It has been established that Waste Management’s Richmond Landfill has been leaking leachate for decades, and the landfill’s contamination plume in the fractured bedrock groundwater flow system extends far off-site.  It has also been established that the groundwater contamination plume has affected 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. How far the groundwater contamination plume extends is currently unknown.

The plume 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.  

In light of the above, it is very difficult to understand the basis of the claim on the Waste Management website, that “We have invested in excess of $1 million to monitor ground water flows, and we continually test ground water at more than 70 monitoring stations. Our continuous testing has revealed no concerns and no offsite emissions.” WM has changed their website. The revised version is here: http://brec-currentops.wm.com/about-us/monitoring.jsp . A screen shot, taken on April 25, 2014, of the original website is here: 

This same company is proposing to build a new mega-landfill nearby.  Like the existing leaking landfill, the company proposes to site the mega-landfill on fractured bedrock. The area is rural, and all of the neighbours rely on wells for their drinking water and for their farming operations.

We have to ask – how can Waste Management expect anyone to think that this is a good idea, or that anyone trusts them given their track record and the nonsense on their website?

Tags: BREC, Environment, Environmental Review Tribunal, Leaking landfill, Napanee, Richmond Landfill, Waste Management, Waste Management Corporation