{"id":1563449,"date":"2024-03-20T11:59:22","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T11:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/environmentaldefence.ca\/?p=43993"},"modified":"2024-03-20T11:59:22","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T11:59:22","slug":"statement-in-response-to-environment-minister-andrea-khanjins-call-for-proposed-dresden-dump-to-face-a-comprehensive-environmental-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/03\/20\/statement-in-response-to-environment-minister-andrea-khanjins-call-for-proposed-dresden-dump-to-face-a-comprehensive-environmental-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement in response to Environment Minister Andrea Khanjin\u2019s call for proposed Dresden Dump to face a comprehensive Environmental Assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/div>

Statement by Tim Gray, Executive Director<\/p>\n

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat \u2013 Late on Friday, March 15th, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Andrea Khanjin announced that she has designated York1’s proposed dump site in Dresden, Ontario for a comprehensive Environmental Assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act. This is a good first step by the Ontario government.<\/p>\n

But it is not enough.<\/p>\n

The proposed dump site would be located adjacent to Molly\u2019s Creek \u2013 a naturally-fed, spring-origin creek that flows into the nearby Sydenham River. If the dump is built, toxic substances and wastewater runoff from the dump could leach into Molly\u2019s Creek and eventually reach the Sydenham. This would contaminate critical habitats and threaten dozens of Ontario\u2019s rarest threatened and endangered species such as the Spiny softshell turtle and Salamander mussel, pushing them closer towards the brink of extinction. Contamination of the river could also have impacts beyond those indicated for species at risk. Game fish in the river and in the Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie watershed could consume chemical contaminants leached from the dump. Through bioaccumulation, those contaminants could make their way through the ecosystem and into human food.<\/p>\n

Residents of Dresden would also be significantly impacted by the proposed development as the site is located just 1 kilometer from town. York1 is proposing the waste processing facility be open 24 hours and day, seven days a week with up to 700 trucks a day driving through the community. As a result from the massive increase in truck traffic, the chemical air quality (e.g. NOx, CO, CO2) and particulate matter pollution would have severe impacts on the health and wellbeing of the people of Dresden and Chatham-Kent.<\/p>\n

The presence of unique species at risk in the area and significant risks to air and water quality, coupled with a proposal that is out of scale and incompatible with the local community, leaves only one option moving forward: that the Ontario government pulls the plug on this proposal.<\/p>\n

Background Information<\/strong><\/p>\n