An application for a soil waste disposal site on Winhara Road has residents concerned about road safety, water quality and other potential problems.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) posted notice for the site, which is to be located at 1490 Winhara Road.
This proposal calls for a waste disposal site to store soil material, process soil material through a soil washing plant for blending with pit sands, and transfer non-hazardous contaminated soil washing residue to approved soil treatment facilities.
Residents of the area have a range of concerns, including possible harm to local wildlife, excessive heavy truck traffic, and decreased property values.
The homes in the area are all on well water and residents are concerned about the potential for contaminants to leach into the groundwater, says Wendy Playford, an area resident who recently helped circulate a petition to oppose the site.
According to the MECP, the proposed soil management facility is located on an Aggregate Resources Act-licensed sand pit.
“Clean and non-hazardous contaminated soils will be received from construction projects within Ontario,” reads the proposal. “Soil washing residual soils (clay/silt) materials will be transferred to licensed treatment, disposal sites or used as fill material if it meets Ministry standards for commercial/industrial land use.”
The daily maximum waste volumes for soils would be in three phases, topping out in Phase 3 with a 1,800 tonne/day maximum.
Residents say that’s far more volume than Winhara Road can bear.
“The current infrastructure is in need of repair,” said Susan Penwarden in her comments to the province, which she reposted on the recently created Meta page Stop the contaminated soil coming to Muskoka. “Multiple tonnes of soil transported over our roads will destroy them. This is especially concerning in the swampy area closest to the site. Along with the infrastructure we are worried about children using the school bus on this road. We all know trucks take much longer to get stopped and if children are playing at their bus stop it is very possible a child could be killed or injured.”
Communication is another concern. While the proposal was posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario on Jan. 31, many residents say they were never notified and the closing date for public submissions is March 16.
“We only recently learned of the reason for the current construction at this site and it was only through word of mouth,” said Penwarden. “Currently we feel there must be something to hide since the information coming forward has not been public knowledge. The majority of Ontario residents have no idea the process this type of proposal is put out to the public.”
According to the Terranevo Soil Resources website, their soil treatment facility will cover the Toronto and Muskoka regions. Terranevo specializes in remediating and disposing of hazardous and non-hazardous contaminated soil, along with bulk materials and aggregates.
“Our commitment lies in recycling or repurposing treated materials for restoration instead of resorting to landfill disposal, offering sustainable and regulatory-compliant options,” says the website.
Terranevo says they treat various contaminants, including hydrocarbons (petroleum, kerosene, diesel); heavy metals, chlorinated solvents and asbestos-impacted soils.
According to the proposal, all soil materials received for processing, storage and transfer will be stockpiled on a hard surface and within a roofed structure to prevent surface water impacts or dust generation.
The facility will be located on a 12.61 hectare site, and the soil washing plant will be housed within a 1,858 square meter building. All wash water used will be recycled within the process and not be discharged to surface water bodies, according to the MECP.
The hours of operation will be Monday to Friday (7am to 7pm ) and Saturday (7am to 3pm) and closed on statutory holidays.
You can find the complete proposal and provide comment here.
Muskoka Doppler has reached out to both Terranevo Soil Resources and the MECP and is currently awaiting a response.
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Norm Raynor says
If the soil is clean and non hazardous why is it classed as contaminated? Does contaminated not mean the soil can be hazardous. If the soil is clean why does it need to be washed.
LEAVE THE SOIL IN THE MUNICPALITY WHERE IT IS CREATED.
Laurel Turansky says
There does not seem to be a lot of transparency on what is really going on here. The plan is to bring in a lot of contaminated soil and washing it resulting in clean soil. Zero information on what has happened to all the resulting water or what ever other materials used that now is expected to contain all the contaminents.
Heather Jackson says
I am just hearing about this for the first time this evening and the deadline is tomorrow? Who thought putting a toxic waste “ cleaning” facility near homes and businesses was a great idea? The short term effect is the substantial volume of large truck traffic destroying the road and the safety of the residents and their families. The long term will be the health effects on the residents, which people hear there is “ no possible risk”’. I suspect the decision makers do not live in the neighborhood.
Tom Wallace says
Best Life Homes is the contractor in charge of it all. If past projects are any indication, this will be a disaster, will take 10 years of construction.
They will contaminate everything surrounding the project and blast some rocks into few roofs.