Carp Road landfill to get environmental assessment

Plans for an expanded landfill at the site of the Carp Road dump have clearedthe first hurdle with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

The Ministry has approved the terms of reference for conducting an environmental assessment of Waste Management Inc.'s proposal for the dump expansion, which calls for the new landfill to accept up to 400,000 tonnes of waste per year for 10 years.

The Ministry's approval does not constitute an approval of the plan itself, but it sets the parameters for how the environmental impact of Waste Management Inc.'s proposal will be assessed.

Waste Management Inc has said the new facility will be located on the same 142-hectare property in Ottawa's western rural outskirts where it already operates a 35-hectare landfill.

Stittsville councillor Shad Qadri said in a statement he was disappointed in the province's decision to move the assessment process forward without considering whether the landfill was even needed. Qadri said residents have been vocal in their opposition to the new landfill.

"This is an issue residents have been dealing with for years and the community shares my disappointment," said Qadri. "It seems that our concerns have fallen on deaf ears."

The current landfill once accepted 400,000 tonnes ofwaster,per year, but as it reached capacity, that amount was reduced to 25,000 tonnes per year. Excess waste is redirected to facilities in the state of New York. The proposed replacement landfill would be 36 hectares in size and reach a height of 25 metres.

The new proposal includes recycling and composting facilities on-site to help divert waste away from the landfill itself. It also includes technology to capture gases released by the landfill and burn them to create electricity to power greenhouses the company expects to build.

Ministry officials said this first approval sets in motion the next steps for the Environmental Assessment process, which will include more public consultation. Final approvals for the project are still months away, the ministry says.