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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-11-08, Page 3iercm. swan admix Ontario Environmental Assessment Board EP -95-02 Schedule "E" NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Fc wnship Of Stephen The Environmental Assessment Board will hold a public hearing regarding an application to amend Provisional Certificate of Approval No. A 162102 by The Corporation of the Township of Stephen for a five (5) year interim expansion of its landfill site located on the west half of Lot 3. Concession 14. in the Township of Stephen. .n the County of Huron (Board File IEP -95-02). The proposed amendment to the Provisional Certificate of Approval would allow the Township of Stephen to continue to accept waste at Its landfill site for a period of five (5) years and to extend the waste fill area upwards. The proposal is also to extend the life of the landfill by five (5) years to allow for the completion of the County of Huron Waste Management Master Plan. It is expected that by the end of the five (5) year expansion period..the County operated landfill site will be in operation. A map showing the landfill location and the hearing location is included with this notice. DATE, TIME AND PLACE OF THE PRELIMINARY HEARING The Environmental Assessment Board will commence the public hearing with a preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing will be held an: Date and Time: Thursday. December 7, 1995 at 9:00 a.m. Place: Tel: Fax: Township of Stephen Municipal Offices 38 Victoria Street East Crediton, Ontario NOM 'IMO 1519) 234-6331 (519) 234.6301 Important Note. The Board's decision may affect you. If you have concerns, you should attend the hearing or have someone attend who can represent your concerns 1I you (or your representative( do not attend the preliminary hearing, rhe Board may proceed without giving YOU further notice of the hearing. PURPOSE OF PRELIMINARY HEARING The purpose of the preliminary hearing is to: • identify groups or individuals who will be participating in the hearing and how they will be involved; • ask each person or group who wishes to participate to give a list of their concerns and say why these are important for the Board to consider: • identify which concerns the Board will review during the heating; • hear parties' suggestions about a schedule for the exchange of information and identification of issues prior to the main hearing and presentation of witness statements and formal questions: • set a date for a funding hearing, if one is necessary: • set a time and place for the beginning of the main hearing; • set a date and Rime for an Evening Session to hear from those who cannot attend the main hearing during the daytime; and • hear anything ;else that people or groups raise that the Board decides Is relevant to the hearing. No evidence will be heard at the preliminary hearing. BACKGROUND • The Township operates a waste disposal site on the west hall of Lot 3. Conc. XIV. Township of Stephen. County of (Huron. This site has been used, for purposes of waste disposal. since 1962. In 1972. the Township obtained authority for landfilling operations at this site under+Ministry of Environment Certificate of Approval No. A162102. The site area is approximately 20.2 he 150 ac.) and the 1972 approved fill area was 2 ha 15 ac.). This area was. in fact. the area already landfilled at that time. Since 1972. landfilling has occurred over a larger area of about 4.4 ha (10 ac.) and since 1985. has generally followed an approved Pan of Operation and Management to Closure (Re1.1). The final contours of the Plan of Design and Operations to Closure have bean exceeded and in June 1991. the Township applied for an Emergency Certificate of Approval under Section 31 of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) to continue landfilling. A Provisional Certificate of Approval (No. A1621021 was issued on October 19. 1992 and subsequently amended to allow landfilling until August 31. 1994. This Provisional Certificate of Approval had a number of conditions, including the following: • No. 4.6 • A request should be submitted to the Minister of the MOEE for an exemption to the EAA. under Section 29. by November 30. 1992. • No. 4.7 - An application with all supporting documentetion, for an interim expansion oder, shall be made under Section 30 of the EPA (RSO 1990, C,lapter E-19) and Policy 03-05, by November 30. 1992. Submissions were made in November 1992 which satisfied the conditions of the Provisional Certificate. Review end revisions to the submissions were not completed until mid 1994. An Exemption Order under the Environmental Assessment Act was issued on October 27. 1994 (Ref , 2). It is projected that an additional 58.000 cubic metres of waste, excluding cover. will be landfilled during this period. Capacity will be achieved by revising final contours on a 3.3 hectare arta which hes received waste in the past. The total wee of the site will remain at 20.2 hectares. with a IoW landfilled area of 4.4 hectares. SCALE -NTS ExIsTING LANor•LL SITE ADDIT1ONAL LANDS OWNED 81 TOWNSHIP Or STEPHEN GENERAL LOCATION PLAN HOW TO PARTICIPATE Groups or individuals interested in participating in the hearing -have the right to express their concerns regarding the public interest or their private concerns. . • Submissions may be made in person at the hearing, either verbally or ir,writing. The Board will not consider any submissions regarding the proposal atter the main hearing has been completed. The different categories of public participation in the heanncs are observers, participants and Parties. As an observer, you can attend and observe a.iy stage of the hearing. As a participant, you can make a presentation to the Board Draw/ and/or in writing. Participants' presentations are usually scheduled for the evening to ac: ammodate those who are unable to attend the main hearing during the daytime. The scheduling of an Evening Session. if necessary, will be done at the preliminary hearing. Those persons who request and receive party status Iron the Board assume the rights and responsibilities of this fullest form of involvement in the he Sang process. Parties are usually represented by legal counsel or an agent at the hearer a; however. they may represent themselves. The Board will consider requests for full-time or part-time party status. FILING OF NOTICE OF INTENT TO PARTICIPATE Anyone wishing to participate in this nearing should subm : written notice of their intent to participate to the Board by Monday. November 27. 