Re: Letter Writer Responds to Three Articles - 8 July 2010

I am the Deputy Mayor of Amaranth Township and the Township Representative on the Community Development Committee of County Council which is dealing with, amongst other matters, the Dufferin Eco Energy Park (DEEP).

The Community Development Committee, and our Township Council, has always encouraged Citizen involvement in every matter that concerns the Township and County respectively and seeks not only to identify problems but solicit reasonable and considered solutions.

I write to assure everyone that members of Township Council and Members of the Community Development Committee review and consider all issues and solutions offered. Having said this, I must take issue with the writer of July 10th’s offer of Alternative #2, developing a Land Fill to bury household waste in the area of the 8th Line, in the vicinity of the Transformer Station, in the Township Of Amaranth.

That the Transformer is an ongoing concern does not, in my view, make this area suitable for the development of a Land Fill or any other type of development that would have a further negative impact on this area, or any other area, for that matter.

As pointed out by the writer of July 10th, Site 41 in Simcoe County was, by all accounts, unsuitable for household waste disposal for a number of reasons including the potential negative impact to the aquifer. Why is this option now acceptable in this area?

The burying of household waste is ancient technology and to propose an expansion of this as a solution is troubling. Elected Officials would be remiss in not exploring alternatives.

The disposal of household waste is not simply a “Shelburne Problem” but an issue for all municipalities in the County, including those that have active Land Fills at this time. We cannot simply rely on the “so far so good” attitude. Make no mistake; there will be a time of reckoning.

The further development of a Land Fill in the County as a means of dealing with solid household waste is not, in my view, a realistic alternative.

In closing, the three Rs with respect to waste management in the County are being aggressively expanded and taking away from this initiative is not being considered. There is a possibility of the fourth R, that being the Recovery of energy from waste. This is a consideration that must also be explored.

W.J. (Walter) Kolodziechuk

Deputy Mayor Township Of Amaranth