He says a joint, provincial-and-federal government committee has been established to hand out $1 million in cleanup funding that was provided earlier this year by the Japanese government.

The program will be administered by the province, offering grants to local governments, First Nations and non-governmental organizations who come up with proposals to clean up tsunami debris.

Kluckner says communities along the coast, such as those on Vancouver Island, already have debris programs, but he says the funding will be for cases in which there is too much debris or especially large pieces that existing programs aren’t equipped to handle.