Site 41 backgrounder

Background material for No Water to Waste Road Trip to support Bill 32
Water as pure as Arctic ice
The groundwater in the area of Site 41, in Tiny and Springwater townships, is exceptionally clean. Dr. William Shotyk is the University of Heidelberg scientist whose testing found that it is comparable to the cleanest Arctic ice cores.
For more details, see Shotyk
The secret computer model
In 2003 Jagger Hims, a consultant retained by Simcoe County, used Modflow, an open-source software free for use in the public interest, to produce a hydrogeological and geotechnical evaluation of Site 41. In June 2007, the Site 41 Community Monitoring Committee requested the calibration and input data for the Jagger Hims computer model so it could be checked to ensure the site could be operated without any threat to the water. Simcoe County refused. In September 2007, CMC member Stephen Ogden filed a Freedom of Information request. Despite two orders from the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner, the information has still not been released. Jagger Hims, now owned by landfill giant Genivar, claims it is proprietary. Simcoe County Council has voted to seek a judicial review of the IPC order.
May 13 2009 IPC order
August 21, 2009 IPC order
Legal action, criminal charges
At the height of the protest, Simcoe County singled out two women – dairy farmer Anne Ritchie Nahuis and Anishinabe mother of three Vicki Monague – as targets in a civil action seeking damages totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars. The decision to launch the suit was made by Warden Tony Guergis and senior county staff without reference to County Council. Lawyers Peter Rosenthal and Chris Reid, representing Vicki Monague, argued that construction of the dump site similarly had not been authorized by County Council. The court hearing came to an abrupt adjournment with an agreement that County Council would address a number of SDS41-related issues. County Council then voted to withdraw the claim for damages and to halt construction of the dump.
Criminal charges laid during the protest by the OPP, however, remain outstanding. Ritchie Nahuis, Monague, and 16 other people – including 85-year-old farmer Keith Wood and his wife Ina – are due in court Dec. 3. More than 1,100 people have signed a petition asking that charges be dropped.
More information
Petition
A Chronology of the Fight to Save the Water [No Water To Waste]1979 North Simcoe municipalities start a search for a new dump.
1986 An environmental assessment (EA) conducted by North Simcoe selects Site 41, a 20.7-hectare parcel in Tiny Township.
1989 After hearings, a Joint Board (a combination of the Environmental Review Tribunal and Ontario Municipal Board) rejects Site 41, finding bias in an “irredeemably deficient” selection process.
1990 Liberal Premier David Peterson’s cabinet intervenes because of the alleged urgent need for a new dump, issuing an Order in Council.
1993 New Joint Board hearings run from May, 1993 to November, 1994.
1995 Joint Board Chair Robert D. Eisen issues a decision expressing discomfort with the Order in Council that “nullified” the Board’s earlier criticisms. Eisen approves Site 41, with comment and specific conditions.
1995 The North Simcoe Waste Management Association disbands and Simcoe County takes over the dump project.
1998 The Ontario Ministry of the Environment issues a provisional Certificate of Approval (C of A). The County starts assembling land.
2004 In his 2003-2004 report, Gord Miller, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, expresses concern over the Ontario Ministry of the Environment’s actions regarding Site 41.
2006 The Ontario Ministry of the Environment issues final approval for Dump Site 41
2007 Simcoe County Council votes 16-15 to approve preliminary work on Site 41.
2008 Mohawk elder Danny Beaton, Stephen Ogden and others undertake the first Walk for Water from Site 41 to Queen’s Park.
2009 Cell construction begins. In May, Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians leads 600 people in a Walk for Water and the Anishinabe Kweag (women) set up a protest camp opposite Site 41. In July, 2,500 people attend a rally in Perkinsfield. Eighteen people are charged criminally for their part in the protest. On September 22, Simcoe County councillors vote 26-3 in favour of discontinuing construction and development of Dump Site 41. Victory celebrations are tempered by the fact that councillors balk (by a vote of 22-7) at giving up the Certificate of Approval that permits the landfill operation. 
More detailed chronology