THE REPORT OF THE BAPE IS NOW PUBLIC
Québec, September 27th, 2007
- At the request of Line Beauchamp, Minister of Sustainable
Development, Environment and Parks, the Bureau d’audiences
publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) has today
made public its inquiry and public hearing report
on the Project to establish a technical landfill site
at Danford Lake in the Municipality of Alleyn-et-Cawood
by LDC – Gestion et services environnementaux.
This inquiry and public hearing mandate began on May
15th of this year. The commission in charge of examining
the project was chaired by Claudette Journault, seconded
by Donald Labrie, commissioner. The commission tabled
its report on September 14th.
Opinion of the commission
In light of its analysis and the public consultation
held, the commission concludes that it is not desirable
to authorize the project.
Consultation initiative undertaken
in the Outaouais Region
In the opinion of the commission, it is imperative
that the regional choices concerning the regional
management of residual materials ensue from the reflection
and consultation initiative already begun by the Table
des préfets de l’Outaouais (Board of
reeves of the Outaouais Region), rather than by adjusting
to the tabling of a new project. While the valorization
of residual materials is preferred in the Outaouais
Region over their disposal in a landfill, the process
to find a solution to the regional management of residual
materials is still under way. For this reason, the
proposed technical landfill site would risk compromising
this consultation approach already initiated.
To put an end to the current transport
outside the region of residual materials generated
by the Outaouais Region, the commission supports the
continuation of the regional initiative undertaken
in order to determine the residual materials valorization
technology that should be chosen as well as the locations
for the establishment of facilities. The region’s
commitment to a transparent decision-making process
based on public participation and subject to a meticulous
timetable would make it possible to develop an optimum
solution for the management of residual materials,
while making this solution socially acceptable.
For the commission, it is important
that regional residual materials management facilities
be located near the sources that generate such materials
in order to minimize the transport thereof, which
is not the case for the proposed technical landfill
site. Moreover, given the context requiring the closure
of trench landfills by January 2009, the commission
agrees that a temporary residual materials management
solution will be necessary without, however, supporting
the project.
A project that would exceed
the needs of the Outaouais Region
The commission finds that the total capacity of 8
megatonnes for the proposed technical landfill site,
spread out over approximately thirty years, would
far exceed the needs of the Outaouais Region. This
will be even more so the case once a valorization
technology has been chosen and implemented to serve
the region, as the landfill needs will be reduced.
However, the commission recognizes that it will still
be necessary to resort to landfilling to dispose of
a certain quantity of the residual materials generated,
thus complementing valorization
Project’s impacts on
the environment
If the project were to be carried out, it would lead
to a major increase in trucking on Route 301, between
Kazabazua and Danford Lake, whereas the increase would
be moderate on Route 105. Moreover, were the groundwater
to become polluted by the leachate, it could be difficult
to limit the problem and to treat the volumes of contaminated
water associated with a landfill site of this scope.
Fairness and social acceptability
For the commission, the project raises questions of
fairness, particularly because this site is located
far away from the main centres that generate the residual
materials of the Outaouais Region. The scope of the
project in relation to the receiving environment,
the difficulty for residents to participate in the
decision-making of municipal authorities and concerns
about the monitoring of environmental repercussions
have resulted in major opposition to the project within
the population. In the eyes of the commission, this
project is problematic from a social acceptability
standpoint.
AVAILABILITY OF THE REPORT
The inquiry and public hearing report
on the Project to establish a technical landfill site
at Danford Lake in the Municipality of Alleyn-et-Cawood
is now available. It may be consulted at the BAPE
documentation centres, at the consultation centres
opened in the community and on the BAPE website at
www.bape.gouv.qc.ca. Requests for copies may also
be submitted to the office of the BAPE, either by
sending an e-mail to the following address: communication@bape.gouv.qc.ca
or by dialing 418 643-7447 or the following toll-free
number: 1 800 463-4732.
It is worthwhile recalling that during
the first part of the public hearing, the commission
held six public sessions in Lac-Sainte-Marie and in
Gatineau. During the second part, eight public sessions
were held, allowing the commission to receive 84 briefs
and to hear 17 oral presentations by individuals,
groups, organizations and municipalities interested
in this project.
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Source : Jean-Sébastien Fillion
Communications advisor
418 643-7447 or 1 800 463-4732, extension 538
let-danford-lake@bape.gouv.qc.ca
