The Concerned Citizens have offered to meet and brief all local candidates in the upcoming election. Most have accepted the offer. We have also offered to publish their statements on the issue. The following are direct transcriptions of the statements provided. Any additional statements will be published as they are received.

Robert Dorey – Napanee Mayor

More time and more research have only served to show more conclusively that the Richmond Landfill site is hazardous to its neighbours and to our community as a whole. As Mayor of Greater Napanee, I will ensure our town finds a responsible solution to our garbage issue by seeking out innovative, cost-effective means of reducing our overall garbage output. We can deal with our garbage by improving our recycling programme, by promoting composting at home and introducing a green bin programme to our community, by contracting with better landfill sites and researching alternatives to landfilling, and by cooperating with our regional partners to come up with a safer, healthier, long-term solution to managing the region’s waste.

Steve Medd – Napanee Councillor Ward 3

Recent scientific evidence (agreed to by the Ministry of Environment) has established that the Richmond Landfill is leaking leachate into the groundwater far off-site. Leachate has contaminated 6 off-site private domestic wells, which together with a significant swath of countryside are contaminated to above limits of the Ministry of the Environment’s Reasonable Use Policy. The contaminated groundwater contains numerous chemicals, including an industrial chemical called 1,4 dioxane which has been classified by the US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a probable carcinogen.
The leaking Richmond Landfill and the proposed massive BREC Landfill pose a clear and present threat to the future of Greater Napanee and our closest neighbours: Tyendinaga Township, Deseronto and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario has called it arguably one of the worst places in Ontario to build a landfill because of the complex fractured bedrock
Polluting activities like massive landfills will attract other polluting industries. The lands that they occupy and adjacent lands become sacrifice zones, which suffer ongoing air quality and water quality impacts. The Richmond Landfill is contaminating a groundwater aquifer that was once used for residential purposes and agricultural purposes like irrigation and watering livestock.
The economic lifespan of BREC is 20 years. The contaminating lifespan of BREC is hundreds of years. Our agriculture and tourism industries have longevities measured in generations – so why would we undermine these long term enterprises for the sake of 20 years of short term profit, which would be flowing to a US-based company?
Leachate from the Richmond Landfill is presently trucked into Napanee, pumped into the sewer system and then processed at the Napanee Water Pollution Control Plant. The provincial government only requires the analysis and treatment of a small percentage of the tens of thousands of chemicals found in leachate.
As the eastern gateway to the Bay of Quinte, Greater Napanee is blessed with four beautiful waterways: the Napanee River, Long Reach, Hay Bay and Adolphus Reach. These waters bring economic benefits to our community as well as great pleasure to fisherman, boater and hikers. Why then would we allow untreated leachate chemicals to slowly build up in the water and sediments of these natural treasures?
Over the years many people have invested their heart and soul, time and money into making Napanee a vibrant sports town and a place of healthy living. Many other people have committed themselves to building a top-calibre hospital we know as the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital, another beacon of healthy living.
The starting point for good health is nature’s infrastructure: clean water, air and soil. If we take a healthy environment for granted when deciding what developments to support, then we undermine important priorities like sustainable economic development, cultural development and the promotion of healthy living.
Napanee can do its part in managing waste by enhancing residential composting and recycling; and by attracting private investments to build a regional material separation facility or enclosed composting facility. However, the complex fractured bedrock in our region makes it an unwise and unhealthy choice for massive landfilling.

Ian Munro – Napanee Councillor Ward 4

The ongoing Environmental Review Tribunal appeal process regarding the monitoring of the Richmond landfill has demonstrated conclusively that Waste Management has been unable to identify massive leakage of contaminants into the vulnerable aquifer used by residents of Greater Napanee for drinking. This situation has existed for years and has still not been fully characterized despite aggressive pressure from citizens and local communities over all those years. There can be no confidence that this company could identify, locate and contain any leaks from the proposed BREC landfill which would be four times larger than the existing dump. Under MOE regulations the BREC landfill cannot LEGITIMATELY be approved under the Environmental Assessment Act given this glaring flaw.

