Editor’s note: This letter is addressed to Chatham-Kent council and Todd McCarthy, Ontario’s Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks.
I am writing as a deeply concerned resident and stakeholder regarding the York1 landfill site located at 29831 Irish School Rd., north of Dresden, a site with a documented history of industrial clay extraction, unofficial waste disposal, fly ash dumping, and ongoing environmental contamination.
Recent independent testing conducted by Grounded Engineering Technology and others has confirmed the presence of groundwater contamination and methane emissions associated with historic and possibly ongoing landfill activities on the site.
These contaminants include (but are not limited to) hazardous heavy metals, organic leachate constituents, and methane gas –all of which pose serious risks to public health, local ecosystems, and the integrity of the Sydenham River floodplain.
Given that the site lies within a provincially recognized floodplain, the risks of contaminant migration into surface water, groundwater, and sensitive habitats are significantly elevated. Moreover, the generation of methane gas introduces additional hazards, including explosion risk and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
While York1 claims to be actively removing waste and monitoring site conditions through a third-party company, there is a concerning lack of publicly available information regarding:
- The scope and extent of waste removal activities; detailed environmental site assessments; comprehensive groundwater and methane monitoring data; the existence and rigor of any formal, ministry-approved remediation plan; and independent verification of the effectiveness of remediation efforts.
The absence of transparent, independently verified information severely undermines community trust and impedes informed public and municipal decision-making.
We need the immediate release of all environmental assessments, groundwater and gas monitoring data, remediation plans, and any compliance or enforcement records related to the York1 site. This information must be accessible in user-friendly formats on official municipal and ministry websites.
The province should commission a third-party, independent environmental consulting firm with no ties to York1 to conduct a thorough audit of current remediation efforts and monitoring programs. The scope should include site history review, contamination characterization, remediation effectiveness, and ongoing risk evaluation.
The audit findings must be publicly released.
The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, in co-ordination with Chatham-Kent’s environmental services, must rigorously enforce all applicable provincial and municipal environmental regulations. This includes imposing substantial penalties for any non-compliance and issuing binding remediation orders as needed.
A committee comprised of local residents (particularly adjacent landowners), experts, municipal officials, and Indigenous representatives should be formed to ensure continuous oversight, facilitate transparent communication, and serve as a forum for community concerns and information exchange.
In regard to long-term monitoring and reporting, the province should mandate that York1, or the responsible party, undertake comprehensive long-term environmental monitoring, including groundwater, soil gas, and surface water under independent supervision.
Monitoring results and remediation milestones must be published at least quarterly for the duration of the remediation and post-closure periods.
Given the significant public health and environmental risks, the municipality and province should explore the feasibility of expropriation to enable direct municipal management or transfer to conservation authorities for effective brownfield restoration and floodplain protection.
The residents of Dresden and the wider Chatham-Kent community deserve transparent, accountable, and effective environmental stewardship concerning the York1 site. Failure to provide rigorous oversight and openness jeopardizes public health, harms critical ecosystems, and erodes public confidence in government institutions.
I urge you to treat this matter with the utmost urgency and to take decisive actions to safeguard our community’s environmental and social well-being.
Ken Bell
Chatham-Kent
