Carp Road Dump expansion déjà vu

Latest WM Plan sets the stage for “Carp Road Garbage Mountain” to grow to three times its current size

A hundred or so angry residents showed up at a Meeting in Stittsville, on Tuesday, to tell Waste Management, Inc. that they do not want any further expansion of the Carp Road Landfill site. 

Waste Management’s plan, soon to be forwarded to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for various stages of approval, seeks to initially double the capacity of the existing landfill.

The proposed configuration calls for doubling the capacity of the existing site, with two new footprints equal in size to the footprint of the old dump and half the height.

However, as one questioner perceptively asked, at the open-mike segment of the evening, “When the two new footprints fill to half the height of the old mountain, (which is the planned capacity of this application), will Waste Management --here and now, tonight-- guarantee not to make application in ten or twenty years to fill the two new sites as high as the first, thus, TRIPLING its present-day volume?”

The answer was a curt, “No, we cannot guarantee that.”

Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling, who was a vocal opponent of WM’s last attempt to expand, argued that the City of Ottawa has allowed residential growth to rapidly expand towards the landfill site, with many purchasers being told that the dump would be closing about this time.

To suddenly allow an expansion of the site at this point would be a serious violation of those residents now living in their new homes, in the waste-mountain’s shadow. 

Mr. Sterling stated his view, vigourously supported by the audience, that Stittsville and area residents had already put up with enough land-filling in their residential neighbourhood and that it was now time for Waste Management to take the garbage elsewhere.

He also questioned the honesty of verbal assurances from WM that the proposed expansion is to service Ottawa’s IC&I waste as well as municipal solid waste from a few local communities, when the application actually reads that WM is seeking a permit to handle waste from all of Ontario.

Stittsville Councillor Shad Qadri criticized the Proposal on many fronts. First, that it claims to consider alternatives, when it really doesn’t. He stated that there are viable high tech alternatives in use around the world that would be better for this site than landfill expansion.

Furthermore, with all the “wonderful talk” in the Proposal about diversion plans, Councillor Qadri admonished WM, “not to wait for your approval of the landfill expansion before starting waste diversion. Start doing it now!”

Concerned Stittsville resident, Gilles Chasles, asked several pointed questions, answers to which he did not seem entirely satisfied with. He asked about the quality of the dump's toxic leachate being piped to the city's sewage treatment plant, (ROPEC), when the plant is only equipped to biologically process sewage?

Mr. Chasles and several other concerned area citizens manage a fact-based website called nodump.ca, which also has links to its own Facebook and Twitter pages.

Many speakers had grave concerns about past odour problems re-occurring, if operations were to begin with new land-filling.

With the old dump virtually closed and capped, odours still linger, but are no longer as prominent. 

The thought of having a footprint that covers twice the ground area of the old dump, with double the surface-to-air exposure, could create a stink that would be potentially twice as offensive as the existing dump was, at its worst, when it was in full operation.

With past experiences still raw in peoples' memories, all the assurances in the world from Waste Management, Inc., just don't seem convincing.

Clearly, it is time for the Ministry of the Environment to respect the palpable health concerns of the residential community that, as a result of years of bad planning on several fronts, has a landfill within it that is already too large for its location and was due to close in 2012 because of that.

The next step should be for Waste Management, Inc., to conduct a credible open and transparent public, independent engineering peer-review/evaluation of technological alternatives that are more socially and environmentally acceptable and do not require landfill expansion.

Failing this, WM should be forced to move their operations out of the community.

Other local coverage:

VP says he's not sure if he'd want to live near Carp dump
CTV Ottawa - June 8th, 2010

People, politicians take aim at Carp Road landfill company

Can we trust you? residents, politicians want to know

By Danna Zabrovsky,
Ottawa Citizen - June, 9, 2010 - Carp Landfill

Tempers flare at landfill meeting
West-end MPP leads charge against Waste Management
By Tony Spears, Ottawa Sun
http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/06/08/14313961.html

Residents dump on landfill
By Jessica Cunha
Our Ottawa Region - Kanata Kourier Standard - June 9, 2010

RCOC review of alternative waste management methodologies:

Input wanted on landfill proposal
John Currie - Stittsville News, June 10, 2010

Do you have any views about the proposed new Waste Management Landfill for the site with the new facility to be called the West Carleton Environmental Centre to reflect a commitment to more recycling and diversion from landfill.

A Project Advisory Committee has been established with representation including local city of Ottawa councillors. Waste Management representatives and representatives from the local communities.

Marlene Laverty-Labelle has been asked by councillor Shad Qadri to serve as the community representative for Stittsville on the Project Advisory Committee. She is now seeking input from Stittsville residents on how they feel about the proposed new landfill.

Anyone with input or views on the proposed new landfill on Carp Road should contact Ms. Labelle at 613-831-4995, via cell at 613-291-6569 or via email at marlene4995@rogers.com

Public opposition to landfill proposal continues to grow
By David Johnston
Kanata EMC -June 3, 2010 - Carp Road Landfill growing opposition

See next related story: Mayor O'Brien vows to fight expansion
http://www.ruralcouncil.ca/CarpDump-100622.htm

Comments from President, Bob McKinley, of the Rural Council of Ottawa-Carleton (RCOC)
www.ruralcouncil.ca/RCOC-Comments-re-WM-ToR.htm

Bruce Webster's comments forwarded to Ontario's Ministry of the Environment:
Past President of RCOC presents comments to Planning and Environment Committee, City of Ottawa

Other Comments and quotes regarding Waste Management's Terms of Reference (ToR):
http://www.ruralcouncil.ca/OttawaCouncilCommentsReWM-ToR-100714.htm