Chatham-Kent Council has voted to move forward with a multi-million-dollar waste-to-energy project, despite concerns from some members about a lack of public consultation. Council approved the project Monday night, paving the way for what municipal officials say could generate significant long-term revenue while addressing environmental challenges tied to wastewater treatment. Mayor Darrin Canniff called the project “an exciting opportunity” for the municipality, pointing to projected financial returns and environmental benefits. “It makes a statement that we’re open for business, that public private partnerships, in my mind, are the way to move forward,” Canniff said. “So, looking forward to working with other organizations in our community to make investments and to make Chatham-Kent even better.” He said the plan includes a municipal investment of about $16 million, with expectations the project could generate more than $120 million in dividends over 30 years. The total cost of roughly $137 million is being funded through federal and provincial government grants and loans, along with Greenfield Global, the private company managing the project. Canniff also stressed that the approval is conditional, with several financial safeguards still to be finalized. “We’ve made it conditional approval,” he said in an interview with CTV News. “By locking in contracts and revenue streams, we’ll ensure the debt is repaid — that’s really, as we’ve been calling it, de-risking the project." The municipality is also relying on more than $40 million in federal funding, which Canniff said required council approval before an end-of-April deadline. But not all councillors supported moving ahead. Ward 6 Coun. Alysson Storey, who introduced a motion to delay the decision, said her primary concern is the lack of public engagement. “This is a commitment we’re making, according to administration, for the next potentially 10, 20, 30 years,” Storey explained. ”Our tax dollars will be part of this proposal for literally decades. And that, to me, has to mean that the public, the taxpayer, has to be part of that conversation.” She argued the municipality did not provide sufficient opportunities for residents to ask questions or engage directly with experts involved in the proposal. Storey said she hopes there will still be opportunities to involve the public as the project moves through its next phases. “There are still conditions that need to be met,” she said. “There’s no reason we can’t include the public moving forward.” During Monday’s meeting, delegations voiced both support and concern. The Chatham-Kent Agricultural Advisory Committee backed the project, saying it could support the local farming sector and improve wastewater management. But some residents urged council to reconsider the timing of the decision. “These are dollars that could be used to address our housing crisis,” said resident Larry Hutchins. Former Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Rick Nicholls also cautioned against rushing the process, telling council to “go slow, to go fast.” Chatham-Kent council voted 14-4 to approve the construction and operation of an anaerobic digester at 175 Bloomfield Rd., with councillors Alysson Storey, Michael Bondy, Amy Finn and Rhonda Jubenville opposed.
