In response to requests from Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott and others, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment is launching a review of the province’s handling of the disposal of fill and contaminated soil.
That is exciting News to members of the Erin-based group Citizens Against Fill Dumping.
Anna Spiteri of Citizens Against Fill Dumping said, “We cautiously welcome this turn of events. Ted Arnott, our MPP must be commended for his persistent efforts in forwarding our concerns and supporting our cause for regulated Fill in Ontario.”
In a recent press release Arnott noted, “Last week, I received a letter from the Minister of the Environment informing me that his ministry has agreed to launch a review of the province’s policies regulating the disposal of fill.”
The review comes after Arnott submitted an Application for Review with Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner last November.
Prior to submitting the Application for Review, Arnott had written to the minister of environment three times, requesting that the minister establish an Interministerial Committee to investigate the problem and come forward with a series of recommendations to address the issue.
“There is currently no province-wide policy regulating the disposal of fill,” Arnott pointed out. “The provincial government has always left it up to individual municipalities to provide oversight and there is no process in place to ensure that compromised soil is being disposed of safely.
“This is an important issue because so much fill is being trucked out of the city and dumped in rural Ontario,” Arnott argued. “We need to make sure that it is safe and that the health of local residents and the safety of our water supply is not being put at risk by degraded or compromised soil.”
While Arnott is pleased the Ministry of the Environment is looking into the matter, he was disappointed that the minister of municipal affairs and housing felt that the matter did not warrant a review by her ministry.
Spiteri and others had met with Arnott earlier this month to discuss the matter of fill being dumped on productive farmland.
She said, “We do appreciate that the MOE has heard our concerns and is demonstrating good faith in launching a review on fill disposal policies. We hope that we at the grass root level will have opportunities to provide our input into the process as a member of the stakeholders at the table.”
She later said, “When the MOE first put out its Soil Management, A Guide for Best Management Practices, we felt there was merit to the document since many valid and practical suggestions were put forth.”
While it is a good starting point, Spiteri stressed, “it is a best practice guide, no more, no less. In the real world of fill, despite sounding like a pessimist, unless this document is a regulation, it has little clout.”
Her group was disappointed that the minister of municipal affairs and housing is not looking into the matter.
Spiteri explained that “It is initially at the municipal level that governments are struggling to come to terms on how to deal with the problem. Guidance and financial/personnel support from the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is of the utmost importance in resolving the fill dumping issue. Yet municipalities are left stranded by a lack of political will to do what must be done.”
Spiteri commented that another highlight for the local group is its connection with the Ontario Soil Regulation Task Force, a coalition of groups fighting fill across Ontario.
Coordinator, Debbie Gordon contacted Spiteri to find out if the group is interested in joining forces.
