Another chapter in the saga of the Environmental Resource Recovery Centre (ERRC) came to a close this week.
County council passed the request for a County Official Plan amendment for the proposed ERRC at 2976 Horseshoe Valley Road in Springwater on Tuesday morning, but not without some discussion about how much the public needs to be involved at this point in the process.
Springwater Deputy Mayor Don Allen put forward a motion to implore the county to hold a public information session on the ERRC.
When Allen read his motion, he cited the fire at the Orillia Progressive Waste Solutions Facility on Friday as a good reason to get more information, specifically about fire concerns.
County General Manager Debbie Korolnek responded, saying the cause of the fire has been determined to be illegally dumped pool chemicals.
County Director of Waste Management Rob McCullough elaborated on details on the fire to BarrieToday.
“The initial determination based on our discussions is that pool chemicals is one of the possible sources,” says McCullough. “No one was there when the fire started, so no one knows for sure.”
However, McCullough did say that the authorities have identified who was responsible for dumping the waste improperly.
McCullough highlighted that the facility in Orillia is very different from what is being proposed for the ERRC, so the two can’t really be compared.
“The facility in Orillia is for household hazardous waste, and it’s an outdoor facility where garbage is dumped on the ground. There is little opportunity there for significant fire protection,” he says.
“Our operation will be indoors and will be alarmed with first responder options,” said McCullough.
McCullough was reluctant to elaborate on specific fire protections as it’s too early in the process to determine until technology is decided on, however he did indicate that water cannons is one of many options being considered.
Back at the county council table on Tuesday, the motion for the amendment was passed 92-31.
After the amendment passed, councillors had an in-depth discussion about Allen’s motion and how much the public really needed to know at this point in the game.
“This is a long-term project with long-term impact, I think this council has generally shown it wants to communicate with the public,” said Springwater Mayor Bill French. “Why do we not want to share knowledge with the public? The county is the applicant. The more knowledge and info we share, the better the outcome.”
“Meeting with the residents is not a bad idea,” said Innisfil Deputy Mayor Lynn Dollin. “Why can’t we meet with the residents and put some of these fears to rest? I think we could do that easily for them.”
Collingwood Deputy Mayor Brian Saunderson also chimed in to show his support for the motion.
“Municipal government is a dialogue. To give informed information to residents, we need to know resident concerns,” he said. “Meetings can be inflammatory, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have them. I think we would be selling the public short by turning our backs on this meeting.”
Collingwood Mayor Sandra Cooper advocated for waiting to have information sessions until there is more concrete information about the facility available.
“We don’t know the technology, so how will we know how fire protections will work? We don’t have all the information. As information becomes available, I would suggest that would be the appropriate time at which to have these information sessions,” she said.
County Warden Gerry Marshall tended to agree with Cooper.
“To have a meeting that’s based on speculation and fear won’t help the situation,” said Marshall. “We have to trust the process. Council makes decisions based on evidence. I think we’re just going to be speculating and frustrating our residents.”
The motion to have a public information session on the ERRC at this time was defeated 73-50.
As for the next steps in the ERRC project, the amendment will now be sent to the province for approval. The province will have 210 days from submission to send back approval, which is anticipated by early 2019.
Assuming the approvals are in place, work is slated to begin on the site in 2019, commissioning the MMF in 2021 and the OPF in 2024.
