A recently passed Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) document requiring municipal consultation as a condition of fill permit approvals may not mean much at all.
That was the message Erin planner Sally Stull relayed to council last week.
“We still don’t have jurisdiction,” Stull said. “[The CVC is] the authority. They have not delegated authority.”
That News was likely disappointing for Erin landowners, who heralded the CVC’s “large fill placement procedural guideline” – passed on March 11 – as an important first step in addressing the dumping of thousands of loads of fill, which is often untested, on local properties.
The guideline specifically states the CVC will not issue any fill permits unless the owner or agent of the property involved has received written authorization from the municipality where the fill site is located.
But Stull said even if the Town of Erin requests a soil analysis, the CVC does not require it, so there is no way of enforcing the town’s own regulations. The soil analysis is but one of several examples of conflicting guidelines, she added.
The discrepancies caused Mayor Lou Maieron to wonder aloud if the town should be accepting any fill at all.
“We need to do a business plan for this to see if we should even be in this business,” Maieron said. “If we’re handcuffed and have no control, how can we do more?”
Councillor John Brennan noted enforcement is a cost for the town and even if it is successful in levying a fine, the proceeds often go to the county or province.
“For us, it’s a big hole into which we’re pouring money,” Brennan said.
Stull said banning fill outright in the town is akin to “asking people not to breathe,” and added there are too many issues and variables involved.
She told council the town does recover costs for fill permits within the town and she stressed enforcement and application costs are two totally different issues.
But Maieron said, “I’m not seeing a lot of payoff for a lot of headaches.” Councillor Barb Tocher agreed and said that is why she suggested a ban on fill. The mayor said that’s a possibility, or the town could make major changes to its own fill bylaw.
Brennan said the best solution is for the town to fix and pass its own bylaw and then encourage the CVC to adopt the provisions contained therein.
Stull did propose several possible changes to the town’s fill bylaw – including requiring council approval and a public meeting for fill projects of a certain size and hiring additional enforcement/inspection officers – but those changes were deferred to a special meeting of council on June 14.
