By Andrew de Souza

New regulation increases landfill expansion costs

May 25, 2011 | 7:13 AM

A planned expansion of city landfill space will cost almost twice as much as budgeted, after the province created stricter requirements.

The city wants to build another cell, which is the term for the big pile of refuse, as the current one nears its capacity.

The city’s executive committee reviewed a report  that showed it would cost about $1.8 million to create a new cell for solid waste — up from the $1.04 million originally budgeted.

The additional cost comes from new requirements put in place by the province to ensure better protection of aquifers and the environment around landfills. The city must conform to the new guidelines at the higher cost or the province won’t approve the building permit.

Not only is it an additional cost, but it also puts the city in a precarious situation.

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The funds for the project will come from the city’s share of the Federal Gas Tax program. Allocating a portion of the city’s share means other projects have to be delayed.

In this case, the project that will have to wait is another landfill project designed to mitigate possible ground water contamination at the cell currently in use.

During the meeting, city director of public works Colin Innes said it was a tough choice, but it had to be made.

“The biggest immediate risk is that we’re going to run out of space to put garbage, which is going to be a huge environmental problem,” he said.

“We obviously don’t want the former cell to contaminate ground water but we face the very real reality that if we don’t construct the cell then we really will not have a place to put garbage.”

Higher cost concerns council

Faced with no alternative but to bear the higher cost, city councillors expressed their concerns.
It is time to ask higher levels of government to help out as regulations increase the burdens on municipalities, said Mayor Jim Scarrow.

“We agree environmentally that we need to be as responsible citizens as we can be into the future,” he said.

“But when legislators beyond us make these rules, they need to know that they cost municipalities magnificent sums of money that don’t go into other needs that we have.”

Coun. Martin Ring agreed.

“It’s important for the citizens of the city to understand that this is not mismanagement by ourselves, this is a whole new set of rules that we have to work under and it’s costing us $800,000,” he said.

“The next decision in five or ten years from now, what’s that going to cost us?”

He followed up his comment with a motion to write a letter to the province outlining the concern with downloading costs to municipalities and the hardships they create.

Higher cost approved

In the end, the committee made the recommendation that city council approve the expansion at the higher cost.

Innes said the hope is to have the funding secured and construction started this year with the new cell coming into operation as soon as next fall.

He said the project that had been delayed by the increase would be able to go ahead in the following year and that rates would not have to increase to accommodate the project.

adesouza@panow.com