Approval of the Alice and Fraser Landfill Expansion Environmental Assessment

Notice of approval

Proponent: Township of Laurentian Valley
Environmental assessment (EA) file number: MU-0831

Take notice that the period for requiring a hearing, provided for in the Notice of Completion of the Review for the above-noted undertaking, expired on November 23, 2007.

I received no requests for a hearing by the Environmental Review Tribunal before the expiration date.

Having considered the purpose of the Environmental Assessment Act, the approved terms of reference, the environmental assessment, the ministry review of the environmental assessment and submissions received, I hereby give approval to proceed with the undertaking, subject to conditions set out below.

Reasons

My reasons for giving approval are:

1. On the basis of the proponent’s environmental assessment and the ministry review, the proponent’s conclusion that, on balance, the advantages of this undertaking outweigh its disadvantages appears to be valid.
2. No other beneficial alternative method of implementing the undertaking was identified.
3. On the basis of the proponent’s environmental assessment, the ministry review and the conditions of approval, the construction, operation and maintenance of the undertaking will be consistent with the purpose of the Environmental Assessment Act (section 2).
4. The Government Review Team has indicated no outstanding concerns that cannot be addressed through conditions of approval. The public review of the environmental assessment did not identify any outstanding concerns which cannot be addressed through these conditions of approval or conditions of a Provisional Certificate of Approval.
5. I am not aware of any outstanding issues with respect to this undertaking which suggest that a hearing should be required.

Conditions

The approval is subject to the following conditions:

1. Definitions

For the purposes of these conditions:

• Township of Laurentian Valley Alice and Fraser Landfill Expansion Amendment Material, dated December 2006;
• Letter addressed the Ministry of the Environment, dated February 26, 2007, regarding ''Technical Support Section- Eastern Region Comments on the Alice & Fraser landfill Expansion, Environmental Assessment, June 2006, Township of laurentian Valley, Certificate of Approval (C of A) number A411601, EA file number MU-0831 and
• Letter addressed to the Ministry of the Environment, dated July 18, 2007, regarding "Summary of Major Issues and Amendment Material for the Alice and Fraser Landfill Expansion, Environmental Assessment, June 2006, Township of Laurentian Valley, Certificate of Approval (C of A) number A411601, EA file number MU-0831."

Director

means the Director of the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch.

EAAB

means the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch of the Ministry of the Environment.

EA

means the environmental assessment.

Environmental assessment

means the document titled "Township of Laurentian Valley Alice & Fraser Landfill Expansion," volumes I through 11-G, dated June 2006. The EA also includes:

EPA

means the Environmental Protection Act.

Ministry

means the Ministry of the Environment.

OWRA

means the Ontario Water Resources Act.

PLC

means the Public Liaison Committee.

Program

means compliance monitoring program.

Proponent

means the Township of Laurentian Valley.

Public record

means the record required by section 30(1) of the Environmental Assessment Act to be maintained for this undertaking.

Regional Director

means the Director of the ministry’s Eastern Regional Office.

Site

means the Alice and Fraser Landfill, in Renfrew County on Parts of Lots 23, 24, 26 and lot 25 Concession 1 former Township of Alice.

2. General requirements

1. The proponent shall comply with the provisions in the EA which are hereby incorporated in this approval by reference except as provided in these conditions and as provided in any other approval or permit that may be issued for the site.
2. These conditions do not prevent more restrictive conditions being imposed under other statutes.

3. Public record

1. Where a document is required for the public record, the proponent shall provide two copies of the document to the Director: a copy for filing within the specific public record file maintained for the undertaking and a copy for staff use.
2. Additional copies of such documents will be provided by the proponent for public access to the:
   1. Regional Director;
   2. The Township of Laurentian Valley Municipal Office;
   3. The Ottawa Valley Waste Recovery Centre; and
   4. Public Liaison Committee, if applicable.
3. The EAAB file number MU-0831 shall be quoted on the document.
4. These documents may also be provided through other means as considered appropriate by the proponent.

4. Compliance monitoring program

1. The proponent shall prepare and submit to the Director for the public record, an EA compliance monitoring program.
2. The program shall be submitted one year from the date of approval of the undertaking.
3. The program shall be prepared for the monitoring of the proponent’s fulfillment of the provisions of the EA:
   1. For mitigation measures;
   2. Public consultation;
   3. Additional studies and work to be carried out; and
   4. Of all other commitments made during the preparation and review of the EA.

5. Compliance reporting

1. The proponent shall prepare an annual compliance report which describes compliance with the conditions of approval set out in this notice and which describes the results of the proponent’s EA compliance monitoring program.
2. The annual compliance report shall be submitted on or before March 31 of each year, with the first report being due in 2009, and shall cover all activities of the previous calendar year.
3. The proponent shall submit the annual compliance report to the Director for placement on the public record.
4. The proponent shall submit annual compliance reports until all conditions are satisfied
5. When all conditions have been satisfied, the proponent shall indicate in the annual compliance report that this is its final submission.
6. The proponent shall retain either on site or in another location approved by the Director, copies of the annual compliance reports for each reporting year and any associated documentation of compliance monitoring activities.
7. The proponent shall make the documentation available to the ministry or its designate upon request in a timely manner when so requested by the ministry during an on-site inspection, audit, or in response to a pollution incident report or when information concerning compliance is requested by the ministry.

