By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 12, 2013 PERL Executive Director, Roger Goulet asks: “Since when is it allowed to bury asphalt waste into landfill, especially above a drinking water aquifer?
“Why is 407 asphalt “waste” being land filled into the Burlington Airpark?
The risk is the contamination of the drinking water and the streams in the area.
Asphalt waste is should be recycled at asphalt recyclers like Nelson Aggregate or other recycling plants. It is a reusable recyclable resource. Why is the Provincial Ministry of Transportation not recycling this resource? Other jurisdictions are recycling removed road asphalt in place.
These kinds of non-sustainable road maintenance and land filling practices are causing unnecessary demands for more aggregate and oil based pitch.
When will our governments treat waste as a resource? In nature, NOTHING is waste.
Highway 407 asphalt is to be dumped at the Air Park as land fill.
Who approved the land filling of 407 asphalt into the Burlington Airpark?
This must be STOPPED; and the asphalt already dumped into the Airpark REMOVED.
The Greenbelt is not to be treated as a waste dump. Our water resources are not to be subjected to contaminants.
Again, this argues for regulations, oversight and inspections of land filling onto airparks and agricultural lands. Our governments must be more diligent in inspection and enforcement, whether issues are in their jurisdictions or not. What is right and ecologically sustainable in the long term? Who will protect the Greenbelt from ecological damage, before it impacts our human health?
The unfortunate and very uncomfortable answer to the question – can they do this? is , yes they can. While what they are allowed to do because they are federally regulated is legal, is it not, as Monte Dennis pointed out in his delegation to city Council Monday evening, just.
The Air Park has hired a lawyer with years of experience in the field of aeronautics law who tried to convince city council that they didn’t have a case and that while the Air Park people have been lousy neighbours (Councillor Craven’s words) they were prepared to cooperate with the city, providing what the city wanted didn’t get in the way of what the Air Park people wanted.
It is an extremely complex issue with every possible jurisdiction involved. Mayor Goldring told the public via the Cogeco broadcast of the council meeting that the city is on the case and that it is going to take some time to resolve this one.
Glenn Grenier, lawyer for the Air Park, a pilot and a resident of the city got a little more than the time of day from a city council that decided they didn’t have all that much time for him.
The city has served notice that it is not going to just lay down and let the Air Park people run rough shod over them. The first thing the city has to do is figure out exactly what they are up against.
One thing they are up against is an arrogant lawyer who thought he could steam roll city Council. Glenn Grenier, a Burlington resident on Couples Drive since 1995 and a pilot as well, was put in his place a number of times. Grenier feels he has 60 years of legal precedent on his side. Guess he has never heard of the Jefferson Salamander.
There is more to this story. Stay tuned.
