Ministry rejects Application for Investigation on Oshawa landfill

Ministry of the Environment

135 St. Clair Avenue West

Toronto, ON

M4V 1P5

Sarah Ross

and

Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

RE: Environmental Bill of rights Application for Investigation of Rossland Acres Inc. - EBRO File Number 08EBR009.I

Thank you for your Application for Investigation submitted under the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) related to the former Industrial Disposal (Oshawa) Limited landfill property (Site), now owned by Rossland Acres Inc.

The maintenance of landfill sites is a serious concern to the Mini stry of the Environment. The ministry has taken a number of compliance and enforcement actions at various landfill sites in the province and in 1998 passed Regulation 232/98 - Landfilling Sites which outlines the ministry's standards for the design and operation of new and expanding landfill sites. With respect to your EBR Application for Investigation, you requ ested the ministry investigate the discharge of a contaminant into the natural environment that may cause an adverse effect contrary to the Environmental Protection Act.

The ministry has undertaken an EBR investigation to determine if the company that owns the Site is allowing leachate to seep from the closed landfill into the natural environment, thereby causing an adverse effect contrary to the Environmental Protection Act. The mini stry also investigated the applicability of notification requirements that follow a contaminant discharge to the natural environment.

The results of the EBR investigation by ministry staff do not support the allegation that the onsite leachate seepage is a violation of Sections 6 and 14 of the Environmental Protection Act or that the owner failed to notify the ministry in violation of Section 15 of the Act.

Since the landfill stopped receiving waste in 1980, the ministry has conducted inspections of the Site, collected and analyzed samples of surface water in the vicinity of the Site and reviewed hydrogeology and monitoring reports relating to the Site. Ministry staff continue to communicate with the owner to ensure that the Site is in compliance with applicable legislation.

In particular, ministry staff continue to require the property ownerto mitigate potential risks with the onsite leachate. As a result , the owner is taking action to address this issue through activities such as remediation of the area of seepage, proposed fencing to control access, signage and groundwater monitoring. Ministry staff will ensure that any activities implemented by the owner are protective of the natural environment. In that regard, the ministry will undertake a comprehensive examination of compliance with the requirements of the Provisional Certificate of Approval and conduct surface and groundwater samp ing at the Site and surface water from Harmony Creek by late spring 2009.

We will keep you advised of the results of our comprehensive examination and the results of our sampling in approximately three months.

The full rationale and deta il for the ministry's decision on your EBR Application for Investigation is provided in the attached Decision Summary. If you have any other questions related to the ministry's compliance and enforcement activities, please contact Mr. Dave Fumerton, District Manager for the ministry's York-Durham District Office at 905-427-5626.

Michael J. Williams

Assistant Deputy Minister

Operations Division

Read the entire decision by the Ministry of the Environment here