1995. _ ,e Notice of Intent should contain a clear statement of the person's or group's interest in the -.earing and the extent of intended participation in the hearing (full-time party. part-time party Jr participant only) The Notice should indicate whether funding will be sought under the intervenor Fund/ng Protect Act. Please include the name. address. telephone and fax number of the person who will be communicating with the.Board on behalf of the individual or group. T1i 'lotice should be submitted to the Environmental Assessment Board at the address below. 1 lase quote file number EP -95-02. Pease note that the names. addresses, telephone and fax numbers of c. ;tact persons may be circulated in advance of the hearing in order to ensure discussion among potential parties and participants. Depending on the number of people wishing to participate. Board staff may organize an orientation meeting prior to the preliminary hearing. INTERVENOR FUNDING Under the Intervenor Funding Project Act. funding is available to assist groups or individuals to present issues which affect the public interest. This funding may be given to groups or individuals who have been given party status and who can show, to the Board's satisfaction, that their issues will affect the public interest and that they satisfy the eligibility criteria listed in the Act. Where possible, the Board encourages groups or individuals to work with others with similar interests to avoid duplication of work. The Board and its staff may be able to assist you in doing this. At the preliminary hearing on December 7, 1996. the Board will set a deadline for receipt of applications for intervenor funding, if necessary. Prior to consideration of those funding applications, a Funding Panel will be appointed under the Intervenor Funding Project Act. In accordance with the criteria set out in the Act, the Funding Panel will determine whether. to whom and in what amounts funding will be granted. STATUTORY AUTHORITY • the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.E• 19, as amended, which requires the Board to hold a hearing upon referral by the Director of Approvals; • The Intervenor Funding Project Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.I3. as extended by 0.C. 819/92 dated Match 11, 1992, which allows intervenors to seek funding for their participation in the hearing. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION The Corporation of the Township of Stephen's application and supporting documentation are available for examination during normal business hours at: Township of Stephen Municipal Offlees 38 Victoria Street Crediton, Ontafio NOM IMO Phone: (519) 234-8331 Fax: (519) 2346301 Environmental Assessment Board Suite 1201 2300 Yonge St., Toronto, Ontario M4P 1E4 Phone: (418) 484-7800 Fax: (418) 484-7825 For further information about the hearing or the Board, please contact Jim Curren, Board Secretary, Environmental Assessment Board directly at (416) 484-7804. The Board accepts collect calls. It is your responsibility to contact the Environmental Assessment Board to determine the dates, times and location for the hearing as it proceeds. DATED at TORONTO, this 25th day of OCTOBER, 1995. Jim Curren Board Secretary 1 TN THENEWS Police Services Board to go? EXETER- Councillor Roy Trieb- ner asked if the local Police Servic- es Board had not served its purpose and its responsibilities be assigned to Council. "Now is a good time to do it as the Chair of the Board, John Ste- phens, has resigned as of January I and the Government is advertising for a replacement," said Triebner. Mayor Ben Hoogenboom, a member of the hoard, advised coun- cil their hands are tied in that the Police Services Act says that there must be a board, " ... and although we fought strenuously against hoard, we know we have to live with it." According to Hoogen- boom, Stephens recommended the board be abolished as it had little to do. As well, the secretary, Anita Riddell, resigned, effective al Janu- ary I. Reeve Bill Mickle added Exeter is not alone. Councils all over the province are objecting to the pow- ers of police boards, particularly in areas relating to budgets. Triebner closed the discussion saying he hoped council would consider his suggestion as it examined re- organization alternatives. Sewer rates up to $15.99 EXETER - Exeter Council con- firmed the Public Works Commit- tee's recommendation to increase the cewer surcharge to 120 per cent of the water fate, an increase of $1.42 per month to $15.99. The increase is needed to help fi- nance a $1.6 million expansion ( Exeter's share) to the sewage treat- ment facilities. an expansion that will he required by the turn of the century. It is possible that if Huron Park joins the project, the completion date may he as early as 1998. Cur- rent reserves now stand at about $700,000. Council's rebuttal EXETER - The activity or lack of it at the corner of Main and Sanders Streets was raised at Monday