A grassroots community group opposing a proposed expansion of a landfill site north of Dresden is holding a pair of upcoming meetings to inform area residents.
Dresden Citizens Against Reckless Environmental Disposal (C.A.R.E.D.) will hold a public information session on Thursday at the Old Czech Hall from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. A second meeting will be held on April 11 at Ken Houston Memorial Arena.
The group will be making a presentation to provide attendees with all of the facts in an effort to dispel any misinformation and confusion surrounding the proposed reopening and expansion of the dormant landfill on Irish School Road.
“Our goal behind this info session is to help share the information in an easily discernible way to our community as to what these proposals by York1 really mean in normal human speak versus policy language,” said Stephan Premdas, chair of Dresden C.A.R.E.D. “York1 has made it quite difficult and convoluted for the average person to understand what it is they’re attempting to do.”
York1 Environmental Waste Solutions, which owns the property on Irish School Road, has made two applications to the Environment Ministry to amend the existing Environmental Compliance Approval for the landfill site, which has not been in operation since the 1980s.
During the public meetings, Premdas said the group also hopes to share the major milestones it has achieved over the past two months.
“[We] really had to work hard to analyze this. We’ve taken on landfill experts and water experts to assist our town through this process,” he said.
Most recently, the Ontario Environment Ministry has posted a notice on the Environmental Registry of Ontario website in an effort to garner feedback on a proposal that would require York1 to complete a comprehensive environmental assessment prior to proceeding with its proposals.
“At CARED we realize the environmental assessment is a step in the right direction, however, we have reservations,” said Premdas.
According to Premdas, C.A.R.E.D. is considering holding additional meetings in Wallaceburg and Dawn-Euphemia to provide information about the proposed landfill site to residents in those communities as well. He said dates for those information sessions will be announced in the near future.
For more information about Dresden C.A.R.E.D., visit the group’s website by clicking here.