I would fully support a Greater Napanee council resolution indicating the community is an unwilling host for the BREC megadump. I would support a resolution urging Waste Management to withdraw its plan for the BREC landfill. I also fully support the proposal submitted by citizens and local communities which urged the Ontario government to make it illegal to site new or expanded mega-landfills on fractured bedrock bases due to the risks of groundwater contamination.

Catherine Houard – Deseronto Councillor

I want to start by saying that Municipal Government is not new to me. I am employed with the County of Hastings and I carry out my duties with the goal of making it easy and comfortable for Residents to access our programs.
People expect that they can trust the information that they receive from their Government, at all levels, and they deserve just that. Unfortunately, it appears that the opposite of this happened when it comes to the Richmond Landfill. And even more unfortunately, people are now paying the price for that, and to say this upsets me, would be an understatement.
Heading into the Municipal Election, it is important for the Residents of the Town of Deseronto to know just how this situation affects them and how their Candidates feel about it. The contamination from the Richmond Landfill has been making its’ way through rivers and streams into the Bay of Quinte, the source of our drinking water. This directly affects Deseronto because it has the potential to diminish the quality of our drinking water and increase the Town’s cost of treating the water coming in from the Bay.
It is important for small communities to support each other, and if elected to Deseronto Town Council, you can expect my support to ensure that we preserve the quality of our drinking water for years to come.
Again, thank you for making contact with me about this vital issue.

Trish Dickinson – Deseronto Councillor

I strongly oppose any expansion of Richmond Landfill/ BREC.
If elected I will work with The Town of Deseronto Council to stand united with our neighbours in Tyendinaga Township, Greater Napanee and the Mohawks of Bay of Quinte to oppose any expansion of the Richmond Landfill/BREC.

Todd Steele – Stone Mills Reeve

Although outside the borders of Stone Mills, I feel that this issue affects the entire region. I fully appreciate that our waste has to go somewhere, but I feel that WM’s site in Carp or, preferrably, the LaFleche Environmental Centre is the best choice. The province needs to take a leadership role in how we get rid of our waste. If approved, the decision to allow the BREC is short-sighted at best.”

A keen observer of the goings-on at Town Hall for a number of years, Ian Munro felt he could make a positive contribution around the council table and has let his name stand for the upcoming municipal election as a candidate for council representing Ward 4.

A 22-year veteran of the Canadian Forces, Munro was an Air Force engineering officer who servedthroughout Canada, including National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, as well as a stint in Australia. After leaving the Forces and settling in Napanee more than 15 years ago, he has consulted for the Canadian Department of National Defence, NATO and the United Nations.

More recently, he has become an ace mechanic specializing in vintage car maintenance and restoration. He has also been an integral member of the Concerned Citizens of Tyendinaga and Environs, the group that is the primary opponent to the proposed Beechwood Road Environmental Centre (BREC). But Munro said that the future of the Richmond Landfill and the BREC is only one of many issues that he is concerned about in this campaign.

“It’s true that council has done some good things over the past few years, but one of the things I don’t think they have done that well is looking forward. This election is an opportunity for new candidates and incumbents to talk about what they are going to do for the next four years, but I would like everyone to be talking about what they’re going to be planning for over the next eight years, 10 years or 20 years. I want to hear about their long–term visions for the town,” Munro told the Greater Napanee News.

“I think the town is going in a pretty good direction. But there are some risks out there, some threats to our prosperity that I see and I would like to hear from all the candidates as to how they intend to navigate us past those threats to a long-term, healthy economy and community.”

A staunch defender of popular democracy, Munro also doesn’t care much for acclamations in elections. For the last municipal election, held in the fall of 2010, two of the five council candidates ran unopposed and were acclaimed to their positions – Ward 1s Michael Schenk and Ward 4 incumbent Bill Pierson. Pierson has also filed his nomination papers for the Oct. 27 vote.

“I have to say that I was a little disappointed with the previous municipal elections that there were acclamations. That’s not healthy for democracy. No matter how wonderful the human being is who is mayor or deputy mayor or councillor, those individuals need to be challenged in an election so they can explain what they have got in mind for the next term of council, and so voters and hear what they have to say but also listen to alternative options and be able to make an informed choice.”

Munro feels he would be a good choice for town council because of his approach to the various issues that come before the august body throughout its four-year term.

