What is the Coalition for Landfill Accountability?

Why Do We Need

COLA?

BACKGROUND: The Carp Road Dump closed in 2011 after years of odour and groundwater issues due to poor management and oversight. Waste Management of Canada Corporation is looking to reopen and expand the landfill to take up to 400,000 tonnes of garbage each year.

CONTEXT:

In 1971 when the landfill was first licensed it was a rural landfill servicing the local residents.

Now it is in the middle of the rapidly growing west end of Ottawa servicing Ontario.

WHAT IS COLA?

COLA is an umbrella group of local community associations and concerned citizens in West Carleton, Stittsville and Kanata to; •  Educate people on issues pertaining to the landfill •  Engage people in the process •  Provide oversight to the landfill development and •  Assure accountability to the community Whether or not the landfill is approved, we believe there is still an opportunity for residents to make a difference in the process.

OBJECTIVES

Ò Accountability. Ensure that Waste Management, elected officials and government agencies follow through on commitments relating to the landfill.

Ò Education. Share information with residents about the landfill operation, how it will affect them, and how they can get involved in the process.

THE NEW LANDFILL PROPOSAL:

ABOUT THE LANDFILL EXPANSION:

Ò  It will double the size of the existing landfill. Ò  It will take up to 400,000 tonnes a year ( the city of

Ottawa Trail Road landfill took 175,000 tonnes in 2013). Ò  It will take industrial commercial & institutional,

residential, contaminated soils and construction & demolition waste.

Ò  It will add heavy truck traffic to area roads. Ò  It will service all of Ontario.

APPROVALS:

Ò Currently Waste Management has submitted applications for Environmental Compliance Approval to the provincial Ministry of the Environment and Site Plan Control to the City of Ottawa. (approved Oct. 28, 2015)

Ò COLA members have and continue to provide comment and requested changes to both approvals to assure all impacts are mitgated.

PUBLIC LIAISION COMMITTEE:

Ò As a condition to the approved Environmental Assessment a Public Liaison Committee (PLC) was set up in 2014 to address public concerns.

Ò The PLC meets behind closed doors, does not publish meeting schedules and agendas and only publishes minutes months after a meeting.

Ò COLA wants to make the PLC open, transparent and effective in its mandate.

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING:

Ò  The history of the closed landfill is one of poor management, chronic odour problems, continuing groundwater contamination as well as litter and bird problems.

Ò  Waste Management (WM) has committed to address all these issues for the new landfill.

Ò  COLA wants to hold WM accountable and ensure that proper monitoring and mitigation measures are in place to track and reduce odours and groundwater contamination from the new landfill.

HOST MUNICIPALITY AGREEMENT:

Ò The City and Waste Management still need to negotiate a Host Municipality Agreement (HMA) to address outstanding issues and define a compensation fee to be paid into a community fund.

Ò We want to ensure this fee is on par with what other communities have received, and that there is a fair and transparent process for how the fund is returned to the community.

PROPERTY VALUE:

Ò Property Value protection is a condition of the Environmental Assessment/

Ò COLA wants to ensure that property owners affected by the landfill expansion receive fair compensation for possible loss of property value through a property value protection plan.

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COLA MISSION:

The new landfill must be held accountable to the Community

COLA MEMBERS:

Ò  Richardson Corridor Community Association Ò  Stittsville Village Association Ò  Fairwinds Community Association Ò  Jackson Trails Community Association Ò  Huntley Manor Community Association Ò  Crossing Bridge Residents Association Ò  Southwest Stittsville Community Association Ò  Ward 5 Citizens Council Ò  Beaverbrook Community Association

HOW TO CONTACT COLA:

Ò Contact info É Website: http://COLAottawa.ca É Facebook: http://facebook.com/COLAOttawa É Twitter: @COLAOttawa É Email: COLAottawa@gmail.com

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Ò Become a member