GFL says it will take two years to comply with a provincial order to lower waste stockpiles at upper Stoney Creek’s Taro industrial dump — and keep taking more waste in the meantime.
Dave Richmond, the company’s vice-president for Eastern Canada, said GFL doesn’t agree the dump is up to 14 metres above limits allowed by the site’s 2019 expansion permit but won’t “fuss” about the April 10 order.
“We have a different interpretation of that (permit) language that suggested we were able to continue operating as that site has operated since its opening in the 1990s,” he told a sometimes heated April 30 online community meeting.
Richmond said GFL will begin moving the higher waste to a new liner cell by the order’s June 1 deadline and act swiftly if it unearths the type of odours that have plagued the dump for the past year.
“What kind of odours might we run into? The answer is we do not know what they will be like, how intense they will be, you know, how much,” he said.
“As we approach a stockpile, we will scratch the surface. We will try to keep that opening to the targeted stockpile as small as possible and then we’ll be doing sniff tests all over the place.”
Richmond said GFL will apply an odour suppressant and cover a stinky stockpile if necessary, but first focus on relocating waste that is expected to have little or no odour.
Smelly piles will be left until winter months, “when the weather is with us in terms of not having odours spread and be so impactful on the neighbourhood,” he said.
Liz Roediger, a member of citizens group Stand for Stoney Creek, questioned why the Environment Ministry is giving GFL two years to comply and hasn’t referred the waste violation to its investigation branch for possible charges.
She said residents have been complaining “for months on end” about the unsightly stockpiles, which the ministry order blames for recent odour problems and adding to excessive leachate levels previously identified as the main source of the site’s stench.
“Two years seems like a really long time,” Roediger said, suggesting GFL should redirect new waste to other dumps until it complies with Taro’s height limits. “It’s just so frustrating that they keep receiving waste beyond their capacity.”
Neil Hannington, a supervisor at the Environment Ministry’s Hamilton district office, said the two-year timeline reflects that GFL must build three liner cells to relocate non-compliant waste and construction can’t take place in the winter.
Reducing the dump’s leachate levels delayed construction of the first cell, he said, noting the April 10 order requires GFL to stop piling waste above approved limits and begin lowering waste piles by June 1.
“I appreciate your frustration,” Hannington said. “If it could get done sooner that would be great, but I don’t know if there’s a way to do that. If there was, I think we’d all be heading down that path, but I think it’s a very reasonable plan.”
In a testy exchange, Roediger pressed GFL on how close it is to complying with an Oct. 18 ministry order requiring leachate levels to be lowered to 0.5 metres above the dump’s liner.
Site manager Lorenzo Alfano said leachate is about two metres above the liner at its lowest point but the rest of the dump is “virtually dry.”
“If we did a calculation based on the entire surface of the landfill, we’re probably below that (ministry target) or close to it,” he said.
“But you’re still transporting leachate off-site,” Roediger said.
“No, if you were listening to the presentation, we stopped on April 11th,” Alfano responded.
“I’m taking care of my kids, so I missed that one,” said Roediger, who earlier could be heard telling one of her children to “hush” because she was on the phone.
“Sorry, Liz, it’s hard to do two things at once,” Alfano said. “Maybe you need to pick and choose.”
“Unfortunately, I have to be here, because who else is holding you accountable in the public?” Roediger said.
Resident Frances Lasowski objected to Alfano’s “disrespectful” comment and asked for an apology, noting she’s a chemical engineer but still learning how dumps work.
“We’re being chastised for asking questions about things we don’t understand,” she said. “You’re talking in a lot of cases to women who are managing this, managing jobs and doing their best, and we’re getting chastised for it and that’s really tough.”
Richmond responded: “The community’s participation is important and absolutely appreciated, but they’re difficult and stressful discussions,” he said. “We’ll absolutely try to do better.”
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