Readers may remember the failed attempt to open a dump at the Adams Mine in Kirkland Lake.

Fortunately for Temiskaming residents, the Ministry of the Environment eventually acknowledged that the proposal was fundamentally flawed, and carried with it an unacceptable level of risk to groundwater resources. Once acknowledged, the MOE reversed an earlier decision and withdrew the already granted Certificate of Approval. In overturning this decision, the government went further and passed the Adams Mine Lake Act. The purpose of the Act is to “prevent the operation, establishment, alteration, enlargement or extension of a waste disposal site where waste is deposited into a lake.” The Act goes on to define a lake as “a body of surface water that results from human activities and directly influences or is directly influenced by ground water.” Specifically, “human activities” have been interpreted to mean humans digging a big hole in the ground.

At proposed Dumpsite 41, the County of Simcoe claims that it was an abundance of groundwater that lead to the selection of this site in the first instance. Furthermore, there are plans to dewater hundreds of thousands of litres of pristine ground water in order to develop the dump. If there is as much ground water present as the County claims, the excavation required for cell development at Site 41 will certainly result in the creation of a “body of surface water”, thus meeting the definition of a lake as described in the Act.

Shouldn’t the MOE be enforcing this Act?

Ray Millar

Wyevale