Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (July 19/02) - It was five years ago that the Village of Fort Simpson purchased a waste oil burner from Vermont, according to former Mayor Norm Prevost.

The village had entered a contract with the NWT Power Corporation to dispose of the power corporation's used oil. In return, the power corporation subsidized the cost of purchasing the waste oil burner, valued at approximately $15,000, Prevost said. The village was to benefit from cheap fuel and the power corporation was still charging for the power to operate the waste oil burner. And, of even greater benefit, the corporation had a place to drop off its waste oil.

It was a supposed to be "win-win situation," current Mayor Tom Wilson said.

"It seemed like a good deal ... but it just got screwed up with the machine," said Wilson.

"It never functioned right. It seemed to be one thing after another ... straight off the dud factory."

Prevost contends that the waste oil burner was mechanically sound. He said it was a lack of maintenance and contaminated waste oil that damaged it.

"They put contaminated stuff in there," he said. "People are dumping paint and everything in (the waste oil), mixing everything and that was no good. We were just supposed to burn the power corp.'s oil, all of a sudden everybody's dumping stuff off everywhere. It got out of control, I think."

Prevost and Wilson agree that waste oil burners do hold potential.

"To me, there's nothing wrong with the boiler. I think: clean it up, order a couple of parts, fire it up and get it working," Prevost said.

While Wilson isn't sure about the integrity of the village's existing waste oil burner, he said, "I still believe in them. I still think it would be a cost savings, but council seem to think otherwise."