MECP comments to MPP Sarrazin on mega-landfill plans

CJRO reached out to MPP Stephane Sarrazin on April 2 regarding Taggart Miller's application to the Ontario Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks to change the existing approval of a giant landfill and waste facility. The change, if approved, would allow it, if built, to take Ottawa's residential garbage. The property is right beside Sarrazin's riding of Glengarry Prescott Russell, and would have a negative impact on communities from Carlsbad Lane to Vars, Navan, Sarsfield, Russell Township, and the Nation Municipality. Here is the reply from Sarrazin's office.

Friday, May 3, 2024

Good morning,

Thank you for reaching out to the office of MPP Sarrazin.

We apologize for the delay. We have just received a response from the Ministry, as detailed below:

• On March 21, 2024, Taggart Miller Environmental Services Inc, submitted an application to the ministry to amend the existing Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) for the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre (CRRRC) to include the acceptance of residential municipal solid waste.

• The acceptance of residential municipal solid waste will not change the approved landfill footprint, capacity and annual rate of fill at the site. Note that the facility has not been constructed yet. 

• The application is currently under technical review to confirm that the site has been designed appropriately and meets all of Ontario’s legislative and regulatory requirements.

• The ministry’s neighbour notification process requires proponents to notify adjacent neighbours prior to submitting a waste application.

• On March 21, 2024, Taggart Miller sent notification letters to adjacent property owners and the City of Ottawa about this application. The ministry has received a total of 5 comments to date. 

• The proposal is exempt from posting on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) given it has received Environmental Assessment Act approval.

• Concerns raised include odour, noise, truck traffic, devaluation of property and loss of enjoyment of property; all comments received by the ministry will be considered during the ministry’s technical review of the application. 

• The proposed amendment does not result in modifications to the site design, total capacity, annual rate of fill, and service area.

• The ministry will require the Proponent to submit an adequate odour management plan for the acceptance of residential municipal solid waste, so that adverse impacts on the environment and public health are minimized.

 Background:

• On May 31, 2017, Taggart Miller Environmental Services received Environmental Assessment Act approval for the CRRRC.

• The ministry subsequently issued the following approvals and permissions to Taggart Miller: 

• Industrial Sewage Works ECA - issued on March 7, 2019, for stormwater management facilities (ditches and ponds) servicing the CRRRC.

• Waste ECA - issued on December 13, 2019 for the receipt, transfer, processing, composting and landfilling of solid non-hazardous wastes from industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) sources, construction and demolition (C&D) waste, source separated organics and mixed organics from the IC&I sector, and contaminated soil at the CRRRC. The facility is not currently approved to accept residential waste.  

• In the summer of 2023, Taggart Miller contacted the ministry about its proposal to change the types of waste to be disposed of (including the proposed acceptance of residential municipal solid waste) at the yet-to-be-constructed CRRRC and whether or not the proposal would require an EA process. 

• On November 24, 2023, the ministry confirmed that adding residential municipal solid waste to the waste stream would not require an EA process, but would require an amendment to their existing waste ECA.

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Above is the map of GPR. The proposed site for the Taggart Miller landfill is at the left, immediately south of Highway 417. Below is the area of the proposed landfill on the boundary between the Ottawa riding and the GPR riding. Images courtesy of Elections Ontario.