Removing the Environmental…

Removing the Environmental Assessment for the Dresden Landfill is wrong in every possible way that I can mention. It's irresponsible, unfair, and a great injustice to the local residents. I don't know when a political story has incensed me more than this one. This landfill will be one of the largest in Ontario. The fact that an EA might be removed is unthinkable. Let me explain why.....I am a Dresden girl, farm raised, schooled in Dresden, and 3 members of my family live within one kilometre of this proposed dump. If you let Doug Ford wave the Environmental Assessments, I feel that this is negligible and criminal. There, I said it and I mean it. It can't always be about the money; sometimes you have to do what's right. This is one of those times. The size and scope of this landfill should be given the utmost consideration before it proceeds. This location was never meant to house a landfill of this magnitude.

1. The landfill is right at the entry to Dresden on the north side. You do not place a dump at the entry to a town. It is simply wrong to do that to any town. Where else in Ontario would politicians get away with this? A study would look carefully at whether this is the correct site for a landfill or not and that is why the TERMS OF REFERENCE must be presented to the public and to the municipality. DRESDEN RESIDENTS MUST HAVE A SAY IN WHAT HAPPENS TO THEIR TOWN. Withdrawal of the EA prevents this. Our students attend Lambton Kent Composite School which is less than 1 kilometre from the landfill. Does this make sense? Should we disrespect those who have passed before us by placing a dump near our local cemetery? I think not! All consultation undertaken during this EA should be explained and documented and presented to the public so the facts are clear to all.
2. Community members have been strongly fighting the landfill for over a year. No one wants a dump site at the entry to their town. That's ridiculous. THE PUBLIC MUST BE ALLOWED TO COMMENT TO THE MINISTRY ON THE TERMS OF REFERENCE. Without an environmental assessment, the people who will be affected the most will have little to no say about something that will affect them for the rest of their lives and their future generations as well. Every aspect of this project should be thoroughly examined.
3. Keeping the Environmental Assessment in place will allow for a traffic study. Realize that this is a farming community with large, heavy equipment like combines, tomato wagons, planters, ploughs, and sprayers, on the roads every day and our children on school buses from every direction twice a day. I am concerned for the welfare of our farmers, our children and the increased traffic that 700 more trucks per day will present. Adding this many trucks is a recipe for disaster.
4. Leaks from the landfill could drain into Molly's Creek and the Sydenham River. We could be facing contamination of the soil, the creek and the river and the entire watershed. An EA would look at the long term consequences of this and examine the possible consequences of contamination.
5. Unique species reside in the Sydenham and its watershed such as fish, mussels, and reptiles, 20 of which are "Species at risk". The environmental effects of the project MUST BE STUDIED.
6. YORK 1 should have to provide mitigation measures in case of spills and explain how they would be handled as the likelihood of this is high. An EA would provide this.
7. Contamination at the Dresden site already exists from the previous dump and an environmental assessment would require characterization of existing waste. This should be cleaned up and dealt with appropriately.
8. The Indigenous people of Walpole Island are downstream from the Sydenham in the most biodiverse part of the Sydenham. Contamination of the water could be devastating for them. Removal of the EA means they have no opportunity to consult and damage to their fishing and hunting areas could be consequential.
9. Farmers surrounding the proposed landfill raise vegetables, animals and cash crops. Contamination of soil, wells and crops could be a major issue. How to prevent this should be investigated.
10. An economic assessment should be required to investigate devaluation of properties and homes surrounding a landfill. Who pays for damages and loss of value of homes and farmland around the dump? Who will want to purchase a home in Dresden if we have a massive landfill beside us? We may lose population if we have a landfill. Loss of residents could also devastate Dresden.
9. If you remove the EA, no purpose for the project, or rationale would be required and no alternatives to the project have to be presented. There are other landfills that could house a similar project that are not located at the entry to a town. Should we be placing landfills on the best farm land in Ontario? We need to plan for growth and increased population. We should be looking at guarding our best farms to grow food and not taking land out of service, potentially forever due to damage done to it.
10. The environmental damage that this project could cause are multi-faceted and should be examined with the utmost care and concern. An EA would do that.
11. Dresden's citizens have a right to see the EA and be allowed to comment on it publicly to the Ministry.
12. The EA should be made public and the right to be able to refer the EA to the Ontario Land Tribunal should not be taken away.
13. It's easy to dump a massive waste problem on a small town where it is difficult to fight it with a smaller population. It would make much more sense to locate a landfill near a major highway or out in the middle of a quiet part of the country where few people reside and fewer people are affected. It should not be located near an important waterway such as The Sydenham River. The EA would give Dresden a more fair chance at looking at whether this landfill is the best location. Please take a hard look at our situation and include the EA for this landfill. Our health, our air, our farmlands, our animals, our water supply, and our safety is at stake. The long term consequences to our local population could be devastating. Please include the EA for this proposal. Dresden residents deserve better than this proposal. Thank you for listening to my opinions.