The Notice of Completion published by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment environmental assessment page sets Friday April 2 as the close of the final public inspection of the Ministry Review of the Durham-York waste incinerator project. This is our last opportunity for public comments on the incinerator EA study before the minister of the environment considers his decision.
The Municipality of Clarington and Durham Region have signed the Host Community Agreement (HCA), the contract that states what Clarington gets for hosting the Durham incinerator for the 25 (or more) years it is planned to operate.
The story of the HCA merits attention because council voted against finding out what the municipality's solicitor had to say about it, after administrator Frank Wu said he over-rode the lawyer's concerns. Follow the story in two news reports by Jennifer Stone in Clarington This Week. See the links below.
by Joyce Nelson
February 1, 2010
At the “Waste-Based-Energy” industry conference in Toronto last November, the tony Yorkville hotel meeting room was filled with consultants, lawyers, company reps, and municipal bureaucrats, all talking trash: waste tonnage spread-sheets, the seeming evils of landfill sites, the supreme benefits of burning municipal solid waste (MSW) to make energy.
A must-read series of three articles by author and journalist Joyce Nelson.
Incinerators - Waste-to-Energy Proposals
Across Canada, the US, the UK, Europe, and Asia, communities are facing an unprecedented onslaught of proposals for new incinerators. In July 2008, Friends of the Earth released a map showing dozens of planned new incinerator sites across the UK. The British government has committed billions to new incineration, while cutting budgets for recycling by 30 per cent.
Activists in Elbert County, GA, USA, have been fighting a Covanta proposal. They looked on YouTube and found too many one-sided videos praising the virtues of Covanta so they decided to fight back. They reference a fact sheet (PDF) prepared by the Campaign for Justice for Covanta Workers, the union local that is taking their complaint against Covanta at the SEMASS incinerator in southeastern Massachusetts to the US Federal Labor Board for illegal labour practices.
In his keynote address at the Southwestern Ontario Clean Air Summit May 21, 2009 (organized by the Clean Air Partnership (CAP)) Dr. Ted Boadway, Ontario Medical Association, articulates the seriousness and the detrimental health effects due to air pollution in a simplified way, explains the Illness Cost of Air Pollution program (ICAP) and discusses how civic action helps prevent illness.
The 30-minute presentation video is edited to show the presentation slides (PDF version).
Incinerator Information Session March 2, 2010
Over 110 people attended the Incinerator Injustice information session Tuesday March 2 in Courtice, making it a successful evening. The session also attracted visitors from Toronto and Simcoe County, where irresponsible waste management is also an urgent issue.
The evening was organized by a coalition of Durham Region residents and organizations — www.ZeroWaste4ZeroBurning.ca, www.DurhamEnvironmentWatch.org, www.DurhamCLEAR.ca and www.DurhamElection2010.ca. The organizers wish to thank all involved, including the volunteers at Faith United Church.
Presentations
Clarington, Tue Feb 9, 2009 - Clarington residents say they feel abandoned
by the Clarington councillors who would welcome a polluting incinerator
but failed to act to ensure that public health is safeguarded. Councillors
voted 4-3 Monday evening to accept a recommendation against hiring expert
reviewers in the next phase of the environmental assessment for the Durham
incinerator proposed for the lakeshore in Courtice.
"The majority of Clarington councillors do not understand the
environmental assessment process or their role as representatives of the
Attn: News Editors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thu Jan 14 2010
DURHAM INCINERATOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REVIEW NOT ON TIME OR BUDGET
Durham Region — The environmental assessment study for Durham Region's waste incinerator project is not "on time and budget" as was previously stated by Durham Works Commissioner Cliff Curtis, say Durham residents watching the project. Residents are also alarmed that Durham Region councillors on the Works committee appear unconcerned about the possibility that the environmental assessment review will be flawed and, if the incinerator were approved, that human health and the environment could be impacted.
The Regions of York and Durham have submitted an amended EA study Friday November 27. The documents are posted on the Durham-York Waste EA site but are not easy to find.
For your convenience, we link to the amended study:
- Notice of submission (PDF)
- Full set of documents
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