6. Public Liaison Committee

1. The proponent shall make a reasonable effort to establish and maintain a PLC in respect of the site to ensure that public concerns are addressed and mitigation measures are undertaken where appropriate.
2. If there is interest in forming a PLC and members are willing to serve, the PLC shall be established. The PLC shall serve as the focal point for dissemination, review and exchange of information and monitoring results relevant to the undertaking.
3. If there is no interest from the public in continuing the existing PLC or establishing and participating in a new committee (once sufficient notice has been given), the need for such a PLC should be reviewed yearly by the proponent.
4. If the PLC is not operating, the proponent shall publish a notice at least annually inviting expressions of interest in forming the PLC.

7. Complaint protocol

1. The proponent shall prepare and develop a protocol on how it will deal with and respond to inquiries and complaints received during the construction and operation of the undertaking.
   1. The proponent shall submit the protocol to the Director for placement in the public record within 90 days of receiving Part V EPA approval.
   2. A statement must accompany the protocol when submitted to the Director indicating that the protocol is intended to fulfil this condition.

8. Leachate treatment system

1. The Proponent shall prepare and submit a leachate management strategy along with and the application for approval under the OWRA for the proposed leachate treatment system, as described in the EA. This strategy shall detail how leachate-impacted surface water and groundwater will be collected, transported, treated and discharged.
2. The Proponent’s leachate treatment strategy shall not include any direct or indirect discharge of untreated leachate impacted water, or treated effluent, even as a contingency option, to surface waters.
3. In the event that the leachate treatment system fails to achieve the level of treatment required by the OWRA section 53 approval the contingency measures detailed in the July 18, 2007 letter to the ministry shall be implemented.
4. The contingency measures described in the July 181 h letter, at a minimum include:
   1. Treating for new additional parameters by new methods;
   2. Increasing treatment capacity;
   3. Use of mechanical aerators;
   4. Collection of additional leachate impacted water;
   5. Temporary pumping and recirculation; and
   6. Off-site treatment.
5. If implemented the proponent shall report the status and efficacy of the contingency measures to the Regional Director within 60 days of their implementation.
6. The proponent shall, at a minimum, meet the treated effluent compliance limits and monitoring requirements, described on pages 15 and 16 of the July 18, 2007 letter to the ministry.
7. The proponent shall monitor, evaluate and report annually to the Director and Regional Director, with respect to the status of the mixing zone. The mixing zone must be decreased, or at a minimum maintained, within three years of the commissioning of the leachate treatment system. This report shall also be included in the annual monitoring report required under the site’s EPA Certificate of Approval.
8. Should the fulfillment of condition 8.6 reveal that the mixing zone has increased after three years of commissioning the treatment system, the proponent shall and approval by the Director, that details the upgrades to be done to the treatment system or otherwise, to bring the size of the mixing zone into compliance the requirements of 8.7. This action plan shall be submitted to the ministry within 90 days of realizing the mixing zone has increased.

9. Alice and Fraser Landfill site operations

1. The site may only accept solid non-hazardous municipal, institutional, commercial and industrial waste generated within: the primary service area consisting of the Townships of Laurentian Valley, North Algona-Wilberforce, and Bonnechere Valley, Algonquin Park, the City of Pembroke and the Town of Petawawa, including Canadian Forces Base Petawawa and the secondary service area consisting of the rest of the County of Renfrew.
2. The approved site shall be phased and constructed as follows:
   1. A first Phase (Phase 1) to permit the disposal of waste at the site to fill an additional air space of 750,000 cubic metres (including waste, daily and interim cover material) for the first 25 years following the approval;
   2. A second Phase (Phase 2) to permit a maximum of 490,000 cubic metres (including waste, daily and interim cover material) for 26 to 40 years following the approval;
   3. The total waste disposed at the site, including the capacity of the existing and expansion landfill areas, shall not exceed 2,650,000 cubic metres (including waste, daily and interim cover material);
   4. The expanded waste disposal footprint at the site shall not exceed 20.06 hectares; and,
   5. The proponent is required to apply the ministry’s Guideline B-7, Reasonable Use Concept, at the site boundaries.
3. The proponent’s EPA application must contain a detailed landfill site monitoring plan. This monitoring plan must be acceptable to the ministry. This monitoring plan shall include, but is not limited to, the commitments and requirements described in the July 18, 2007 letter to the ministry.
4. The proponent shall ensure the EPA application meets all applicable requirements of Ontario Regulation 232/98.
5. The noise monitoring program prepared for the ministry as part of the EA shall be implemented.
6. The proponent shall prepare, for submission and approval by the Director, an assessment protocol to review and assess the operation and condition of the site after Phase 1 (25 years). This protocol shall be implemented prior to the issuance of an EPA approval for Phase 2 (26-40 years).
7. The proponent shall develop and implement construction mitigation measures required for the protection of the Blandings Turtle. The proponent shall provide information about these mitigation measures to the Ministry of Natural Resources, Pembroke District Office, for review and comment, at least 45 days prior to commencement of construction .

Dated the 5^th day of March, 2008 at Toronto

Original signed by
Minister of Environment
135 St. Clair Avenue West, 12^th Floor
Toronto,Ontario
M4V 1P5

Approved by O.C. number 354/2008
Date O.C. approved March 19, 2008