Dresden landfill update: Federal agency won’t intervene on York1 development

The IAAC says it will not get involved in the proposed York1 recycling facility in Dresden.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) believes provincial standards will be sufficient to address ‘adverse effects.’

Dresden residents had asked the IAAC to ‘designate’ the project under federal environmental laws.

In a decision released Oct. 24, IAAC President Terence Hubbard rejected the request in part because the project “must be carried out in compliance with applicable federal and provincial mechanisms.”

Hubbard believes provincial rules will “...provide a framework for addressing public concerns related to the adverse effects within federal jurisdiction or the direct or incidental adverse effects that may be caused by the carrying out of the project.”

York1 pleased with decision

York1 Environmental Waste Solutions wants to reopen an old landfill at 29831 Irish School Road for a regenerative recycling facility for construction materials.

The Toronto-based company is pleased with the IAAC decision.

“This outcome affirms what we have said from the beginning: This is not a new landfill, but an existing, provincially regulated site being modernized to handle non-hazardous construction and demolition materials safely and sustainably,” spokesperson Laryssa Waler wrote in a statement to CTV News.

Waler said York1’s focus now is on “continuing transparent engagement with residents, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, and Indigenous communities.”

Residents upset by decision

“We’re very disappointed. I think its short-sighted,” Robert Simpson told CTV News in an interview Wednesday.

Simpson is a board member of Dresden C.A.R.E.D., a grassroots organization made up of residents who are opposed to the project.

He said members of Walpole Island First Nation thought they had until mid-November to submit their thoughts to the IAAC, only to read Friday’s decision.

Regardless, Simpson said they will continue to find any route they can to fight the project.