By Robin MacLennan
Ontario Construction News staff writer
A second appeal has been launched opposing the County of Simcoe’s Environmental Resource Recovery Centre (ERRC).
A Local Planning Appeals Tribunal (LPAT) case management conference between all parties was held last Wednesday at the Township of Springwater Administration Centre in Midhurst, but the tribunal has not set dates for a hearing.
The three appellants are the owners of Nicholyn Farms, which is adjacent to the Freele Tract, Edward Kracjir and local environmental advocacy group Friends of Simcoe Forests. The crux of the Friends of the Simcoe Forests argument is a natural heritage designation on the forest where the facility is proposed.
The ERRC project was first proposed by the County of Simcoe in 2010 as part of its waste management strategy. The facility would receive the county’s organics to be broken down into compost, fertilizer, or fuel.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing approved the county’s request earlier this year and granted an official plan amendment to allow the facility in the forest, which is north of Barrie in Springwater Township.
The County is now five years now into the site-selection process and has spent over a million dollars – primarily on consultants and studies, says Marshall Green, legal counsel for the County of Simcoe.
Following an extensive site evaluation process, which considered 502 candidate sites, County Council selected the property located at 2976 Horseshoe Valley Road in the Township of Springwater within Lot 2, Concession 1, as the preferred site. The subject lands are approximately 84 hectares (207.6 acres) in size and the footprint of the ERRC is estimated at 4.5 hectares (11.12 acres).
The first component of the development is a material management facility (MMF), where waste from multiple collection vehicles would be consolidated and transferred allowing for cost-effective shipment to other locations.
The second component is an organics processing facility (OPF), where green-bin materials would be broken down and converted into resources such as compost, fertilizer or fuel.
The county says the initial cost estimate for the MMF is $15 million, and the OPF will be between $16 million and $35 million, depending on which technology they choose to employ.
The Ministry has received appeals to its Decision to approve County Official Plan Amendment No. 2 (ERRC). The LPAT will need to confirm that all Notices of Appeal are valid, assign a LPAT Case and File Number and case co-ordinator.
An existing appeal by two individuals and an environmental advocacy group focuses on the proposed structure’s location.
The county submitted applications to the township for an Official Plan amendment (OPA) and a zoning-bylaw amendment (on the ERRC project). The township didn’t decide, and the county has also appealed that non-decision to the LPAT.
It’s the county’s position that “this is key infrastructure in order for the county to be able to meet their own waste management goals and also the province’s waste management and climate change goals.”
Arguments from all sides will be heard at a hearing which is expected to be set at the next case conference on Dec. 13.