ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS No Garbage in Adams Mine

TORONTO Environment minister Leona Dombrowsky and natural resources minister David Ramsay have introduced a bill...
TORONTO Environment minister Leona Dombrowsky and natural resources minister David Ramsay have introduced a bill in the Ontario legislature that will permanently remove the Adams mine in Kirkland Lake from consideration as a landfill site for municipal waste.

The bill will also revoke any environmental agreements or permits related to the proposal. The bill covers not only the Adams mine but also bodies of water larger than one hectare. It further sets out a framework to compensate the site owner and forbid anyone involved with the Adams mine landfill proposal from taking the province to court.

The end of the 14-year-long battle over the old iron mine has met with mixed reviews. On one hand environmentalists are cheering loudly. On the other, residents who supported the proposal are offended that environmental approval can be unilaterally withdrawn and wonder what precedent this sets for other projectsmines and quarries includedin Ontario.

The original proposal was to use the Adams pit as a landfill for municipal waste from Toronto, which currently trucks its garbage to a site in Michigan. The 20-year plan worth about $1 billion may have been technically feasible, but there is also a risk that groundwater would be contaminated.

More information is available from Art Chamberlain in the minister's office (416-314-5139) or John Steele of the communications branch (416-314-6666).

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