Hamilton wants province to give municipalities power to approve land fill expansions

The City of Hamilton wants the province of Ontario to give municipalities the power to approve land fill expansions.

Councillors voted unanimously Wednesday on a motion filed by Ward 9 Coun. Brad Clark following a continuous, "unbearable" odour in the Stoney Creek Mountain area coming from the GFL Environmental facility at 65 Green Mountain Rd. W.

The motion calls for staff to request an amendment to the Environmental Assessment Act that would "require private proponents to obtain municipal support for any landfill expansion applications." 

Ward 5 Coun. Matt Francis, who has been "vocally upset about the GFL landfill," said he and Clark have been doing everything within their means to stop the stench.

"I've personally spent a great deal of time articulating to my constituents that this is a provincial matter and I've been doing everything possible to advocate for their quality of life," he said.

"I will continue to do everything possible to advocate for my community. I will once again reiterate that if the landfill odours cannot be contained, the dump must be closed."

The Stoney Creek landfill had an expansion approved in 2019 by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) increasing capacity by more than 50 per cent.

Council voted then to officially declare their opposition to the expansion.

The strong smell permeating the neighbourhoods around the landfill since May has been described by neighbours as garbage, rotten egg and cat spray.

Mayor Andrea Horwath applauded Clark for bringing the motion to council.

Horwath said she was in the area recently "was attacked by an odour that was quite putrid."

The mayor said her heart is with the residents and she will continue to work with the affected councillors and community leads to have the matter resolved.

Protest at landfill

A group of around 40 people staged a protest at the gate of the landfill on Oct. 20, said one of the organizers, Kathleen Taylor.

She said protesters saw non-stop honking and waving from people driving by.

"We even had four GFL garbage trucks, the drivers honking in support," she said.

Taylor said she was happy to see people realize that there was a group out there "fighting" the situation.

The protest was organized through a Facebook group where neighbours of the area often share their experiences with the smells, share new information and organize meetings.

Situation 'unacceptable,' Ministry of Environment says

Gary Wheeler, spokesperson for the Ontario Environment Ministry, said the odours currently being experienced by residents are "unacceptable."

In a statement to CBC Hamilton this week, Wheeler said the ministry continues to ensure that GFL is taking all possible actions to address the odours, including issuing a "Provincial Officers Order" on Oct. 17. 

The order said by Nov. 1, the company must remove 500,000 litres of leachate per week. It also states that between April and October 2023, the MECP received over 900 odour complaints at the Hamilton District Office in relation to the landfill.

Wheeler said ministry environmental officers continue to attend the GFL Stoney Creek landfill site and surrounding residential areas daily in response to the odour complaints and will continue to do so to ensure GFL is compliant with all ministry requirements.

"The odour incidents have been referred for investigation for potential violations of the Environmental Protection Act," Wheeler said.

'I'm afraid to open my windows': resident

Taylor said people in the group work "tirelessly" to compile information about the landfill and update community residents about any progress.

"It was really awesome to be able to meet some of the people [from the group]. These are the people who are fighting," said Taylor.

She said the smell has continued to disrupt the area in the fall after this summer was "ruined" for hundreds of neighbours of the area.

"I've already been woken up in the middle of the night, almost sick to my stomach because the smell comes in. Now I'm afraid to open my windows," she said.

Taylor said she knows the landfill won't close any time soon, but wants to know if the company will go away after the current contract is done.

She also wants continuous air monitoring done in the area and assurance that old garbage in the site, like asbestos, is not being thrown in the air with the company's current work.

City says testing shows 'no public health hazards'

Recent testing done by the MECP and analyzed by Hamilton Public Health showed "a total of 29 exceedances of the Total Reduced Sulphur [TRS, a mix of pollutants containing sulphur in its reduced state]."

This is the second air-monitoring report from public health in recent weeks, the first one being on Sept. 15, which found measurements "below industry standards" with testing being done between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

However, neighbours of the area, including Taylor, complained that the testing was done when the odour was not at its strongest.

The results shared Oct. 19 still found the sources of the TRS — which was assumed to be entirely composed of hydrogen sulfide — and cause of the exceedances to be the facility and leachate pond.

City media relations officer Antonella Giancarlo said "although hydrogen sulfide has not been known to cause cancer, prolonged exposure to low concentrations of Total Reduced Sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, may cause headaches, tiredness, and nausea." 

She said "this is consistent with community concerns raised regarding their lived experience with the odour emanating from the facility impacting their quality of life, which research confirms can trigger an individual's stress response." 

According to the report by public health, the testing was done between Sept. 1 and 29 between 8:45 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. at nights and 12 and 10 a.m. in the mornings.

Despite the exceedances, the city said "there continues to be no public health hazards related to levels of hydrogen sulfide/odours in the area of the facility."

The report also said "the Ministry has asked the facility to enhance public communications via weekly written status updates on the [Stoney Creek landfill] website," read the public health report.

As of Oct. 26, the company website did not appear to show a community update. 

CBC Hamilton reached out to GFL Environmental but did not hear back before publication.