Community needs to be consulted on landfill Host Agreement

** COLA (Coalition for Landfill Accountability) ** wants the City of Ottawa to engage in real and meaningful consultation with residents during the negotiations of the Host Municipal Responsibility Agreement (HMRA) for the Carp Road landfill expansion.

The HMRA is being negotiated between the City and Waste Management (WM) behind closed doors, with no community engagement. This lack of transparency is unacceptable.

BACKGROUND: The Site Plan Control for Waste Management’s Carp Road landfill expansion (or “West Carleton Environmental Centre”) was approved by the City on October 28, 2015. One of the conditions of approval is that Waste Management enter into a HMRA with the City. The HMRA is supposed to address a number of community concerns including:

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Community compensation

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Odour management

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Property value protection

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Groundwater safety

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Traffic

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Transparency

This is similar to the process in 2001, when the City of Ottawa and WM negotiated in secret, and came up with an agreement that left much to be desired:

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It did not include property value protection for neighbouring residents and businesses.

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The negotiated “cost-per-tonne” levy was only $1 per tonne. (Recently- negotiated agreements in Southern Ontario have been set at $6 per tonne.) This represents significant revenue to the City given that the proposed landfill can accept up to 400,000 tonnes of garbage per year.

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Community compensation included an additional $60,000 per year to support “environmental initiatives and local projects” in nearby wards. Projects funded by the community compensation were selected by WM and west end city councillors, again behind closed doors. The community had no input into where that money was spent.

OUR REQUEST: COLA is asking the City of Ottawa and Waste Management to consult and include residents and community associations in the negotiation process now, instead of after a draft is completed. Community input and engagement in the HMRA is vital to the development of a fair and effective agreement that benefits citizens.