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By Lee Greenberg, Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — A controversial proposed dump in Russell Township is years away from fruition, Liberal MPPs said Tuesday, even if the company behind it passes numerous county, municipal and provincial hurdles.
“My understanding is the proponent is starting to talk to the community about their plans,” Environment Minister John Wilkinson said. “One of the things I’d recommend is they need to be talking to the municipality because it’s my understanding that the site proposed doesn’t even have the local zoning for it.”
MPP Jean-Marc Lalonde, who represents Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, said Taggart Miller Environmental Services would need to seek an amendment to the county’s official plan before asking for the reported 182-hectare site to be rezoned. Only then could the company propose the terms of reference for an environmental assessment.
“Nobody’s seen anything except the open house they had,” Lalonde said, referring to Taggart Miller’s Nov. 25 event at a local arena.
Opponents of the proposed landfill have organized behind the slogan “Dump the Dump.”
At Queen’s Park Tuesday, Conservative MPP Lisa Mac-Leod asked why Lalonde has yet to introduce a petition that she says garnered 1,375 signatures — more than 10 per cent of the local population — in less than one month.
Lalonde said he hasn’t been given the petition yet, but will introduce it once it is received. He says it would be unwise to take a position on the project until more is known. Otherwise, “it could become a legal issue.”
Opponents argue the landfill site risks contaminating a huge underground aquifer.
The company said it is confident water supplies will be unaffected and plans on compensating nearby property owners for any property value decrease.
Taggart Miller is a partnership between The Taggart Group of Companies, owners of local development firm Taggart Construction, and Miller Waste Systems, a Markhambased company.
The firm’s proposed Capital Region Resource Recovery Center aims to capture 250,000 tonnes of industrial, commercial, construction and demolition waste each year, most generated in Ottawa and trucked to New York.
Wilkinson says any proposal that comes forward will involve heavy public consultation and decisions will be “protective of human health and the natural environment.”
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