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Page A8 ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ September 20,2006 durhamregion.com Waste facility site search begins BY ERIN HATFIELD Staff Writer DURHAM - Tire possible future site of an incinerator generated a great deal of interest at a recent series of public meetings. meetings. And, that interest will likely grow, according to Dave Merriman, a consultant, consultant, as the regions of Durham and York get closer to choosing a site and announcing announcing the short list of locations in February 2007. In June, Durham Regional Council endorsed a recommendation that the thermal thermal treatment of waste and recovery of energy be the preferred alternative to landfilling the region's waste. . A series of recent public meetings in Bowmanville, Ajax and Port Perry was to inform residents about the site selection selection process and for consultants to solicit feedback. "The evaluation of alternative methods is the heart of what we are here to talk about tonight and get your feedback," Mr. Merriman said. Durham and York, in the spring of 2005, initiated a joint study to find a homegrown method of handling waste. Phase two of the study is the selection of a preferred site for a facility, which would process a minimum of 250,000 and a maximum of 400,000 tonnes of waste annually. Mr. Merriman told residents at the Bowmanville meeting that potential sites include publicly owned lands of at least six square hectares or private lands. He said the expropriation of properly will only be considered as a last resort. Consultants will look at the impact at, and immediately surrounding, the site, as well as the impact on roads, potential potential effects associated with infrastructure development and on public health, the natural environment and on the social and cultural environment. "You don't want to put it in a residential area and you don't want to put it on the Oak Ridges Moraine," Mr. Merriman said. Lands on the moraine and in the provincial provincial greenbelt, designated residential areas, natural heritage features, prime agricultural lands, parks and recreation areas, institutional facilities, and federally regulated airports sites will not be considered. considered. According to Mr. Merriman, between 30 and 40 people attended each of the three meetings. "There Were lots of good questions," Mr. Merriman said. "And a number of suggestions of things we could look at, and we will take those all into consideration." consideration." A topic repeatedly brought up was the Wesley ville site in Port Hope and the possibility of the facility being built there. Mr. Meitiman said it is a mothballed Ontario Power Generation site that some attendees felt would be perfect for an incinerator. "We can't look outside of Durham and York regions unless that site has an approved environmental terms of reference," reference," Mr. Merriman said. To his knowledge, Mr. Merriman said ■. the site docs not qualify and Ontario Power Generation has not expressed any interest in selling it. During the siting process, Mr. Merriman Merriman said they will consider the public input from the meetings and suggestions generated at two workshop held with key government agencies. For more information on the Durham/ York Residual Waste Study, visit www. durhamyorkwaste.ca. Durham Region's Official Plan gets the go Highly contested Greenbelt attachment will be omitted BY ERIN HATFIELD Staff Writer DURHAM - The Region Official Plan (ROP) will be heading off to the Province for approval, but a highly debated map. that would have identified areas council wants taken out of the: greenbelt won't be included. The provincially designated greenbelt (when combined with the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Niagara Escarpment) protects about 1.8 million acres of environmentally environmentally sensitive and agricultural land in the Golden Horseshoe from urban development and sprawl. The Greenbelt Plan land, a provincidlly designated area in the Greater Toronto Area, including Durham, is not be developed, developed, but will be reviewed in nine years. "Fortunately, Regional Council supported supported the official plan and moving forward with our vision and making sure Durham Region continues to grow in an efficient and an effective manner," Regional chairman chairman Roger Anderson said. "It won't have anything in regards to the supplemental attachment; it won't be attached in anyway." anyway." . However, ,a vocal dissenter of the Region's position on 'greenbelt lands, Ajax Mayor Steve Parish, said Durham Regional Council continues to support the private over the public interest. ' "The bottom line is, nothing has changed, Durham Region Council does not get it," Mayor Parish said. "They don't believe in smart growth, they believe in urban sprawl and they reiterated that point today." After more than a dozen delegates were heard and debate stretched into the evening evening hours, a vote to approve the ROP passed in an 18 to two vote, with eight councillors.absent. "I think there was two sides to this, one was strictly environmental and the other was public process and public participation," participation," Mr. Anderson said. "We heard from both sides very well. They both presented their arguments very well and council, I believe, listened to both sides and made decisions appropriately. As a result of those discussions here today, the angst of all those that weren't supportive, which was the supplemental plans which would have been attached to the plan, are referred back to staff for public consultation." consultation." What made the vote so contentious was planning committee's inclusion of Future Growth Areas that over-step the Green- belt boundary in a number of places. But, even with the omission of the attachment, attachment, Mayor Parish and Ajax Regional Councillor Colleen Jordan voted against the ROP in its entirely. "We voted against it because of the two areas that Regional Council did not support us on that is on the greenbelt, they committed to trying to lake lands out of the greenbelt and the Future growth areas which seeks to urbanize 15,000 acres of land that isn't needed," said Mayor Parish. ' However, prior to the plan passing, a motion to refer the supplemental attachment, which requested changes to the Greenbelt Greenbelt Plan and the' related map back to planning committee, was.successful. ' Unsuccessful, however, was a motion introduced by Mayor Parish to have council rescind its earlier position with respect to the greenbelt and its disagreement with the inclusion of some lands. By not rescinding a resolution passed by council on May.. 10, Mayor Parish said council has made it clear it supports continued erosion of green space and agricultural lands. "Basically, Regional council reiterated Roger Anderson its position with respect to the greenbelt, that is it wants to remove 5,000 acres from the Greenbelt," Mayor Parish said. "They refuse to rescind that motion so they still take that position." However that position, position, according to Mr. Anderson, Anderson, was well thought out. "I think if you look at the process, it was six years, it was very public; it wasn't until the last month that some people thought this was a ; more important deal than the rest of the region thought," Mr. ' Anderson said. : "Lets be very clear, the Region of Durham totally supports the Greenbelt. What the Region of Durham didn't support and, • still doesn't today is the additional lands that were put into the Greenbelt without consultation." 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