High time for Victoria
to silence rural noise

The Province, August 18, 2011

One of the worst forms of pollution in our me-first society involves not cigarette smoke or even tailpipe emissions, but plain, old-fashioned noise. Yes, noise pollution and the restless days and sleepless nights it causes are a major source of aggravation . . . and not just in the downtown of our larger cities.

Excessive noise is a problem virtually everywhere in the Lower Mainland, whether it's powerful motorbikes roaring through the West End or farmers in the Fraser Valley firing off booming propane cannons to scare birds from their blueberry crops.

Yes, in Langley, the issue of loud cannon booms has been a divisive one for years, pitting neighbour against neighbour. As Province reporter Elaine O'Connor noted earlier this week, the noise not only enrages humans, it also scares horses - of which semi-rural Langley has more than its far share.

"Three and a half weeks ago the cannons started: boom, boom, boom," said John Reidl, who runs a horse operation next door to a new blueberry farm. "This is Langley, the horse capital of B.C. If that horse bucks, you're off."

Some blueberry farmers accuse critics of making a mountain out of a molehill. The B.C. Blueberry Council says the industry is doing its bit to ease conflicts between growers and folks nearby. Also, cannon-use guidelines put in place in 2009 encourage farmers to use other methods of keeping the birds away.

The Township of Langley's noise-control bylaws, meanwhile, stipulate that the cannons can only be fired once every three minutes, and not between noon and 3 p.m.

But it's obvious this highly contentious issue isn't going away any time soon. In fact, Reidl warns that, if nothing is done, it will be a war zone: "It will drive everybody crazy and somebody is going to get hurt."

We agree. Langley residents, whether horse lovers or not, shouldn't have to endure the noise of the 130-decibel propane cannons. It's high time Victoria stepped in to ban them.

from The Province Newspaper, August 18, 2011