MOTION NO. 51/9
Moved by: Councillor E.
El-Chantiry
Seconded by: Councillor S. Qadri
BE IT
RESOLVED THAT Council waive the Rules of Procedure to consider the following
motion at its meeting of 27 March 2013, because the comment period for the
Amended Environmental Assessment (Amended EA) for a new landfill footprint at
West Carleton Environmental Centre ends April 2, 2013; and
WHEREAS the Ministry of the Environment has
jurisdiction over approval and oversight of environmental assessments in
accordance with the Environmental Assessment Act; and
WHEREAS the purpose of the Environmental Assessment
Act is the betterment of the people of the whole or any part of Ontario
by providing for the protection, conservation and wise management of the
environment; and
WHEREAS environmental assessments are an important and
significant mechanism in the furtherance of the Act’s purpose in that
assessments determine the ecological, cultural, economic, and social impact
of a project and that assessments serve a key part of the planning process; and
WHEREAS on April 10, 2010, Waste Management of Canada
announced it was initiating an Environmental Assessment for the expansion of
their existing facility to adjacent lands that it owns and/or has an option
to purchase on Carp Road; and
WHEREAS on November 25, 2010, Waste Management of
Canada received approval from the Ministry of the Environment to proceed with
an Environmental Assessment; and
WHEREAS a final Environmental Assessment was submitted
to the Ministry of the Environment on September 14, 2012 and the process
allowed for agency and public comment on the Environmental Assessment; and
WHEREAS the City staff had reviewed the Environmental
Assessment and identified a number of concerns and deficiencies relating to
same as set out in the staff Report on the Environmental Assessment of a New
Landfill Footprint at the West Carleton Environmental Centre
(ACS2012-COS-ESD-0013); and
WHEREAS the Environment Committee at its public meeting
of October 16, 2012 endorsed the Staff Report; and
WHEREAS City Council at its public meeting of October
24, 2012 approved the recommendations of the Environment Committee and
additional motion items relating to the Environmental Assessment, including
the submission that the capacity of the proposed facility be reduced to 4
million cubic metres; and
WHEREAS the City’s concerns had been forwarded to the
Ministry of the Environment as part of the agency and public consultation
process; and
WHEREAS Waste Management of Canada submitted an Amended
Environmental Assessment to the Ministry of the Environment on January 21,
2013 and the Ministry released its Review of same dated February 22, 2013; and
WHEREAS the concerns and deficiencies previously raised
by the City through its public consultation process in 2012, have not been
resolved in the Amended Environmental Assessment or in the Ministry’s Review
and it appears that the Ministry of the Environment may recommend to the
Minister of the Environment approval of the project without sufficient regard
to the City’s concerns; and
WHEREAS there is a further opportunity for agency and
public input on the Amended Environmental Assessment by April 2, 2013; and
WHEREAS it is prudent for the City to reiterate its
concerns to the Ministry of Environment, and directly to the Minister of the
Environment, given that the Minister has the ultimate discretion and decision
making authority on the Amended Environmental Assessment and project; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council:
1. Reiterate its
concerns on the Environmental Assessment, which were carefully arrived
following staff’s technical review of the Environmental Assessment and was
further based upon the public consultations conducted by Council; and
2. That Council
support the Mayor providing a further submission in the form and content of
the draft letter attached hereto as Document 1, to the both the Minister of
the Environment and the Ministry of Environment in accordance with the
current public consultation deadline, reiterating Council’s outstanding
concerns and that the Minister of the Environment, being the ultimate
decision maker on Environmental Assessments, give weight to the City’s
concerns and incorporate same into the decision making process and result.
3. That the legal
opinion provided by Heenan Blaikie in this matter be made public.
Motion No.
51/9 was CARRIED on a division of 22 YEAS to 0 NAYS as follows:
Yeas (22):
Councillors: D. Deans, B. Monette, R. Bloess, M. McRae, A. Hubley,
S. Qadri, P. Hume, S. Desroches, D. Holmes, E. El-Chantiry, R.
Chiarelli, K. Hobbs, T. Tierney, M. Fleury, M. Wilkinson, P. Clark, K.
Egli, M. Taylor, D. Thompson, D. Chernushenko, J. Harder and
Mayor J. Watson.
Nays (0):
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