Otter Lake landfill debate draws big crowd at council
Posted Apr 23, 2013 06:56:13 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was a packed Halifax Regional council meeting Tuesday, as residents from Beechville, Timberlea, Lakeside and Prospect squeezed into the meeting to see council’s latest move on the Otter Lake landfill.
With a vote of 14 to four, council is moving forward with a public consultation on the landfill.
In February, council received a review of HRM’s complete waste resource systems by Stantec Consulting. In the report, Stantec suggested closing the front end processor (FEP) and waste stabilization facility (WSF) to save $8.9 million a year, as well as extending the life of the landfill by expanding piles upwards by 10 to 15 metres.
The job of the FEP and WSF is to sort waste and stable organic waste before it goes into the landfill. The landfill is set to be open for 25 years.
Another issue with residents is a deal made in 1995 by HRM that the landfill would include the FEP and WSF to protect the environment and community.
“People are scared and angry council might go back on it’s promise,” said Ken Donnelly, consultant with the community monitoring committee. “They made a commitment those facilities would be there. The public consultation is a positive thing, but people were really hoping this topic would be dropped completely.”
Two rooms at city hall were packed with concerned residents.
“I came out to support my community,” said Dennis Wright. “We need to think about our children and our future. I don’t think we should save costs at the jeopardy of our health.”
“I wanted to make sure our past commitments are retained,” said Kirk. “I think the landfill is working great right now.”
Around 25,000 tons of organic waste gets sorted into the landfill every year, according to the consultant’s report.
“Until that is no longer going to the landfill, we need the FEP and WSF to protect the local community, so they don’t end up with odours, seagulls and rats…all those things that were at the Sackville landfill before,” said Donnelly. “For the past 15 years it’s operated very well, better than most, why would you want to downgrade it?”
The Otter Lake Facility opened in 1999 to replace the now closed Sackville Landfill.
