Public Info Sessions timed to discourage attendance

Clarington has been chosen as the preferred host municipality for a massive incinerator to burn mixed municipal waste. Courtice is the specific town where it will be located.

One Public Information Session was scheduled to be held in Bowmanville to ask for input on the preferred site (they have to ask, because of EA requirements, but they don't have to listen). Due to delegations to Clarington Council on Monday night and the Joint Waste Management Group on Tuesday (in Regional Council Chambers) complaining that there should be more than one Information Session in Clarington (there should be at least 3, according to most who noticed the shortcoming) and there should be sessions held in the host town - Courtice. The other complaint was the timing of the session - a drop in session from 2 pm until 9 pm on Wednesday (Oct 3) and a formal presentation from 9 pm until 11 pm. What a time on a weeknight! And where is the time for questions/comments from residents?

The Q&A session after the formal presentation has, at all the former Public Information Sessions held by Genivar/Jacques Whitford, been the most informative part of the presentation. These consultants are known by now to gloss over any of the negative impacts and promote anything positive they can find to say about this incinerator project. It is during the Q&A sessions that more information comes out. Asking a consultant one on one is quite different than listening to comments from other residents, and probing questions that are NOT being asked by the politicians.

Residents were assured at the JWMG meeting on Tuesday this week that the formal presentation on Oct. 3 would be moved to 8 pm from 9 pm (after all the delegations asked that it be moved to 7 pm like all the other presentations have been, and like the York Region presentation will be). It was reported in the Wednesday, Sept. 26 Canadian Statesman that the time would be 8 pm. In today's Clarington This Week, the reported time is 9 pm again. See how the previous information sessions were handled.

Are they confused themselves, or are they just trying to confuse us? They obviously don't want a good turnout as the advertising for this Public Session has been pitiful, and short notice, late hour, etc. Here is one more complaint about the PROCESS.

They have now added a second session, to be held in Courtice at Faith United Church on Nash Road on Tuesday, October 9 - at 8 pm. Still they couldn't be convinced to hold this one at 7 pm either. This looks to be intentional, not to give Clarington what it asks for. But then again, why start now?

More and more we are losing confidence in this bunch. That includes the Mayor and Regional Councillors from Clarington as well as the Regional Project Team and Consultants. Read the comments from people on my previous post. Yes, this Process is a failure. Why would we have any confidence in the conclusions they come to at the end of this flawed process?

By treating Clarington Council and Staff and residents so shabbily and thoughtlessly, they show how little our opinions count. Roger Anderson was correct when he said Clarington's views wouldn't matter in the Region's actions or decisions. He was not just talking about "the process". Will the tacky treatment of Clarington continue? It seems so. It seems to be escalating. Mr. Anderson has great difficulty in disguising his contempt for Clarington. I would submit that he no longer even bothers.

Do YOU have confidence in this process, as it has been handled to date? I look forward to your comments. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize, although I won't change my mind until or unless things change BIG TIME. I don't think the political will is there to make the changes needed. Why does it seem that our Mayor and 2 Regional Councillors (Trim and Novak) are so afraid to stand up for Clarington and demand fair treatment? Why don't they appear to care about the voters/taxpayers of this municipality? Why are they willing to risk our health and well-being? I'd love to hear from any of them, but they also appear to be afraid to answer direct questions honestly.

Courtice is announced as preferred site for Incinerator

IS ANYONE SURPRISED???

How many times have we said over the last year or so that the preferred site would be in Courtice. How many people have said it was pre-determined and that Durham Region hired the consultants to steer the site selection toward the Courtice site right from the beginning (as well as steering away from any of the alternative technologies)?

Do we all have crystal balls, or was this plan just poorly disguised from the start? Then again, why bother to put much effort into disguising the intent when it makes no difference what Clarington voters, Clarington staff, or a few of the local councillors have to say. The Region has admitted time and time again that it doesn't matter. Last week's attempts at explaining away Chairman Anderson's comments at Clarington Council were puny and didn't hold water to anyone who has heard Mr. Anderson comment on the same subject countless times at committee meetings. He was not only talking about the EA process itself. Ask him point blank if it will matter to the Region if Clarington declares itself a willing host or not, in the end, when the Region decides they are going to put their beloved incinerator in our midst. The answer is no. He has admitted it many times over the last year.

