The volunteer organization (the CCCTE) has been growing in numbers and strength.  A dedicated group of talented people have rallied to this important cause.  If you care about the environment here is something that you can DO about it.

It is so great to be joined by the new, assertive and creative members. Many of us have been fighting the dump expansion for a decade or more.  When we go to meetings with the  Ministry of the Environment (MOE) or Waste Management we often know more about the file than anyone else in the room.

Since the end of 2006 when the Environment Minister denied the first expansion proposal, our main focus was on having the Richmond Dump ordered closed (which happened in 2011) and reviewing the monitoring plans after it closed.  Waste Management dragged it’s feet on closure by reducing the flow of garbage to a trickle and have put forward a deficient monitoring plan. In 2010 the MOE finally ordered closure. We have retained expert advice to make specific recommendations on how to improve the monitoring and these were ignored.

We have decided to use Ontario’s Environmental Review Tribunal to challenge this monitoring plan. You can read about the many concerns we have in documents posted here. The Tribunal has agreed with us that there is serious risk of harm to the environment and will hear the case in the Napanee Area. Hearings will be open to the public. The first public hearing is  scheduled for June 25 at 10:00am in the Selby Community Hall.

We also have to deal with a new proposal for a mega-dump at the same site. (Please read and sign our related petition.) Given the overwhelming scientific opinion that document the risks it is hard to believe they think they can get away with it.  A billion dollar business opportunity distorts the corporate mind. Waste Management is encouraging people to trade the long term health and reputation of Napanee for short term financial gains. In addition to the health risks, there is a real question about how these perceived financial gains will hold up. Will people and businesses still want to move here? Will real estate values keep pace?

Where is the MOE in all of this? Well we wonder the same thing.  The MOE scientists tell us they share our concerns about the risks and yet their management issued approval of the deficient monitoring plan. There is no question that the MOE staff are over worked.  We believe that our vigilance will lead the MOE to make the right decisions about the future of the Napanee dump. There are many people working hard to make that happen. Please join us by becoming a member of the CCCTE. Don’t take anything for granted.

- “There are potential groundwater quality problems evident on all sides of the Richmond Landfill, with anomalous water quality results at distances of up to hundreds of meters from the landfill” (page 4);

- “In my professional opinion, the most likely cause for many of the cases of anomalous water quality is leakage from the nearby Richmond Landfill” (page 18); and

- “Table 2a confirms that the landfill was certainly impacting surface water quality in 2006-2008… Iron and copper exceeded the [Provincial Water Quality Objectives] level in the 2006-2008 period, and in previous years as well. Un-ionized ammonia was over the PWQO limit in November 2006 and occasionally in prior years” (page 6).

“We are alarmed and shocked by Mr. Ruland’s findings, which substantiate our grave concerns about leachate leakage, detection and remediation at this vulnerable setting,” stated Mike Bossio, Chair of the Concerned Citizens – Tyendinaga & Environs (CCTE), which retained Mr. Ruland to conduct his independent review of recent WM documentation.

“Our clients are calling upon the Ministry of the Environment to immediately act upon Mr. Ruland’s 17 recommendations regarding the Richmond Landfill,” said Richard Lindgren, an environmental lawyer who represents the CCTE. “Moreover, it is our opinion that Mr. Ruland’s report raises serious questions about whether WM should be proceeding with its proposed Beechwood Road Environmental Centre landfill beside the existing Richmond Landfill.”

For more information, please contact:  

Richard Lindgren – CELA (613-385-1686)

Mike Bossio – CCCTE Chair (613-396-6784)

Related Information:

Nov 03 2008

Richmond Landfill: Chronology of Environmental Concerns

Media Release By: Canadian Environmental Law Association