An application to restart and expand operations at a dormant Dresden area waste disposal site is raising concerns in the community and some local councilors are taking the heat.
An application to restart and expand operations at a dormant Dresden area waste disposal site is raising concerns in the community and some local councilors are taking the heat.
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The issue was raised during the non-agenda portion of Monday’s Chatham-Kent council meeting that some residents have received notice about a proposed expansion to a landfill at 29831 Irish School Rd., located north of Dresden.
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Administration indicated it has received notice from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks that an application has been submitted for an amendment to an existing provincial environmental approval for the facility, currently owned by York1 Environmental Waste Solutions Ltd.
North Kent councilors Rhonda Jubenville and Jamie McGrail have been taking the brunt of the complaints since York1 sent letters to some nearby residents last Friday notifying them of plans to expand the facility.
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Jubenville said unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation and assumptions about this issue.
“Jamie and I are getting a lot of attacks, because people are under the assumption that this has come to council and that we have voted on applications,” she said. “That can’t be further from the truth.”
She noted many people are putting the cart before the horse and thinking the worst.
“It’s not happening tomorrow,” Jubenville said. “Let’s wait until we receive the information before we make assumptions.”
Jubenville said she is taking calls and answering emails trying to get the accurate information out that the municipality doesn’t know a lot at this point.
McGrail said she understands people have a lot of anxiety over this issue.
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“I see where they’re coming from, but from a municipal point of view, we really need to take our time to understand exactly what is going on here,” she said.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent issued a statement on Wednesday that it is “taking this matter very seriously.
“Given that the notice was just received, administration is currently gathering additional information and will be seeking advice from technical experts regarding the application,” municipal officials said. “The Municipality will provide further updates as new information becomes available.”
Chatham-Kent general manager of community development told council on Monday, “This is not necessarily a new waste management facility.”
He noted the facility has existed for more than 40 years, adding it has been “somewhat inactive” for the last several years.
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“There are some existing legacy approvals on site” McAllister said.
This includes an environmental compliance approval (ECA) for some waste processing on the site.
“There is also an ECA for a certain amount of landfilling,” he said. “There was landfilling in the past with specific limitations on what could be landfilled on site.”
McAllister said the municipality only has notice, at this point, for an amendment for the processing facility. He told council he understands there may be another ministry letter coming with regard to an amendment to the landfill component.
The Chatham Daily News has reached out to York1 Environmental Waste Solutions Ltd. but has not received a reply.
Details about the application are posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario at www.ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-8205. The public also can submit comments about the proposal at the link until March 16.
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The application states it is an amendment to its environmental compliance approval for a 0.8-hectare waste processing site for the storage, transfer and processing of non-hazardous solid waste at the Irish School Road site.
The application also proposes increasing the area of the waste processing site to 25 hectares to allow a maximum daily receiving rate of 6,000 tonnes a day of non-hazardous solid waste including construction and demolition waste and excess soil for beneficial reuse. It also includes accepting 1,000 tonnes a day of residual waste for final disposal on an average basis.
The amendment also seeks to allow operations at the waste processing site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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