Notice of approval

Proponent: The Corporation of The County of Peterborough and The Corporation of The City of Peterborough
Environmental assessment file number: MU-0743-02

Take notice that the period for submitting public comments and requests for a hearing, provided for in the Notice of Completion of the Review for the above noted undertaking, expired on November 12, 1999. I received fifteen submissions before the expiration date. An additional 52 submissions have been considered in making a decision on this undertaking. Five submissions requested a hearing by the Environmental Assessment Board; however, two of these hearing requests have been withdrawn.

I do not consider it advisable or necessary to hold a hearing. Having considered the purpose of the Act, the Terms of Reference, the Environmental Assessment, the Review and submissions received, I hereby give approval to proceed with the undertaking, subject to conditions set out below.

Reasons

My reasons for giving approval are:

  1. On the basis of the Proponent’s Environmental Assessment and the Review, the Proponent’s conclusion that, on balance, the advantages of this undertaking outweigh its disadvantages appears to be valid.
  2. No other beneficial alternative method of implementing the undertaking was identified.
  3. On the basis of the Proponent’s Environmental Assessment, the Review and the conditions. of approval. the construction, operation and maintenance of the undertaking will be consistent with the purpose of the Act (section 2).
  4. The Government Review Team has indicated no outstanding concerns that can not be addressed through conditions of approval. The public review of the Environmental Assessment did not identify any outstanding concerns which can not be addressed through existing provisions in the Environmental Assessment, the conditions of approval listed below, or approvals under the Environmental Assessment Act and Ontario Water Resources Act.
  5. The matters raised by the Government Review Team after the notice of Completion of the Review was published have been resolved, are being dealt with through conditions where appropriate, or are adequately addressed through approvals required under other legislation. I am not aware of any outstanding issues with respect to this undertaking which suggest that a hearing should be required.
  6. The project undertaken in accordance with this Environmental Assessment, the terms of this approval, the additional approval required under the Environmental Protection Act, the landfill design standards of Ontario Regulation 232/98, and other permits and approvals as required will result in the development and operation of a safe landfill.

Definitions

Proponent
means The Corporation of the County of Peterborough and The Corporation of the City of Peterborough;
Site
refers to the site located on Part of Lots 14 and 15 of Concession 13 and Part of Lots 14, 15 and 16 of Concession 14 in the former Otonabee Township, now Otonabee-South Monaghan Township, in the County of Peterborough;
North Fill Area
refers to the portion of the site designated as the North Fill Area according to the Environmental Assessment for The Provision of Long Term Waste Disposal Capacity for the County and City of Peterborough;
MOE
refers to the Ministry of the Environment;
Director
refers to the Director of MOE's Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch;
SLC
refers to the Site Liaison Committee.

Conditions

  1. The Proponent shall comply with the provisions of the Environmental Assessment all of which are incorporated herein by reference, except as provided in these conditions and as provided in any Part V Environmental Protection Act Certificate of Approval for the Site, and any other approvals or permits for the Site.
  2. These conditions do not prevent more restrictive conditions being imposed under other statutes.
    1. The SLC, to be established in accordance with section 8.4 of the Environmental Assessment, shall be established prior to the commencement of construction of the landfill expansion, and shall be maintained for the duration of the operational life of the landfill. A Mandate for the SLC shall be prepared in consultation with the public, including the Hiawatha First Nation. The Mandate must include a procedure to amend the Mandate. The Proponent may wish to include a clause in the Mandate which requires an annual review of the need for the SLC and additional clauses to address what happens if it is determined by the SLC in consultation with the public that there is no more interest in maintaining the SLC. When finalized, a copy of the Mandate shall be filed by the Proponent with the Director for the Public Record. The Proponent shall invite participation on the SLC by members of the public, the Hiawatha First Nation, private landowners whose property may be potentially affected by the operation of the expanded landfill, government agencies whose interests and mandate may be affected by the operation of the expanded landfill, and any other interested parties which may potentially be affected by the operation of the expanded landfill.
    2. If there is no interest expressed from the public and groups identified in the above condition in establishing or participating in the SLC, it may be dispensed with. If the SLC is not functioning, the Proponent shall publish a notice at least annually inviting expressions of interest in the formation of the SLC. If there is interest in forming a SLC and members are willing to serve, the SLC shall be established pursuant to condition 3(a).
    3. In the absence of the SLC or the desire for direct participation in a SLC by the Hiawatha First Nation, the Proponent shall consult with the Hiawatha First Nation about an alternative manner for participation as may be appropriate and agreeable to both parties. If the Hiawatha First Nation refuses direct participation, the Proponent shall nevertheless make available to the Hiawatha First Nation all relevant information and documentation regarding the design and operation of the landfill.
  4. The Proponent shall prepare the work program for the Natural Environment Impact Study, referred to in section 7.0 of the EA, in consultation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough District Office. The work program and a statement shall be submitted to the Director for the Public Record upon completion of the work program indicating fulfillment of this condition. The statement shall include a description of the consultation undertaken with the Ministry of Natural Resources.
  5. The Proponent is required to submit as part of the Part V application under the Environmental Protection Act and to the Director as part of the Public Record, for construction and operation of the North Fill Area, an engineering and design report addressing the following site-specific Conditions:
    1. The suitability of the in situ overburden materials to meet the design specifications for the proposed recompacted base and side slopes. Specifically, it shall be demonstrated that the materials can be remoulded, reworked and compacted to achieve a permeability of 2.5 × 109 m/s or lower around the base and side slopes of the excavation. Should it not be possible to achieve this permeability by remoulding, reworking and compacting the in situ overburden materials across the entire base and side slopes of the excavation, the report shall provide recommendations for an alternate design of the recompacted base and side slopes which achieves an equivalent or better performance with respect to minimizing the flow of groundwater into the landfill.
    2. The performance and stability of the landfill base with regard to the hydrostatic pressure conditions at the Site.
    3. The engineering design shall provide additional plans specifically aimed at preventing groundwater from basal sand gravel deposits found above the bedrock and any sand and/or gravel seams encountered along the side walls from penetrating the recompacted base and side slopes.
    4. The engineering design report for the Site shall provide proposed monitoring and mitigative plans.
  6. The Proponent shall prepare and submit to the Director for the Public Record an EA Compliance Monitoring Program. The program shall be prepared for the monitoring of the Proponent’s fulfillment of the provisions of the Environmental Assessment for mitigation measures, public consultation, and additional studies and work to be carried out, and must contain an implementation schedule and provisions for reporting to the Director. The Program shall be submitted one year from the date of approval of the Environmental Assessment, or 60 days before the commencement of construction, which ever is earlier. A statement shall accompany the Program when submitted to the Director indicating that the Program is intended to fulfill this condition. The Compliance Monitoring Program, as amended by the Director, shall be carried out by the Proponent.
  7. Where these conditions require a document to be filed with the Public Record, it shall be provided to the Director for filing with the Public Record maintained for this undertaking. Additional copies of all such documents shall be provided by the Proponent to the MOE Eastern Regional Office and MOE Peterborough District Office for public reference.
  8. The Proponent shall develop a procedure for consulting with affected parties as part of any application for EPA approval and any amendments to the EPA approval, with respect to the design and operation of the landfill. The Proponent shall submit the procedure to the Director for the Public Record within 30 days of Environmental Assessment Act approval. The Proponent shall consult in accordance with the procedure as amended by the Director.

Dated the 23rd day of January 2002 at Toronto

Original signed by:
Minister of the Environment
135 St. Clair Avenue West, 12th floor
Toronto, Ontario
M4V 1P5