City of Ottawa one step closer to buying east-end landfill

A city committee has moved Ottawa one step closer to buying an east-end landfill. As CTV’s Natalie van Rooy reports, some residents aren’t happy.

The City of Ottawa is one step closer to owning a new landfill.

The finance and corporate services committee has approved a plan to have council consider the acquisition of the Capital Region Resource Recover Centre at the intersection of Highway 417 and Boundary Road.

It is currently owned by Taggart Miller Environmental Services but was put up for sale earlier this year.

The recommendation passed by a vote of 8 to 3, with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and councillors Laura Dudas, Cathy Curry, Glen Gower, Rawlson King, Jeff Leiper, Riley Brockington, and Shawn Menard voting in favour. Councillors Matt Luloff, David Brown, and Catherine Kitts voted against. Coun. Tim Tierney was absent.

Sutcliffe stressed that this decision is not a final approval.

“We’re not voting to go one way or another on this. We’re voting to refer this to council next week for consideration at council. This is not a decision on whether to proceed or not,” he said.

He also said the site will become a landfill, even if the city does not end up buying it.

“The decision is not around whether this site will be a landfill. It is already going to be a landfill and no matter who buys it, it will operate as a landfill. That was settled by the province a few years ago,” he said. “What council will consider next week is whether the city should make a bid on that landfill or whether another municipality or private sector operator will end up owning it.”

Sutcliffe told CTV News that if the city does not end up acquiring this landfill, it would still have to spend money to deal with Ottawa’s future waste needs.  

“We’re in excellent financial shape,” Sutcliffe said. “We’re going to be using debt to finance whatever options we explore or pursue with regard to solid waste in the future, no matter what.”

Isabelle Skalski, city councillor for Osgoode Ward where the landfill is located, says it is a “terrible idea” for the city to continue pursuing the acquisition of the landfill.

“We’ve heard from residents who have years and years of history opposing this dump,” Skalski said. “That this is not what they want in their backyard.”

Skalski says her primary concern is the landfill’s potential environmental impacts.

“Environmental concerns are absolutely number one. These are properties that are reliant on wells. These are farms that feed our food supply.”

‘Rare opportunity’

In a report for the committee, city staff said the opportunity to purchase the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre “presents numerous benefits to the city.” The site has approval to receive up to 450,000 tonnes of waste annually, with an expected lifespan for 30 years.

There was no estimated price tag presented to committee. Sutcliffe said the city needed to maintain confidentiality in order to maintain its bargaining position with the seller.

Staff said the purchase would be funded by debt that has already been approved through the Solid Waste Master Plan.

Councillors on the committee moved several motions that would apply if the city is successful with purchasing the property, including reviewing options to establish a community benefit mechanism for residents near the site, engage with an established community liaison committee, publish annual environmental impact reports, undertake and publish a human health risk assessment, and to review and adjust truck routes to minimize impacts on residents.

Ottawa’s current municipal landfill, the Trail Road Landfill on Trail Road, is expected to reach capacity in the next 10 to 15 years. The Solid Waste Master Plan has implemented several options to extend the life of the landfill, including a new three-item garbage limit for households, the banning of industrial, commercial and institutional waste from the Trail Road dump, and using private landfills. A waste-to-energy incinerator has been identified as one of the best options to consider for future garbage needs.

Staff told committee members that buying the Capital Region Resource Recover Centre would not prevent other options for the future from being considered.

City staff say acquiring the future landfill gives the city control over future site plans.

“Ownership would ensure alignment with Ottawa’s strategic priorities and newly approved Solid Waste Master Plan, in consultation with residents and stakeholders,” a presentation said.

Residents opposed to the plan spoke about risks to groundwater and air pollution, noting the clay at the site in particular, and concerns about the management of leachate from the landfill.

Jennifer van Koughnett of the Carlsbad Springs Community Association, says she’s concerned with the plan’s potential price tag and the speed at which the city is moving.

“I worry about the cost and how much it’s going to come out of our pocket for the taxpayers,” van Koughnett told CTV News.

“The fact that we haven’t had enough time to actually discuss what’s going to happen, it’s like they’re putting the cart before the horse.”

Other public delegations, however, encouraged the city to purchase the site, saying it would extend Ottawa’s landfill lifespan and avoid a contentious process to select a different site.

Duncan Bury, founder of Waste Watch Ottawa, says city ownership of the site would be preferable to other options.

“We would certainly concur that a publicly owned landfill is preferred over a private site because the city can determine and restrict what waste to accept and from where,” Bury said.

City council will discuss the issue on Nov. 26.

With files from CTV’s Natalie van Rooy.

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