For Immediate Release
December 14, 2006

Sterling demands Environment Minister shut down Carp Dump until stench is gone

Queen's Park, Toronto - "The people of West Ottawa are gagging on the stench coming from the Carp Dump and cannot go outside their homes," Lanark-Carleton MPP Norm Sterling told the Legislature today. "Never mind considering expansion, the existing dump should be shut down if the stench and leachate cannot be controlled."

Mr. Sterling demanded of Environment Minister Laurel Broten that she force Waste Management Corp. to control leachate and odours from the Carp Road Landfill or close down their operations.

Minister Broten responded by simply explaining the environmental assessment process and then claimed that Waste Management has dealt with the leachate and odour problems caused by the existing landfill operation.

"Waste Management has not solved the odour problem and the Minister refused to acknowledge that," said Mr. Sterling. "I have opposed expanding this dump because I simply don't believe that is the most appropriate place for a dump and the complaints I've been receiving about the stench from the existing landfill are proof."

Mr. Sterling has consistently opposed the proposed expansion of the Carp Dump. As well as asking questions and making statements in the Legislature, on April 24 Mr. Sterling walked in the March Against the Dump and accepted hundreds of pages of petitions which he later introduced in the Legislature.
The Carp Landfill has been in operation for 30 years and was expected to close in 2010. In February, Waste Management announced its plan to triple the size of the Carp dump and extend its life for 25 years and released a draft Terms of Reference for public comment. Waste Management is expected to file the revised Terms of Reference with the Ministry of the Environment early in the new year.

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For more information, please call Lanark-Carleton MPP Norm Sterling at: (416) 314-7900

Hansard Transcript
Ontario Legislature, December 14, 2006, Question Period

Landfill

Mr. Norman W. Sterling (Lanark-Carleton): My question is for the Minister of the Environment. Almost a year ago, Ontario Waste Management Corp. began the process of applying for a massive expansion of their landfill site at Carp Road in the west part of the city of Ottawa. The draft terms of reference were released and commented on but the revised terms of reference have not been filed with your ministry because Waste Management is out of compliance with their existing landfill site.
One of the main offences of the site is a groundwater contamination of adjacent property. What did Waste Management do to meet the regulation? Did they clean up the leachate? No. They simply bought the land beside them so they could continue to pollute the groundwater. Minister, will you make them clean up this existing mess before you consider any terms of reference for an environmental assessment to expand this quagmire?

Hon. Laurel C. Broten (Minister of the Environment): I know that my friend opposite has some understanding of the importance of the environmental assessment process, and that is what is taking place in the context of a request by Waste Management to expand the Carp landfill. The critical issue that my friend raises is with respect to the leachate, and that issue must and will be addressed in the context of the environmental assessment that will take place, as I fulfill the responsibility to ensure that if this landfill is to be expanded, it will be done only if I can be assured that the communities surrounding that landfill will be safe and secure.

Mr. Sterling: We want the leachate cleaned up, we just don't want it there forever.
Madam Minister, our community is gagging on the odours that emanate from this site. The stench has increased in intensity and frequency and is migrating farther afield than ever before, even in the cooler weather. The community has been told by your ministry that during 2006 the company has been in a "voluntary abatement program" to improve this crisis. The problem hasn't improved; it's worse. Your ministry contends that the odour is more of a nuisance than a health concern; however, my constituents don't agree.

How long do my constituents have to gag on this stinking mess? Will you shut down this site until the company deals with these obnoxious odours? Shut it down until they clean it up.

Hon. Ms. Broten: Thank you very much, and I can indicate to my friend opposite that the ministry is actively engaged with Waste Management and is well aware of the issues faced in that community. In fact, it is the Ministry of the Environment that refused to consider the agreement until the proponent addresses the issue, and they have taken several steps to address the odour problem. We have approved at the Ministry of the Environment those steps: A temporary gas flare. The company has also applied for approval for a misting system, which would be an odour neutralizer. As to the leachate system, this issue will be addressed in the context of the environmental assessment.

To update my friend with respect to the leachate, the company has installed a leachate control system, and that is now being collected in the Ottawa sanitary sewer. The Ministry of the Environment is actively engaged, protecting the community, and all of these critical issues will be brought to light in the context of the very important environmental assessment that is now taking place.