night's council meeting. The com- ments were sparked by a letter to the editor of the T -A two weeks ago, the author of which was in at- tendance during the meeting. • Councillor Bob Spears suggest- ed that it was time to do something with the abandoned Police Station. "There doesn't seem to be much going on at the library. probably because of lack of funds. but we should decide whether we want to lease or sell the police building. To leave it vacant any longer would make it an embarrassment," said Spears. Mayor Ben Hoogenboom advised that this topic has been reserved for a special 'in camera' session. Reeve Bill Mickle emphasized again for those present "... the Building Committee had not ex- ceeded its budget. nor did it intend to. Council itself made changes to the plans and council provided the funds for furniture. Even the con- tingency fund has not been deplet- ed." Mickle added the letter to the editor was unfair and misleading as the committee was not over -spent. Times -Advocate, November 8, 1995 Page 3 What is your reaction to the Quebec referendum results? Barb Soldan Exeter "I thought it was a good outcome. I don't think Que- bec should sep- arate from us. We should work together and hope this doesn't happen again down the road." Grace Adkins Exeter "i don't think it's over yet." Laura Sillery Exeter "As far as I'm concerned, I don't think we needed to sep- arate or make this much fuss over it." Bobble Luxton Exeter "I would have liked to have seen a 60/40 vote to settle the issue or else this is go- ing to happen all over again." Paul Allen Dashwood "If they leave, it will put our tax- es up. I think we are going to have another referendum sooner than. you think." Hazel Bamsley Fergus "I don't think any- thing different will happen if they separate. We in Ontario ob- viously don't like French Canadi- ans very much and it's been like that for 120 years." 17na Undenfleld Exeter 1 did like the vote. I like the fact that Quebec's stay- ing...Quebec's been pati of Cana- da since I've been bom. Taking a piece of Canada is like taking a piece of someone's heart, l guess." Kandra Lees Exeter "1 think (Que- becers) should be gone be- cause they're going to leave sooner or lat- er." Lu Keeton Exeter "I don't think it's over yet with the premier stepping down. 1 think they had it all planned for the premier to step down. 1 really think we'll see it all over again un- til they do vote "Yes. Grand Bend council to request OPP enforce speed limit GRAND BEND - After not re- ceiving any input from the public, Grand Bend Council members de- cided Monday night to proceed with the application to have the OPP enforce a 10 km speed limit in the watercourse. The application to the province would enable the OPP to patrol from the river's mouth to the south limit of the village. The municipality is required to give 30 days notice so the public has an opportunity to give council feedback on the proposal, howev- er, council revealed the public did not respond during that time. One Grand Bend resident attend- ed council's Monday night meeting to voice his concern. "This is totally ridiculous. The speed of the boat isn't the problem, it's the wake...you can still go five mph (10 km) and still put up an eight inch wake," said Dick Ma- nore. Manore criticized the OPP for not using their patrol boat, com- plaining officers were not availa- ble to patrol the harbor and speed limit signs are not erected further down the river. "It's difficult for us to tell the OPP how to do their job," replied Ivey and reminded Manore council has not yet processed the applica- tion. "I know people regard wake and speed as a courtesy but at this point in time the OPP are not in a position to enforce it and that's why we're here today," said Ivey. Arena employee injured HENSALL - Last Monday night, Hensall Arena employee Rob Vol - land was injured while filling the tractor mount ice machine. The machine went over him, ac- cording to village staff. Volland was taken to Victoria Hospital in London where he was treated for a broken ankle, lacerations and a cracked pelvis. Air quality testing at SHDHS CLINTON - In order to address concerns about air quality at Gode- rich District Collegiate Institute (GDCI) Graham Pollett, Medical Officer of Health, and Rob Alder, Epidemiologist at Middlesex - London Health Unit will ask stu- dents and staff at GDCI to com-. plete a health survey questionnaire on November 9, 10 and 13. This health survey is part of an investi- gation into air quality concerns at GDCI. Pollett and Alder believe that the study results will enable school and health officials to quantify the health issues, address the concerns of parents, students and staff, and make appropriate recommenda- tions. To accomplish this, the re- searchers have selected South Hu- ron District High School (SHDHS) as a comparison site. SHDHS was chosen because it has similarities with ODCI regarding the number of students and the age and reno- vation history of the school, but does not have the reported health concerns of GDCI. Students and staff at SHDHS will be asked to complete the same health survey questionnaire on November 9, 10 and 13. Conducting this survey at both schools will enable Pollen and Alder to say with confidence whether the air quality at GDCI is a health problem. In his capacity as Acting Medical Officer of Health at Huron County Health Unit this ycar, Pollen com- mitted epidemiological and medi- cal resources from Middlesex - London Health Unit to develop this study. The Huron Board of Educa- tion and the Huron County Board of Health will share the implemen- tation costs. Graham Pollen and Rob Alder expect to present the results of the health study to the Huron County Board of Education no later than February 1996. A 1