To whom it may concern, I am…

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to express my strong opposition to the removal of the environmental assessment requirements for the York1 Waste Disposal Site Project at 29831 Irish School Road in Dresden, Ontario (ERO 025-0389).
My wife and I moved to Dresden in 2015 and immediately fell in love with an extraordinary town. Dresden is a vibrant community within Chatham-Kent, and its citizens take great pride in showcasing their hometown to all of Chatham-Kent, and Ontario as a whole.
Attracting young people to a community is incredibly important for its long-term survivability, and Dresden currently provides young professionals (including my wife and I) a tremendous opportunity to create a very rewarding lifestyle in Ontario. There is a great sense of community within our town, it has all the conveniences any town needs, it is quiet, and beautifully maintained. There have been dozens of new homes created in the last 9 years fueled by an influx of people wanting to call Dresden home. Dresden residents organize and host Christmas and Summer Night Markets that attract thousands of people annually into our community. We have been proud to call Dresden home for nearly a decade – there is nowhere else we’d rather live.
As a resident within this community, I can say unequivocally state that our citizens are extremely saddened by the proposed York1 waste management site as a whole, and deeply offended about the suggested removal of the environmental assessment (EA) requirement that was promised to us by the Ford government. The justification for this reneging is laughable; using a tariff threat to rationalize the removal of an EA and risk long-term environmental consequences to a community makes no sense. The number one job of the Ontario government is to protect Ontarians, and therefore we simply can’t put Ontarians at risk by cutting corners on due process regardless of the reason. The stakes are too high for this community! The EA is the absolute minimum the province should do to ensure Dresden is adequately protected from a company whose only interest in our community is for their own corporate betterment. If the waste management site proceeds without a full EA, it’s impossible to predict the consequences. On one hand, everything could turn out fine, but without a comprehensive EA there is the potential for unforeseen impacts to our community. These impacts could stem directly from the site itself, or from the unrelenting trucks carrying waste to this facility 24 hours per day. It is not unreasonable to think this site, or the transport trucks that feed it, could negatively impact our waterways, our air quality, our farmlands and livestock. It’s truly impossible to predict the consequences without an EA. Hindsight is 20/20 and there is only one opportunity to get this right. The world has many examples of well-intentioned projects that end up wreaking havoc on the citizens and environment of nearby communities (have you ever heard of the Hinkley groundwater contamination incident?). Let’s make sure Dresden doesn’t become one of these examples and play it safe by ensuring a full, comprehensive EA.
Perhaps employees from York1 will argue that the proposed “waste facility” will enhance the community of Dresden, but nothing could be further than from the truth. Dresden is united in its opposition to this site. We cannot be clearer: the citizens of Dresden do not want this “waste facility” neighbouring our town, and it should not be forced upon us. Proceeding with this site, especially without a thorough EA, threatens the future of one of the finest communities in southwestern Ontario. Please feel free to contact me to discuss in further detail.

Best regards