| Jul 06, 2016


More delays over Denbigh dump

Craig Dobiech and Roberto Sacilotto, from the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, appeared before council on Monday to talk about the future of the Denbigh and Kaladar waste sites.

The Denbigh site was closed in 2004, and for the last 12 years the township has been seeking ministry approval to re-open the site on an expanded footprint. The township has purchased land adjacent to the waste site and, according to Reeve Hogg, has “done everything the ministry has asked of us over that time but we have not heard, ever, whether there is any likelihood of the site opening again and when that might happen.”

Speaking for the ministry, Dobiech said that there is a concern about the potential for leachate from material in the existing and the potentially extended site into the water table. He said that, in consultation with the township's waste consultant, Diedre Johnson, who was at the meeting, and Road Supervisor Royce Rosenblath, additional work is planned for the site to raise the ground level and hopefully divert water around the waste to mitigate the leaching issue.

“Hopefully we can expedite your application to have this work done, so it can be completed this year. We will then require a couple of sampling events to determine how well it works, at least one of them in the spring,” said Dobiech.

“There is one thing about this I don't like,” said Councilor Bill Cox. “We could do all this, spend more money, after we have spent a lot of money over the years, and end up with the dump staying closed.”

“Whether or not the site can be re-opened, the work needs to be done as part of the closure plan,” said Diedre Johnson, as Craig Dobiech confirmed.

“What's the likelihood, after we do this, that it will yield the results you are looking for and we can re-open the dump?” asked Councilor Tony Fritsch.

“I can't answer that question,” said Johnson.

“But if we do the work this summer, and test in the fall and the spring, the dump could be open a year from now, could it not?” asked Councilor Kirby Thompson.

“I can't answer that,” said Dobiech, “but we can expedite the approval for having the work done on the site this year.”

The second topic discussed was the pending closure of the Kaladar Waste Site.

“Essentially, the site is full,” said Johnson, “and it is ready to be capped with .6 metres of clay. However, if the township uses a thinner membrane instead of clay, there will be enough extra space created for 6 to 7 years.

“Has this membrane been approved in other places?” asked Reeve Hogg.

“It has, and we can consider it for this site, but we need an application in front of us before we can react,” said Dobiech.

“We are trying to get an application in within the next couple of weeks,” said Johnson.

The township is considering restricting all of the dump sites to household waste, and diverting all construction waste and furniture from the local sites in order to keep them open longer. If approved, the Denbigh site would be liable to receive waste for 30 years.

More noise exemptions – the New Apostolic Church requested the use of the Denbigh ball field for a church homecoming weekend on August 21 and 22, when they are planning to hold an outdoor service and a concert. They also requested an exemption to the noise bylaw for the occasion.

Council approved the noise bylaw exemption.

Library Purchasing Policy – In response to a request from Councilor Cox, the purchasing policy for the Addington Highlands Public Library was included in the agenda package. The policy, which dates from 2004, states that for any expenditure over $5,000, three “written quotes” are required.

“I was just concerned because it seemed all the work that gets done is solely sourced from one contractor, which is not something we can do at the township, and we pay the library budget,” said Cox.

“We might pay the budget, but the library is not required to follow our bylaws. They are independent in that sense,” said Reeve Hogg.

Council received the library purchasing policy for information.

Calcium Carbonate applied – Royce Rosenblath reported that the application of calcium carbonate on township roads for dust suppression has been completed, as have the re-surfacing projects that were approved in the budget.

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