Ontario’s Minister of Environment announced on Friday that “a comprehensive environmental assessment” will be required for York1’s landfill proposal in Dresden.
Andrea Khanjin, the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks in Ontario, issued a statement on X on Friday afternoon, March 15, 2024.
“In recent weeks, I’ve heard concerns raised by the local community and municipality regarding York1’s proposal to reopen and expand a dormant landfill,” Khanjin said in her statement.
“This site was established over 40 years ago, prior to Ontario’s requirement that landfills undergo an environmental assessment. In keeping with the process that any other landfill would be required to undergo today, I will be taking steps to require this project to complete a comprehensive environmental assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act. This would require this site to address local community concerns and mitigate potential impacts before it could open.”
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent issued a media release on Friday as well.
Municipal officials say on February 26, 2024 Council requested that Mayor Canniff author a letter to the Minster of Environment, Conservation and Parks outlining community concerns and Council’s opposition to the proposed waste management facility at 29831 Irish School Road, just north of Dresden.
Council also authorized and directed administration to retain technical experts as may be required to advance concerns through the Ministry consultation process and to make submissions to the Province in opposition to the applications for a waste processing, storage and transfer and landfilling facility based on the planning, environmental, legal and landfill engineering information gathered by March 16, 2024.
The Municipality has completed a submission to the Ministry in response to the initial application by York1 to allow for an increase in waste processing capacity.
The submission can be found here: https://www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca/42320/widgets/176727/documents/125883
In the coming the weeks, the Municipality is also preparing a submission on the second application regarding the proposed reopening of a closed landfill in advance of the April 11, 2024 submission deadline, Municipal officials added.
“I would like to make it patently clear that I stand with the people of Dresden, with the people of Chatham-Kent, and with our neighbours in the County of Lambton,” said Mayor Darrin Canniff, in a media release.
“We all have serious concerns with this proposal from York1, and together with Council, we are taking action. I encourage everyone to visit the Let’s Talk page to get their information and to send comments on the Ontario Environmental Registry website.”
The Municipality has created a Let’s Talk page containing relevant information about the proposed facility, including FAQs about the process, the information received to date regarding the applications submitted by York1 Environmental Waste Solutions Ltd. to the Ministry of Environmental, Conservation and Parks, and the presentation delivered by Director of Planning Ryan Jacques to Council on February 26.
More information will be added here: www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca/dresden-waste-processing-site-and-landfill
Comments can be submitted by the public to the Province on the applications.
The first is for the recycling proposal, which closes on March 16, 2024 and the second is for the landfill proposal, which closes on April 11, 2024.
These can be found at: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-8205 and https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-8313 respectively.
We’ll provide more details when they become available.
