I am deeply concerned about…

I am deeply concerned about the proposal to develop/enlarge the retired landfill north of Dresden ON. It's proximity to Dresden is a huge concern. The noise and smell of a landfill should never be that close to a town. Landfills should be positioned close to the 401/402/403 corridors so that the truck traffic does not need to pass through multiple villages and towns, away from waterways and somewhere that the noise and smell affects the minimum amount of people.

The increased truck traffic is a huge concern for the safety of our children and all those living in Dresden or along either of the possible access routes. The two options for access would be from the 402 or 401. The 401 option has trucks passing through the village of Thamesville, Wabash and Dresden to access the site. The 402 option has trucks passing through Reeces Corners, Wyoming, Petrolia, Oil City, Oil Springs, Edys Mills and Rutherford to access the site. NEITHER route minimizes the nuisance of all the trucks passing to and from the landfill or the risk they pose to the safety of the children that live along those routes. Any other sizable landfills in southwestern Ontario have been positioned close to the 401 or 402, and in a spot that does not require trucking the garbage through multiple villages/towns. Those types of locations make sense. This one north of Dresden does not.

I also find it extremely troubling that a government would think it is acceptable to bypass an environmental assessment to try and expedite a landfill. What message does it send to our youth and society that we only follow the rules when it is convenient or easy? Trying to justify bypassing the environmental assessment under the premise of unleashing our economy or fear of losing the option of trucking it to the USA is extremely short sighted. If reopening this landfill causes contamination to the waterways from the buried fly ash on site, or the increased risk of accidental spill or leaching through the soil, it will affect wild life and drinking water for thousands of people.

Until a better option is developed to deal with our waste, landfills will be necessary. I understand the idea of NIMBY, but there has got to be better options available to put the waste than an old retired landfill that is so close to a beautiful town, that has such poor access to the 401 corridor and has the high risk of contamination of Molly's Creek, the Sydenham River and all the waterways downstream that run by Walpole Island into the St Clair River and points beyond. Please do not ignore these critical concerns over fear of losing the option to haul waste to the USA. Dresden has been my home all my life and this is the first time I have feared for the future of our town. Please do the right thing and continue with the environmental assessment.