Well, now the joke is on our Mayor and Regional Councillors in Clarington, as well as any others gullible enough to think this is an objective EA process. There are so many holes in it that there will be appeals upon appeals and the Province should start to listen, since those pushing this project through at both Regional and local levels of government had their minds made up years ago, in spite of their insistence that they are waiting for all the "facts". If Mayor Abernethy was remaining objective, why would he promote incineration to the Clarington Board of Trade by playing them a video from an EFW proponent? Why would he vote down any attempts at getting more information from the Region or vote against the Region having to pay whatever it takes for Clarington to do its due diligence? Why would Mary Novak and Charlie Trim do the same? Why would Abernethy be so happy about Courtice being chosen as the preferred site for this incinerator? If he thinks he will benefit from it, or that Clarington will, he is sadly mistaken, and his refusal to remain the least bit neutral will haunt him in the next election, if he even has any plans of running again.

So, residents of Clarington, are we at all surprised by any of this? The only things I am surprised about are the lackadaisical attempts at convincing us this EA process as it is presently being run is "transparent". We asked for fairness, transparency, honesty. Our politicians promised us these things. What do we get instead?

Talk about managing garbage! The "poo pumper" is certainly hard at work these days.

Clarington has no say on incinerator, says Anderson

Clarington has no say on incinerator, says regional chairman

Wed Sep 12, 2007
By Jennifer Stone (Metroland)

CLARINGTON -- Saying the municipality would not be a willing host to an incinerator proposed by the Regions of Durham and York would have "absolutely no effect whatsoever" on the process, Regional Chairman Roger Anderson told Clarington councillors Monday.

The chairman was one of a number of delegations speaking on the matter during the council meeting.

"It would be nice if we could have a willing host, but it is not essential," said Mr. Anderson. In fact, he said, that East Gwillimbury, the only other municipality with a potential site for the proposed incinerator besides Clarington, has said it won't be a willing host is neither here nor there. The site there remains under consideration, with a decision expected later this month on preferred site.

"It would be pretty easy to sit in front of all these folks ... and say, okay, I'm not going to be a willing host," he said, referring to the audience in council chambers, several of whom were on hand to voice their opposition to the proposed Energy From Waste plant. "Easy to say it now, but I don't know what you're going to say in 2011 (after the Michigan border closes to Ontario trash) because you're not going to have an answer."

There is nothing to the suggestion made by Clarington Councillor Adrian Foster that the Municipality is "Durham's ultimate waste solution," said the chairman. "We deem energy from waste as the ultimate waste solution," he said. But, there are alternatives to incinerating garbage which should be explored, some delegates told Council. Many touted a move toward zero waste, with some form of stabilized landfill until waste can be eliminated.

It's not like incineration will eliminate the need for landfill, said Kerry Meydam. "With the incinerator ... you still have that residual ash, and you still need landfill," she said. It is estimated about 30 per cent of what is sent into the incinerator would remain as bottom ash.

Zero waste, which would entail extending producer responsibility for their spent product. isn't terribly realistic, said others.

"Germany put in one of the most extensive producer responsibility systems ... but after the system was implemented, what they found was that they had huge and growing stockpiles of materials that could not be recycled," said David Climenhage. "I don't think that necessarily a zero-waste solution is something that can happen without many years and many new technologies in place to achieve it."

But, there is a need to look for other solutions, said others, some of whom were clearly disheartened by Mr. Anderson's comments.

"I'm not sure it really makes a difference whether I'm here or not," said Kristin Robinson. "It certainly seems like Mr. Anderson has made it clear my side won't be heard at all.

"I believe we can do better than burning our waste. I believe it is just a band-aid solution."

So, what do our readers think of this? Do you like being brushed off by those who presume to know what is best for all of us (like Anderson, Abernethy and our regional councillors who don't care what we have to say about it)? It is appalling that they will listen to their pro-incinerator/lobbyist/consultants but will not listen to doctors, scientists or residents (or those who are both), and won't bother to read medical journals or opinions of waste experts or even pretend to have any common sense at all?

