While we understand that…

While we understand that their property might be zoned to allow this the impact of this happening in such a developed residential area is scary as zoning may have taken place well before this section of Winhara Road became so residential.
Has there been any environmental studies done on the impact of a soil treatment facility in a residential area?
We live on 25 acres that is comprised of a large Environmental Protected Wetlands very close to this new soil treatment plant.

There are numerous ponds in those pits where this is being developed, and those ponds flood up in the spring running under Winhara through culverts, so their ponds and current water is not contained and this is a concern if they're now looking to house and treat contaminated soil.
We’re obviously on well water and have concerns of what treating contaminated soil will do to our water table as well as wells in the surrounding area. I understand from their ERO proposal that contaminated soil will be stored under a roof to avoid blowing and impact water however is that a guaranteed method to stop leaching of contamination into our water bodies?

We are also concerned about noise from 7-7 Monday to Friday and Saturday from 7-3, we bought this property for the peace and quiet and it’s extremely upsetting to hear that our quiet time will now be replaced with slamming tail gates, blasting and other related noise not to mention odors and will be disrupting our quality of life.

At full capacity from what we have calculated of their proposal that would be approximately 90 trucks a day of 20 tonnes per truck when they’re into phase 3, can this road handle that volume? What about when half loads is on will they be granted exceptions or will amount of trucks increase substantially?

Can this road handle the overall traffic, road maintenance with potholes is a concern at the best of times as is speed on this road, with that volume of trucks what is that doing to our safety on this road as a pedestrian or cyclist

What’s it doing to property values as this could significantly impact our ability to sell with this road becoming so busy and potential noise and pollution.

What is the storage of contaminated soil going to do to our wildlife in this area? While it may be stored on a hard surface and with a roof is there any research done given this is being housed so close to protected wetlands, and the fact that our road has frequent wildlife in the form of foxes, deer, bears moose and not to mention all of the birds. This is an area with such waterflow what is our guarantee that this won’t leech into our property?

The fact that landfills aren’t taking contaminated soil, facilities that accept soil won’t take contaminated soil, so what makes it ok/safe/and a good idea to be disposing and treating this in a heavily residential neighbourhood with major water flow? Our water flows into a culvert across the train tracks and eventually emptying out into Muskoka Lakes. Water from that property will also be ending up in that direction, while the ERO proposal says recycled water won’t end up in our waterways is there any proof of this? Or any research done to confirm that this will not impact our water in any way?

Will they only be using hazardous waste transporters delivering this contaminated soil? Or will they be using the average dump truck that may not be equipped to properly contain the contamination? From what I’ve read of Ontario Regulation 406/19 the bodies of vehicles shall be leak proof and covered to prevent emission of odours and falling or blowing of materials from the vehicle or the release airborne causing pollution. From what we’ve seen of construction on this road the average dump truck does not fit this criteria as there is always dirt/soil blown onto the road as they travel this road. There is also no MTO check points as these trucks head north into Gravenhurst, so who will be responsible for ensuring these critical safety standards are being followed?

Is there any risk of cross contamination? There will be an issue of trucks tracking hazardous material out onto the roads if the trucks aren’t sealed and tight. Also once they dump will this contaminated soil not be in their tire treads being brought back out onto Winhara road and potentially flying into our ditches and contaminating our wells. Is this safe for any of the pet owners on this road or for us to be breathing? Will they be responsible for any air quality or water quality testing?

Cleary we’re against this development as it will impact so many things in our backyard, and with all of the land between here and Toronto why would they chose a heavily residential street to build this on. While I understand Winhara was predominantly pit back in the day that landscape has changed and we need to consider consulting with the residents on this road before this development goes any further