Ed McKelvey is not alone in wanting to bring an end to the dumping of fill here.
On Feb. 13, McKelvey and 16 other residents met with Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott in an effort to resolve the matter.
McKelvey felt the meeting with the provincial representative was quite productive. He said many of those at the meeting with Arnott also attended the last major meeting on Erin’s fill bylaw back in September.
Many of those at Monday’s meeting reiterated concerns raised in the past, including:
– the destruction of farmland;
– the number of trucks;
– damage to local roads;
– banging of tailgates as trucks unload; and
– no inspection of fill materials by either the town and local conservation authorities.
“It’s frustrating when we expect a tougher bylaw,” said McKelvey.
“[Arnott] agreed we had a legitimate case and encouraged us to work through our local council in a polite, constructive way.”
McKelvey said the issue of fill materials is not just local.
“If the fill is not coming here, where will it end up down the line – places like Grand Valley – or further away? It’s a provincial problem.”
Many of those concerned locally are older residents.
“If we have to wait for a provincial decision, we’ll be dead,” he said.
And even with a fill bylaw in place, enforcement is an outstanding issue. He cited a recent example of a site on the 6th Line he thought was finished filling two years ago. Then last week, trucks started coming again.
After checking with Credit Valley Conservation and the town, a cease and desist order was issued, McKelvey said.
That was ignored and the trucks kept coming. He said the trucks stopped only after site visits by the town’s bylaw enforcement officer and planner Sally Stull.
McKelvey wants to know what can be done when haulers come in and start dumping fill without permits.
“Erin has become the fill capital,” he said.
He wants to see Erin have a similar fill bylaw to the one in Halton, where fill permits must first pass through a committee of council and private citizens, and possibly go through a public meeting process.
Even then, McKelvey said, the permit would still need to be approved at council.
The current Erin bylaw, he contends, requires a survey to ensure the fill operation is not over wetland, as well as data on the materials being brought in, plus a deposit.
McKelvey said at a certain site, the projects do not even come to council. He said Stull should be bringing recommendations to council. “She needs to be a driving force on this.”
McKelvey is equally concerned councillors are saying the issue has nothing to do with politics.
“It has everything to do with politics,” he said. “People are fed up and farmland is being destroyed.”
Following this week’s meeting, Arnott drafted a letter to Minister of the Environment Jim Bradley. He wrote, “This issue involves local government and area conservation authorities, and I do not seek nor do I have the authority to issue directives or interfere in local council decisions.
“However, it is clear that this should be of interest to the Ministries of Agriculture and Food, Finance, Municipal Affairs and Housing, Natural Resources, and Transportation, as well as your ministry.”
Arnott said the province needs to take the lead on an issue affecting the protection of the natural environment, soil and groundwater.
He observed inspection of fill content and monitoring appear to be inconsistent, and the potential impact on private wells and water quality is a serious concern.
He added local governments and conservation authorities may not have the tools they need to deal with the issue.
He suggested the creation of an inter-ministerial committee of senior ministry staff to establish a provincial policy for the effective regulation of the dumping of fill.
In a prior interview, Stull noted work is still happening to tighten Erin’s fill bylaw with further recommendations expected to come to the town’s committee of the whole meeting later this month.
She, too, expressed frustration over the issue, saying there are ways to tighten the bylaw and effectively limit the amount of fill being brought in.
“But it still needs to be approved by council,” she said.
