After several years of companies dumping “thousands” of loads of fill on private properties along Trafalgar Road, Ed McKelvey has seen enough.
“My biggest concern is the destruction of farmland,” McKelvey told Erin council on Jan. 11. “I realized pretty quickly I’m not the only one that’s very, very concerned about this business of fill.”
He was joined by about 10 other nearby landowners who shared his concern about the agricultural impact, as well as other issues like noise, dust and traffic.
Nothing will grow in areas receiving fill, McKelvey said, because there is no topsoil ever placed on top, as regulations dictate.
He added that perhaps even more worrisome is the unknown composition of the fill – particularly at one location near Balinafad that’s allegedly accepting about 7,000 dump truck loads – because neither the town nor Credit Valley Conservation authority (CVC) has the resources to properly inspect it.
“I find this very, very scary,” McKelvey said. “I am urging … this council to do something about it.”
Calling one particular property a “dump site,” he said the current situation is not only harmful, but could also result in legal problems down the road for the municipality.
“We’re as frustrated as you are,” councillor Barb Tocher replied. But she said one of the problems is the different jurisdictions in the area.
Town planner Sally Stull explained the municipality has no say over the sites closest to McKelvey’s Trafalgar Road property that are receiving fill. She said the road belongs to the county and the land is the jurisdiction of the CVC.
Mayor Lou Maieron said he finds it disconcerting that outside companies and individuals can dump that amount of fill in the town without council or the planner having any say in the matter.
McKelvey said Erin residents shouldn’t be “punished” because the town allows dumping of fill and Caledon does not. He suggested the town does have an opportunity to tell the CVC it does not want fill placed on productive agricultural land.
“I really do believe you’ve got the authority,” he said.
Stull said since the passing of its fill bylaw in 2009, the town has received just five or six applications for large fill projects.
However, she admitted a lot of other fill is coming into the town – either illegally or in areas not under its jurisdiction or under different agreements.
“We have a number of concerns about fill coming into the town,” Maieron admitted. He urged McKelvey to bring his concerns to the CVC, and pledged the town “will not be a dumping ground” for various grades of fill.
“We’ve got a big problem we have to deal with,” the mayor told McKelvey. “But this is a bigger issue than just what’s affecting you.”
