County Calls for Moratorium on Landfills

Wednesday, 11 April 2012 07:35

Oxford County Council is calling for a provincial moratorium on landfills. That's one of the main points to come out of a very long motion that was passed in a 9-1 vote by County Council. The motion came from Ingersoll's Ted Comiskey and South-West Oxford's David Mayberry, who are also calling on the province to study what other jurisdictions are doing around the world to divert dumping of garbage into landfills. Comiskey tells Heart FM he hopes other municipalities will get behind the motion. "Whether they'll (province) listen directly to Oxford County alone? We'll see. But I don't believe in my heart this is where it's going to stop. It's going to hit other counties and municipalities that will forward this on to the ministry and say 'Hey, it's time to quit burying our head and find other means.'" It was a change from Comiskey's previous motion to not support Walker Environmental in its proposal for a landfill in the Beachville Quarry before a proposal is even filed. County CAO Michael Bragg warned that could preclude the county from having a say in future discussion because the County would bias itself before an official plan came forward. Today, Bragg says the updated motion does not put council in a biased situation, but Zorra Mayor Margaret Lupton disagrees. "I have a very great concern about this will do, this decision by County Council, as to how much they will be able to help us when we get into the actual fight about landfills. I think they have committed themselves and there's really nothing more for them to say." Lupton was the only councillor to vote against the motion that calls for a moratorium. There were only a few spectators in the gallery watching the debate, compared to a full council chamber two weeks ago. However, Sarah Crellin, with OPAL (Oxford People Against the Landfill) was happy with council's direction. "Taking a hard look at what we're doing currently and reassessing that in terms of our needs for the future, is absolutely essential. A moratorium could force us to look in a different direction." OPAL also submitted a petition to County Council with over 1400 signatures opposing the Walker proposal. Council received it as information.