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Moving Mountains

Reporting on Ottawa's West End Dump Crisis February 23, 2007
In this Edition: Community Files Opposition to Expansion Plan - Mayor O'Brien Joins Opposition - City of Ottawa Joins Opposition - Chamber of Commerce Joins Opposition - A Warning From Afar - Reporting Odour - Questions? Comments ?

 
Community Files Opposition to Expansion Plan

Described as "unprecedented" by City of Ottawa staff, a coalition of community groups and volunteers filed their official Response to the Terms of Reference (ToR) with the Ministry of the Environment on February 12, 2007. (The ToR is Waste Management's (WM) formal proposal seeking expansion of its dump located just past the Scotiabank Place at the entrance to Stittsville on Carp Road in Ottawa.)

The Community's huge multi-volume submission carefully analyzes the problems with the ToR itself, the expansion plan and the present site. The Response concludes that the proposed expansion as described in the ToR is "woefully inadequate." The document calls upon the Minister to reject the ToR, or alternatively, to demand that dump owner WM conduct a "full" environmental assessment. Here are some of the points made by the Community:

  • WM should at least consider alternatives to an expanded landfill, for example, a waste-to-energy facility
  • A project of this magnitude demands a full, not limited environmental assessment
  • Uncontrolled odour problems are affecting thousands of local residents on a daily basis
  • Groundwater and surface water contamination are affecting the environment and local wells
  • An expanded landfill is having and will have a negative economic impact on the region
  • There is no need in Ottawa for the proposed landfill expansion; there is plenty of existing landfill space
  • There was inadequate public consultation by WM on its plan
  • The ToR is vague and contradictory - the public still does not know what WM is really planning

The response from the community can be found on the website of Ottawa City Councillor Shad Qadri at www.shadqadri.com

 
Mayor O'Brien Joins Opposition

Mayor O'Brien has declared that the age of dumping garbage must come to an end, and that he will oppose further landfill expansions in Ottawa. In a powerful address to hundreds of residents in a packed Stittsville auditorium on February 6, 2007, the former high-tech CEO and millionaire, said that he supported advanced waste-to-energy solutions for Ottawa's waste disposal needs. He added that he wanted Ottawa to become a leader in alternative environmentally-friendly methods of disposing of waste. The Mayor received a standing ovation when he said that he would not be intimidated by WM, who earlier in the day threatened the City with legal action if the Mayor and City Councillors did not support the expansion.

 
City of Ottawa Joins Opposition

The City of Ottawa also filed its official response to the ToR, and joined the growing opposition to the WM proposal. In a submission described by Community volunteers as "outstanding", the City echoed many of the concerns raised by the Community. In particular, the City expressed serious concern over ongoing and unresolved odour from the site, and WM's refusal to consider any plan that does not include a bigger dump.

 
Chamber of Commerce Joins Opposition

The Kanata Chamber of Commerce also took a stand on behalf of business and people in the community, and filed its opposition to the ToR. Representing the business community in Kanata, Stittsville, and West Carleton, areas all adversely affected by the dump, the Chamber described the impact of the dump on Ottawa's west end, and declared: "The Chamber wishes to speak out on behalf of the businesses and all the people of our community to ensure that we do not degrade to a community with a poor smell and environmental reputation. This would have a detrimental effect on the businesses and real-estate of our community."

 
A Warning from Afar

When Kaye Kiker of Emelle, Alabama, learned of WM's Ottawa dump expansion plan, the Presidential Award recipient for volunteerism decided to file a response with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. While it was too late for her community, it might not be too late for Ottawa. On February 9, 2007, she submitted her opposition to the ToR and reported on what happened to her community when faced with a similar issue. Kaye wrote that in the late 1970s, WM boasted that the local dump would be the "Cadillac of landfills", and would attract business and industry to Sumter County, Alabama. What happened instead was that several industries moved out of the county, small businesses relying on these industries collapsed, and a local hospital shut down. About 2,000 people moved out of the county. In 1978, the annual unemployment rate was 5.8%. By 1986, the unemployment rate had quadrupled to 21.2%. Today, the county remains one of the poorest in the State. Around the "Cadillac of landfills", groundwater contamination has killed local fish and impacted wells which people rely upon to drink. In addition, she wrote, a 1993 court decision found that WM was understating the actual amount of waste being deposited in the dump.

 
Reporting Odour

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment and community volunteers are tracking the noxious plume of odour drifting from the dump. The Ministry is taking steps to stop the problem and has asked for the community's help to gather data. Every time you smell the dump, please advise Greg Davis, Senior Environmental Officer with the Ministry of the Environment at Greg.Davis@ene.gov.on.ca or (613) 521 3450 ext. 227. Include your location, date and time. If possible, also include wind direction, temperature and severity of the odour. You can also report odour using an online form setup by City Councillor Qadri at www.shadqadri.com.

 
Questions? Comments?

If you have a question, email us at moving.mountains@yahoo.ca. Also email us if you have a comment, tip or useful document.

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