Simcoe County votes for Site 41 C of A revocation

By Kate Harries WaterWatch
 One of the longest environmental battles in Canadian history is drawing to a close.
 Today, Simcoe County councillors voted overwhelmingly to request that the Ontario Ministry of the Environment revoke the Site 41 Certificate of Approval.
They also passed by a narrow margin an amendment moved by Tiny Township Deputy Mayor George Lawrence to return the zoning of the land to agricultural and place covenants on title to prohibit waste management uses.
 “I’m in shock,” said Lawrence, who had been assured by councillors who opposed it that his amendment would not pass, and that it might so annoy the opposition that they would vote against revocation.
Lawrence said he brought the amendment forward anyway because it was a resolution of the Site 41 Community Monitoring Committee, and thus an expression of the will of local residents.
“It’s a great day,” said Stephen Ogden, who has been fighting Dump Site 41 for 26 years. Ogden, Julie Barker, Beth Brass Elson, Mark Calzavara, Linda Chernecki, Seamus Fay, Judith Grant, Johnny Hawke, Harry Hunt, Walter Kunst, Bev Leonard, Letty McNeil, Rose Monague, Vicki Monague, Anne Ritchie-Nahuis, Jackie Ritchie, Bruce Wilkes and Keith Wood were among the 150 Site 41 stalwarts who packed into the council chamber to hear the debate and watch the vote.
Eight people voted against revocation: they were Brian Jackson (Innisfil), Doug Little (Adjala Tosorontio), Ken Ferguson (Clearview), Alicia Savage (Clearview), Phil Sled (Severn), Tom Walsh (Adjala Tosorontio), Gord Wauchope (Innisfil) and Doug White (Bradford West Gwillimbury).
The same eight plus Warden Cal Patterson (Wasaga Beach), Basil Clarke (Ramara), Sandra Cooper (Collingwood), Anita Dubeau (Penetanguishene) and Tony Guergis (Springwater) voted against Lawrence’s amendment but lacked the numbers to defeat it.
Dennis Roughley (Bradford West Gwillimbury) and Dave Guergis (Essa) were absent. (Full details of the vote and the weighting will be posted when they are received from the clerk’s office.)
A motion from Midland Mayor Jim Downer that the property be offered to Tiny Township at fair market value was voted down. Tiny Mayor Peggy Breckenridge was one of those to argue against it on the basis that she needed a report from staff explaining the legal ramifications.
CAO Mark Aitken said the county’s legal advisers will have to look into what properties were expropriated because those owners will have to be given first chance to buy the property back. Corporate Services manager Rick Newlove estimated that he would not be able to have a report ready for the June council meeting (putting the matter off until August as council doesn’t meet in July). 
What next?
Word is that the MOE will move quickly to revoke the C of A as soon as County staff forward council’s request, putting an end to CMC meetings where members are continually asking for information that just doesn’t seem to be available. (The CMC is a condition of the C of A, and will presumably cease to exist upon revocation.)
Springwater Mayor Tony Guergis has an idea. There’s an opportunity under the provincial Green Energy Act, he told council. “I have been approached by an individual who is representing a solar part in a strategy in a solar fund and they’re looking for opportunities to partner.”
A 10 megawatt park would require 50 acres of land and produce a return to Simcoe County, Guergis suggested – and a 30 megawatt park over 150 acres would generate $750,000 a year backed up by a guarantee from the provincial government.
Councillor Bill Duffy pointed out that solar farms can’t be placed on Class 1 or even Class 2 agricultural land.
 Dr. William Shotyk has an idea: for an education and research centre that would put Simcoe County on the map as a leader in the field of water resources.
It’s outlined in a submission he has sent to Simcoe County.
“We know of no other region where the waters have such tremendous cultural significance, but at the same time have been subjected to rigorous scientific study which document their remarkable purity,” Shotyk writes.
“Preserving and protecting this area and its artesian springs represents a unique opportunity for environmental education, for all students, Native and non-native, at all levels, including post-secondary, as well as for the general public. In fact, this area has the potential to become a landmark case in environmental history and to develop into a world-class centre for cultural and environmental understanding.”
For now, it looks as if the land will be returned to agriculture. Any future decisions, it is to be hoped, will not be imposed against the wishes of area residents and will not threaten the water.
Oh, and that celebration that was promised? Didn’t happen – we were waiting for the vote from in camera on the still unterminated lawsuit against Anne and Vicki (councillors voted but we have no idea what). Stay tuned for a real party – we’ll set the date after the MOE revokes the certificate.