As myFM reported to you earlier this week, the battle has been long and frustrating for Adelaide Metcalfe residents, and the light at the end of the tunnel is growing dimmer by the day. Last week, the Ontario Land Tribunal ruled in favour of LaSalle Agri, approving a site plan for a potential Kerwood Road Biosolid storage facility housing fertilizer pellets that would have dried human waste contained within them. An issue that first came to the forefront in 2018, Adelaide Metcalfe resident Heather Horning who lives about a kilometre away from the proposed site says this case is still before the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), and the township has filed a request for a review of the decision and that is still outstanding. She says residents of the area can send their feedback in.
Residents in the Township, since the initial proposal 6 years ago, have been raising concerns about the potential for the ground to become contaminated in addition to truck traffic, dust in the air and the possible smell coming from the facility. Horning says contamination is indeed an issue as there have been examples south of the border.
The site is proposed for 25700 Kerwood Road, but not all the red tape has been dealt with just yet. Horning says this could be unprecedented in the province if this facility goes through.
She adds, they are working hard to spread the word publicly.
There are still some requirements from the environmental side of things that LaSalle Agri must adhere to including crossing all the T’s and dotting all the I’s with Conservation and Parks along with the provincial ministry in relation to any ripple effects involving the groundwater. The deadline for public feedback has been extended to this Friday.
Comment by November 8th, 2024 to LaSalle Agri Inc. – Environmental Compliance Approval (sewage) | Environmental Registry of Ontario
Horning added:
1. It has been said that if vertical silos were used to store this volume of sewage biosolids instead of two bunkers, then it would require 550 silos.
2. The natural runoff for the location at 25700 Kerwood Road is straight downhill into the Sydenham River. With extreme weather events, like the 6 inches of rain in less than 3 hours experienced on August 23, 2023, this is likely the path the runoff would take. The Sydenham River is one of the cleanest rivers in Ontario as there is no industry backing onto this river. Also, the Sydenham River provides habitat to over 25 species at risk, some of which exist nowhere else in Canada or few places in the world.
3. From experience with piles of sewage biosolids, it is known that the odour travels for kilometres from the storage site. It is more odorous with weather events such as fog, mist and rain.
Written by: C. Soares