Hello, I am a resident of…

Hello,

I am a resident of Dresden, mother of two children 5 and under, Certified Engineering Technologist, post-graduate certification in Environmental Engineering Applications, Diploma in Environmental Assessments and undergraduate degree in Environmental studies.

I say all of this because because I am not a resident that is just emotionally writing a comment regarding this proposed removal of EA requirements for a landfill just outside of my town. I am educated and understand what this means not only for our community (the one our children are growing up in and attending school, etc. in) but also for the local environment. I do not need to reiterate what environmental professionals have been saying about the environmental impacts of landfills (household waste or not) and the entire reason why we have an EA process.

Normally when a landfill is proposed for a community that landfill operator works with the community to establish a positive relationship that benefits the community as well as the operator. From the beginning York1 (now under another name/owner) has tried to slip through the back door and push this landfill through (residents found out about the proposed new ECA update from it being posted to the ministry website). Now the provincial government has taken a private corporation's side over the local community and it is outright wrong. The EA process is used as a protective measure and due diligence in order to get it right before there is an 85 acre landfill outside a town filled with vulnerable people.

This process is not changing due to tariffs. Chatham-Kent currently has an operational landfill that has plans to expand. The Ridge landfill has the capacity to expand and take in more waste including everything York1 is proposing so why would the government support essentially a brand new landfill (the old one was mostly used for incinerator ash, wasn't a "landfill" to todays standards AND was established before ECAs were even a thing which is why it was located there in the first place). In this day in age there is no reason why a landfill should be developed 1 kilometer outside of a town that is likely going to want to expand outwards towards that site. A big portion of new houses being developed are on that side of town - what are those developers supposed to do?

I think it's safe to say based on the design of the site, which I have seen many details about, if this proposal is successful it will not remain a landfill only accepting construction waste and soils. The extent of the leachate collection and size of the site makes it clear that once York1 gets its foot in the door they will amend the ECA again (and not inform the town like before I'm sure) to collect household waste. It might not happen right away but without requiring an EA - why wouldn't they? Most of the waste from Toronto gets shipped to the states and instead of the government coming up with a sustainable plan they have taken the easy way out by proposing the EA process not be followed for a site that will no doubt impact every facet of life within the Dresden and surrounding communities.

We learn about European countries that manage their waste in innovative ways because they do not have the space for landfills and the only reason North America has landfills to a large degree is because there is so much space for them. Well that logic isn't quite the case for the proposed Dresden landfill because it is right outside of a town which is barbaric and illogical. European countries use their waste to create energy - something we could use as one of our largest energy supply (nuclear site) is nearing it's end of life. This is a fantastic opportunity to come up with sustainable innovative solutions for our province instead of going backwards in time when there were no such things as EAs and the implications of landfills on neighboring communities were not known.

Thank you for taking the time to read my comment. I really do hope someone is protecting us and restoring my faith in the provincial and federal government in looking at our children's future and not short term gains.