(Township of Tiny) – Simcoe North MPP Garfield Dunlop today visited Tiny Marsh to announce that he has asked the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario to review the Certificate of Approval for the proposed County of Simcoe landfill known as “Site 41” in the Township of Tiny. Dunlop filed the Application for Review under the Environmental Bill of Rights with supporting documentation on February 25.

“The application process for Site 41 has continued for far too long – since 1978,” said Dunlop. “With the passage of time, the unraveling of the facts and a growing appreciation of groundwater protection, it has become more and more apparent to me that Site 41 is the wrong location for a landfill.”

In his application, Dunlop cited several specific reasons why Certificate of Approval No. A620278 should not have been granted, including:

· Comments made by the Ministry of the Environment in two separate reports;

· Results of the peer review conducted by the Severn Sound Environmental Association;

· Justice Dennis O’Connor’s water source protection recommendations in the Report of the Walkerton Inquiry;

· Environment Minister Leona Dombrowsky’s announcement on developing legislation to “protect water before it enters our drinking water systems”; and

· The extensive de-watering that would be required if Site 41 were to be developed as a landfill.

“Common sense dictates that the Minister’s latest actions to protect drinking water at the source should automatically lead to a review of any landfill decision involving unresolved groundwater protection issues,” said Dunlop. “The Minister imposed a one-year moratorium on new water-taking permits last fall, yet there was no such moratorium placed on new landfill constructions.”

The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario will forward Dunlop’s application to the Ministry of the Environment within 10 days of receipt. The Ministry will then notify Dunlop within 60 days as to whether or not a review will be conducted.

Contacts:
Garfield Dunlop
(705) 327-4500 (cell)