“I think it’s fair to say that I am a logical thinker and I am able to take positions based on genuine facts as opposed to beliefs and wishes and hopes. So were I elected I would absolutely follow the facts. If the facts suggest that a particular course of action is the right course of action, whether it’s popular or not, I would always be inclined to go with the facts and make the right choice as opposed to the popular choice,” he said.

“My experience in watching things over the last few years is that most times the right choice and the popular choice are the same – but that’s not always the case.”

Munro identified a few issues that he believes are important ones for this campaign, including the aforementioned Richmond Landfill/BREC, the possibility of an aquatics facility, as well as how to combat over-reaching provincial policies and decisions that impact negatively on the municipality.

“As far as I can tell there is no prospect for funding for a pool. I think it’s a ‘motherhood’ statement to say I would like to see a pool in this town. But it’s not fair to suggest that I somehow am going to make that happen. If the funding is not found and it’s determined that $6 million or $7 million for the capital costs, plus the operating costs on top of that, are not affordable, I think we need to be honest with the voters about that,” he said.

“If there is some prospect for some funding for a substantial portion of the costs I would love to hear about it. I would absolutely, in principle, be in favour of Napanee having a pool. Can we afford it? During the campaign we as candidates should be discussing what those prospects are. Are they real?”

As for the BREC, as a member of the CCCTE, Munro has been quite public in his opposition to any sort of expansion by Waste Management to the current landfill and believes most of the members of the current council and the community at large have similar concerns about the proposal – although they may not be as vocal about it.

“In the past council has passed resolutions indicating they are not a willing house to the expansion of the Richmond Landfill and I absolutely support that position. I agree that the current council has been relatively low key in its position on this and hasn’t been aggressively pursuing a stance on it, but I suspect that most current members of council are against the prospect of 450,000 tons of garbage coming here on an unstable location,” he asserted.

“Indications of serious issues going forward are already happening because of the existing landfill. It is well known that the existing landfill is leaking – it is leaking massively and private wells have been impacted. All of these things should be important to the present council. And I would really like to see and hear from the current members of council as to what they think about it and what our council’s position should be on it and what future councils might say and do and respond to these developments.

“But this is one of many issues and I believe that this issue is effectively over. It’s obvious to me and to people who are familiar with the situation, that the BREC mega-dump cannot legitimately be approved by the Ontario government. That doesn’t mean the process is going to stop and it doesn’t mean that there is nothing to worry about. It could still be approved illegitimately by some future government if we are not vigilant. It’s simply now pursuing the process to its logical and just end and putting it behind us. For Ian Munro the candidate, it is a fairly minor issues as I campaign to become a member of council.”

One bigger issue is what he calls the “intrusive” overregulation of both the provincial and federal governments and the impact that it has on local communities and more significantly on municipal taxpayers, particularly in the area of renewable energy.

“I don’t think I have bumped into anybody who isn’t into affordable renewable energy. That’s not the issue – the issue is always implementation. How is it being done? Premier Wynne has admitted that is hasn’t been done very well. And the outrage here in town in just the past 12 months about the prospect of a massive wind turbine proposal being built in the southern portion of town demonstrates that the process for approving these sorts of things is not ideal. So many of the provincial processes do not give those who are affected adequate input and that has to be fixed,” he said.

“As a community we need to be more vocal. Clearly the Town of Greater Napanee itself is not going to move provincial policy, but we cannot just passively accept unjust policies from above simply because they are from above. For example, I think council is doing the right thing in making an issue of OPP policing costs. It’s out of control. Everybody sees that. It needs to be fixed and we are doing the right thing by bringing other municipalities into the discussion.”

Munro also said that as he campaigns in over the next three months he will be finding out what the voters of Ward 4 also think are important issues that need to be addressed.

“The issues I have outlined I think are the big issues – ones that affect everyone in town. But there are issues that will impact smaller groups and even individuals and I want to hear about those. I am ready to listen.”

Munro and wife Marilyn Kendall have lived in Napanee since 1997.

For more information, contact him at 613-354-1828 or email s.cubed14@gmail.com.

- Jim Barber is the editor of the Greater Napanee News. Contact him at jim@greaternapaneenews.ca.