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Council Highlights

Durham/York EFW EA Adopted

After a marathon meeting of almost 16 hours, with approximately 60 delegations and much discussion, Regional Council approved the Durham/York Residual Waste Study Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposed Energy from Waste (EFW) facility to be built in the Municipality of Clarington. Regional Council approved all three reports relating to the proposed EFW facility; Report No.: 2009-COW-01, EFW Risk Assessment and Environmental Surveillance; Report No.: 2009-COW-02, the Host Community Agreement between the Regional Municipality of Durham and the Municipality of Clarington; and, Report No.: 2009-COW-03, Approvals for the Design, Construction, Operation and Maintenance of a new Durham/York Energy from Waste Facility (RFP 604-2008): Project and Related Financing. The Durham/York Residual Waste Study Environmental Assessment (EA) and its related reports will now be forwarded to the Region of York, for their Council’s approval, which is scheduled to meet on June 25, 2009. Once approved by both Regional Councils, the Final Durham/York Residual Waste Study Environmental Assessment and its accompanying reports will be forwarded to the Ministry of the Environment for their approval. A government and public review of the EA will be conducted during a seven-week period. The Ministry of the Environment has the final approval on the EA.

The Region of Durham continues to be strongly committed to waste diversion programs (the Region is presently number one in waste diversion in Ontario) but realizes a feasible solution is needed to deal with the residual waste that remains after recycling and composting. Since 2005, the Regions of York and Durham have been collaborating together to find a viable solution to managing residual waste. In June 2006, after reviewing the alternative technologies, the Regional Councils of Durham and York elected to accept their consultants’ recommendation of using thermal treatment, or an Energy from Waste facility to manage the residual waste. Covanta Energy Corporation was chosen as the preferred vendor from four pre-qualified vendors to build and operate the EFW facility. The proposed EFW facility will process up to 140,000 tonnes of the Region’s municipal residual waste while creating energy in the form of steam that can be used as a heat and energy source for operations and facilities. For more information on the Energy from Waste facility or the Draft EA Document, please visit www.durham.ca or www.durhamyorkwaste.ca.

Waste Management By-law

Regional Council directed staff to implement a consultation process with area municipalities, residents and other stake-holders to receive input in developing a Durham Waste Management By-law, as per Report No.: 2009-WR-11. Staff are requested to report back in the fall of 2010 with a proposed Durham Waste Management By-law based on the feedback of the consultation process. The proposed by-law will help manage the Region’s standardization of solid waste collection services and to guide the service delivery as the Region continues to work towards 70% diversion. The consultation process will include public meetings in the area municipalities, a peer review among the Region’s area municipalities, presentations to local area Councils, and public postings for written comment submissions.

407 East EA Draft

Regional Council approved Report No.: 2009-J-25, the Pre-Submission Review of the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) Report for the Highway 407 East Completion Environmental Assessment. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) initiated the Highway 407 East Completion Environmental Assessment study in 2005 and it is now nearing completion. A Draft EA Report was released on June 15, 2009 to Regional staff, area municipalities and the public, documenting the Highway 407 EA process and the Preliminary Design of the Technically Preferred Route (TPR) for their review and/or comments prior to the Final EA Report being submitted in August/September 2009 by the Project Team to MTO. The deadline for comments is July 20, 2009.

Some of the recommendations of the report are: a) THAT Regional Council endorse the Technically Preferred Route, consisting of the Highway 407 Mainline, West Durham Link and East Durham Link in principle, as the basis for the submission of the Final EA Report to the Minister of the Environment; b) THAT the Region urges the Ministry of Transportation to commit to the construction of the entire Highway 407 Mainline, West Durham Link and East Durham Link by 2013 as one phase of construction; and c) THAT the Lake Ridge Road interchange at Highway 401, and the widening of Highway 401 between Salem Road and the West Durham Link, be included in the five-year construction program for Southern Ontario highways (i.e. 2009-2013), to coordinate with the construction of the West Durham Link. For more information on the 407 East EA please visit www.407eastea.com.

Social Housing Funding

Council adopted Report No.: 2009-F-66, regarding the Initial Grant Allocation under the Canada-Ontario Social Housing Renovation and Retrofit Program (SHRRP). The Federal and Provincial governments are providing funding for the period of April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2011 for the renovation and retrofit of existing social housing providers in the Region of Durham. The federal government pledged the SHRRP funding to stimulate local economies by creating jobs while the provincial government has stipulated that project priorities include reducing waiting lists, enhancing accessibility, and reducing operating costs. Once details for the funding are announced later this month, Regional staff will prioritize the listing of projects.

Rechargeable Batteries

Regional Council today approved Report No.: 2009-WR-10, recommending that the Regional Municipality of Durham register with the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) as a Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation Collector for free disposal of rechargeable batteries. In 2008, the Region’s Waste Management Branch spent approximately $18,200 to collect and recycle nine tonnes of used rechargeable batteries and cellular telephones. As a registered RBRC collector, the Region will be able to maximize the diversion of rechargeable batteries and cellular telephones at no cost. RBRC will provide the Region with an ongoing supply of the necessary collection boxes and prepaid postage at all participating Regional facilities at no cost. The report recommends that the boxes be installed at Regional Headquarters, all transfer stations and at Durham Regional Police Service stations throughout the Region. The RBRC, founded in 1994 by the rechargeable battery industry, aims to promote the recycling of used rechargeable batteries found in cordless electronic consumer products such as cellular and cordless telephones, laptop computers, cordless power tools, camcorders and two-way radios, thus preventing rechargeable batteries from entering the solid waste stream. For more information on RBRC, please visit www.rbrc.org.

Other Council News

• Council approved the nomination of Councillor Larry O’Connor as the elected member from the 905/GTA Regions for the Social Housing Services Corporation Board of Directors
• Report No.: 2009-F-59, providing Final Recommendations Regarding Amendments to Regional Development Charges By-law No.: 44-2008 was adopted by Council
• Council received Report No.: 2009-WR-12 for information, a report detailing the results of the Clear Bags Pilot Study in the Municipality of Clarington and the City of Pickering

Next Regional Council Meeting: Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Celebrating 30 Years of Service to our Communities