Anti-landfill motion introduced at Oxford County council for July consideration

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A notice of motion to deny municipal support for a proposed megadump in Zorra Township was introduced this week at Oxford County council. 

Coun. Marcus Ryan submitted a notice of motion that, if passed, would see Oxford County council deny Walker Environmental a resolution of support for its proposed landfill at a former limestone quarry in Beachville.

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Ryan’s motion at Oxford County follows similar motions set to be introduced at Zorra, Ingersoll and South-West Oxford townships in the coming weeks. 

Under changes to the Environmental Assessment Act last summer, Walker is required to have resolutions of support for municipalities within 3.5 kilometres of the proposed landfill site. 

But last week, the mayors of Zorra, Ingersoll and South-West Oxford – Ryan, joined by colleagues Ted Comiskey and David Mayberry – issued a joint statement acknowledging they would introduce motions at their respective municipalities specifically declining to provide those resolutions of support, essentially exercising their veto over the megadump’s location.

If resolutions at each of the three municipalities are approved by local councils, it effectively ends Walker’s bid to site a landfill at the former Carmeuse quarry in Zorra.

Darren Fry, project manager for the Southwest Landfill Environmental Assessment, said in mid-July the company was “disappointed” in the announcement by the three Oxford County mayors.

If passed, Oxford County’s lack of support for the landfill will be exercised as the authority for waste disposal within the county, an added stamp of disapproval for the landfill project, experts said.

“It’s a brilliant step in the right direction. We’ve been telling people they need to support their municipal councillors in a ‘no’ vote, giving them reasons and the reasons to vote for something that is the will of the people,” said Bryan Smith, president of Oxford People Against the Landfill, last week.

Walker first began planning for a landfill in the former Carmeuse limestone quarry in Zorra Township in 2012. Since then, hundreds of local residents have been vocal in their opposition to the project.

There is no discussion or debate on notices of motion at the county council table The motion is set to be considered by Oxford County Council on July 14. Zorra, Ingersoll and South-West Oxford councils will consider the issue on July 7, July 12 and July 13 respectively.

Walker released its environmental assessment of the project in March 2020 – shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic – after years of study. After a delay, public consultation on the assessment was open for much of last year, and continued even after Bill 197 became law. Local mayors at the time said they were cautiously continuing to follow the public consultation process despite their newly granted powers.

The landfill would accommodate.as much as 850,000 tonnes of waste per year and see as many as 150 dump trucks a day hauling waste to the site.