It’s all hands on deck for a local group opposing a landfill development in Dresden after the provincial government reneged on a promise to impose an environmental review of the site.
The province announced the legislation last week, which proposes removing environmental assessment (EA) requirements for the property at 29831 Irish School Rd. to allow Mississauga-based company York1 Waste Solutions to re-establish and expand waste processing and transfer operations at the site.
York1’s plans to reopen a dormant landfill site were made public in early 2024 and were met with significant public backlash. Chatham-Kent Council and municipal administration have unanimously opposed the project.
Dresden Citizens Against Reckless Environmental Disposal (C.A.R.E.D.), a local activist group formed to oppose the landfill development, has been corresponding with members of council and Chatham-Kent administration to fight back against the government’s decision.
“With last week’s announcement, we are all looking at the different areas of legislation that enable us to oppose this,” said Stefan Premdas, the chair of Dresden C.A.R.E.D. “There are a lot of legal strategies that we are investigating and as we know more, we will share it with the community.”
Premdas added that there is also some confusion at the provincial level on how the new legislation will be implemented.
“When we spoke to frontline staffers at the Ministry of the Environment for compliance, they had no idea how to interpret or implement the wording as listed in that policy,” he said.
Nearly a year ago, the Ontario government mandated that the landfill site would have to undergo a full environmental assessment. However, the province is now citing the potential impact of US tariffs on Ontario’s waste sector as the justification for reversing its decision.
Premdas is encouraging local residents who are concerned about the recent Dresden landfill decision to reach out to Lambton-Kent Middlesex MPP Steve Pinsonneault, who serves with the current governing party.
“The question for our community becomes, will our elected member of provincial parliament actually meet with Dresden C.A.R.E.D. [MPP Pinsonneault] has avoided us for a year, has stayed silent, has never returned a phone call or an email,” said Premdas. “Our community would like to have some honest answers about what’s going on.”
CKXS News has reached out to MPP Pinsonneault for comment on the government’s new legislation, however, calls and emails were not returned prior to publication.
Area residents can provide their comments on the proposed provincial legislation as part of the public consultation process. Comments will be accepted until May 17.
