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Back to Square One on Tiny septage issue

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In Council Watch
Jan 29th, 2015
6 Comments
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Report of Tiny Township Council Meeting, Monday January 26, 2015

By Vickie Kee AWARE Tiny

Burnside and Associates made a presentation regarding the staatus and next steps of the septage issue.
Burnside confirms that this issue is on Phase 2 and on hold. The preferred alternative is to find a sight to build a treatment plant. Previous council and Burnside studied other options but they were either too expensive and no community would accept the septage from Tiny.
Mayor Cornell comments that “the made in Tiny solution” should not be taken off the table just yet.
Councillor Hasting asks if Waypoint would take septage and Burnside says no because Penetanguishene is in the process of having their own septage study.
Councillor Wishart comments that their is sensitivity in Tiny because of Site 41.
Tiny council votes 5-0 to start all over again which, in my observation is a waste of time because the conclusion will be the same. Why waste another $275,000?  Why not continue on the same study and keep it on hold until some place is found that will accept the seepage  Tiny residents cannot afford to be putting this kind of money out for another study.

6 Responses to “Back to Square One on Tiny septage issue”

  1. Peter Stubbins says:

    It is interesting that some of the current council members , most notably councillor Wishart was sure that other municipalities would take the septage from Tiny. Now a month after taking office he concedes this is not a possibility. We all knew that it was not a possibility before the election. How can he be trusted?

    Vickie Kee has a point why not just continue with the current study and if need be modify it. There are two issues here. Protecting our water and ecosystems and respecting that our neighbours quality of life is impacted when we dump septage close to their homes. Our neighbours should be compensated for lost land values where this can be clearly demonstrated.

    Beautiful full moon tonite, we live in a beautiful place.

  2. Ray Millar says:

    While it may be true that Tiny’s municipal neighbours are not be able to receive Tiny’s septage without modifying their existing sewage treatment facilities, it is equally true that Tiny cannot manage septage at all without an investment of some sort. The simple fact of the matter is that Tiny will either have to build our own sewage treatment facility or partner with a near neighbour in a shared facility. The Towns of Midland and Penetanguishene, along with the Township of Springwater and the Province of Ontario, have all expressed an interest in exploring mutually beneficial options to treat Tiny’s septage. Regrettably, for the past 4 years the majority of Tiny’s municipal council was seized on a “made in Tiny” solution, leaving some of our potential partners to move on without us. That’s not to say it will be impossible to reexamine what opportunities might exist, only that it will be more difficult given that they have advanced their own plans without regard for Tiny’s septage volume.

    Rather than have each municipality build and operate their own sewage treatment facility, doesn’t it make sense to at least consider, in a meaningful way, what opportunities exist in sharing facilities across a broader tax base? We all want the most environmentally responsible and cost effective solution to this challenge so shouldn’t we be open to considering all options. It was wrong to narrowly scope the last environmental assessment because if you don’t ask the right questions, its very unlikely that you will get the right answers.

  3. Peter Stubbins says:

    I respect Ray’s insight on this matter. We had a lengthy conversation on the phone today about the possibility of other municipalities being willing hosts for Tiny septic tank waste.

    So, is there any realistic possibility of neighbouring municipalities taking our septic waste? If not what can be salvaged from the current study? Further many say that a made in Tiny solution will meet with great opposition when a treatment sight is selected. I respond that we currently have a made in Tiny solution now, we spread our waste on fields. We should clearly document the real environmental problems with this practice and the all impacts (economic/environmental) on the neighbours that live beside the fields that receive the septic tank waste, sludge and porta potty goo.

  4. Dick Wesselo says:

    Ray Millar wrote in the above piece: “if you don’t ask the right questions, it’s very unlikely that you will get the right answers”. As Mayor, he had every opportunity to partake in opportunities to ask the “right questions”, obtain what in his opinion are the “right answers”, shape a resulting cohesive approach to the issue and get the matter to move forward. The easiest thing on earth is to blame another person when something ends up going in a way one doesn’t think it should go. What could perhaps have happened years ago, did not for whatever reason.
    I was at the Council meeting when Burnside did the last septage presentation referred to by Ms. Kee. A lot of processes surrounding the Ontario Municipal Assessment Act are mandated. The review of “alternative options” is a mandate. If the alternatives were not properly explored, that that issue should have been raised by Staff and Council with the Consultants at that time.
    “Expressing an interest to explore” is a vague statement and has to be placed in context. Midland’s Mayor McKay referred to the same “interest to explore joint septage handling” during a meeting I had with him prior to declaring my Candidacy for Councillor during the last Election. However, without a definitive expression of interest by another entity, Tiny is nowhere and remains on its own. Fact is, that no neighboring community expressed a definitive commitment to work with Tiny in finding a solution for Tiny’s septage. Ms. Kee is right in that our current Council voted to revisit steps at a significant cost to the Tiny taxpayer that were already taken while Ray Millar was Mayor.

  5. Elaine Stephenson says:

    Are we going to waste time continuing to make this a political issue or can we just move on & do what is right for the environment &, the taxpayers? If anyone has something worth considering to offer, I am sure it would be welcomed. Nipping at ankles serves no purpose. In addition, it seems to us, we who observed the previous council for the past 4 YEARS (not just one), most of what our previous mayor suggested was shot down.

  6. Annice Blake says:

    Well, it is now 2019, new mayor, etc., and no progress being made on this important issue. MY correspondence with Councillor Wishart last fall showed me that council feels it has no power to improve things, and all publications from mayor and council that I have seen regarding the future have ignored the matter totally with vague generalizations. Our mayor is now our warden, but no change in sight. Septage still being dumped on our beautiful township, mandatory pump-outs continuing the process – where do people think th is stuff is going? I feel a public awareness campaign is in order.

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