The Ontario government has taken the first step toward a full Environmental Assessment of the plan to revive the dormant Dresden dump.

York1 Environmental Waste Solutions plans to build a new landfill on the Irish School Road site and create a construction and soil waste recycling centre. It would bring up to 6,000 tonnes of construction waste and soil in up to 700 trucks a day to the site.

The move has faced fierce opposition from Dresden residents. The former landfill, which was most recently used as a waste wood recycling center and shooting range for the Chatham-Kent Police, is just 800 meters from the town. The site is also surrounded by homes.

The proposal first came to light when York1 filed for approval under the Environmental Compliance Approvals process. The land already had ECA designation and the process to expand an existing site under the compliance approval process takes far less time than a full Environmental Assessment new landfills require.

Dresden residents, Chatham-Kent and Lambton politicians and environmental groups all argued the project needed more scrutiny considering during the 1970s, when the approval was first given, there were few environmental rules for landfills.

March 15 , the Environment Minister Andrea Khanjin said the province would ask for a full Environmental Assessment of the project. Today, the request to envoke a more vigourous process was posted to the Environmental Registry of Ontario.

“We have heard the concerns of the people of Dresden about York1 Environmental Waste Solutions Ltd.’s proposal to start receiving waste at a local landfill site that has not been in operation since the 1980s. We also know that an environmental assessment has never been completed for this site, because the landfill predates Ontario’s environmental assessment requirements for landfills. We recognize the potential impact that a landfill of this size could have on the local residents and the surrounding environment,” the proposal states.

“In response to the significant public interest in the proposed project and the environmental concerns raised, in particular regarding potential impacts to species at risk, groundwater, surface water, increased truck traffic, odour, and other potential impacts to the local community, we are seeking comments on a proposal for a regulation that would, if made, require York1 Environmental Waste Solutions Ltd. to complete a comprehensive environmental assessment process for the project.”

The province wants the following things to undergo a full Environmental Assessment.

• Re-establishing landfill operations, including construction of a new landfill cell, within the approved site with a theoretical approved capacity of 1,620,000 cubic metres to landfill non-hazardous solid waste including construction and demolition waste and excess soil that are not reusable.

• Reestablishment and expansion of a waste transfer and processing station at the approved site for receiving, storing and processing up to 6,000 tonnes per day of solid, non-hazardous waste, including blue box waste, construction and demolition waste, tires, asbestos, excess soil and organic waste.

• any enterprise or activity ancillary to the project.

The Environmental Registry of Ontario says the provincial proposal will be up for comments until May 10.

If the province is given the go-ahead for the full Environmental Assessment, cabinet will still have to approve the bump up.

You can find the notice here;

https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-8417