What do you think about this? We do have the opinion of one Regional Councillor from a press release passed on to me from a group of residents earlier today. He hits the nail right on the head!

Clarington Residents Owed Apology over Remarks
“Regional Chair Anderson must respect taxpayers” says Councillor.

Oshawa—Oshawa Regional Councillor Brian Nicholson is urging Durham Regional Chair Roger Anderson to apologize to Clarington taxpayers for his disrespectful comments at Clarington Municipal Council on Monday, September 10, 2007.

Anderson is reported to have told Clarington Council that “saying the municipality would not be a willing host to an incinerator proposed by the Regions of Durham and York would have "absolutely no effect whatsoever" on the process”.

“I find that comment to be inaccurate, offensive and not helpful to the public consultation process”, says Councillor Nicholson, “We are currently in an Environmental Assessment process, we are holding public meetings in Clarington, and the taxpayers of both the Region and the Municipality are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars doing peer reviews. Why are we spending all this money if the input from Clarington Council and its residents will have “absolutely no effect whatsoever” on the process?”

Nicholson continues, “As a member of the Regional Works Committee, I consider the opinions of the Clarington Council and the taxpayers of Clarington to be vital information in my decision making process. What is it about public comment and public participation that scares the Regional Chair? Is it possible that questions are being asked that he would prefer not be asked?”

Regional Council was asked in 2004, 2005 and 2006 to adopt a policy to add a pre-condition requiring any incineration site to be constructed must be located in a municipality that was a “willing host”. Council, led by Chair Anderson, ruled that any decision on “the requirement to be a willing host” was premature until the site selection process was completed and a host site announced.

“If it is premature to require a willing host prior to site selection, why is not premature to not require a willing host prior to site selection. Once again, we are seeing the rules change by fiat from the Chair rather than by Regional Council.”, claimed Councillor Nicholson. “If Chair Anderson wishes to have Regional Council take a position that states they will place an incinerator in a local municipality whether that municipality is a willing host or not, let him bring that forward to Council. In my opinion, he would have a rude shock if he did.”

This spring, Mayor Jim Abernethy of Clarington apologized to the Regional Chair on behalf of Clarington Council when the Chair was not allowed to speak to Clarington Council. It was said then that not allowing the Chair to speak and offer his views was an insult to the elected office of Regional Chair.

“ If not allowing the Regional Chair speak is an insult, then so is a statement by the Regional Chair that states that the opinions of the Clarington Council and its residents will have “absolutely no effect whatsoever” on the process.”, claims Councillor Nicholson. “If one was wrong, then so is the other. Chair Anderson owes the Clarington Council, and more importantly, the residents of Clarington, Durham residents all, an apology for his comments.”

“The public consultation process must be above reproach, but it is becoming clear from comments such as those made by the Regional Chair, that the process is nothing more than a public relations exercise to limit the political fallout from a decision already made.”, Nicholson concludes.

For further information,

Regional Councillor Brian Nicholson
905-436-5603
bnicholson@oshawa.ca

Comments, anyone? I say Bravo to Councillor Nicholson and to the residents who continue to try to be heard. Pooh Pooh on Chairman Anderson for not even bothering to care.

Incineration Pros and Cons on Rogers Cable TV

Some interesting TV from Rogers Cable... Incineration Pros and Cons. WATCH TONIGHT!

The "Con" side was given last night by two excellent local Clarington activists, Dr. Deb Jefferson and Wendy Bracken on the "Talk Local" show with host Amie Bolahood. I learned more in that one hour than I did in attending all of Durham Region's public information sessions last year and this year. I've stolen the information on times and repeats from the new D.E.W. website, which is also chock full of information on the subject.

Tonight at 9 pm on Rogers Cable we will see Mayor Abernethy and Cliff Curtis speaking for the "Pro" side, with host Tom Calow. Even though Mayor Abernethy continues to try to tell people he has not yet made up his mind, nor has Durham Region, does anyone still believe him? Watch tonight and I predict you will see him determinedly defend the decision to ignore any and ALL other alternatives to incineration and support incineration, which he will call "Energy From Waste". He and Mr. Curtis will tell you how clean and wonderful the European plants were that they saw on their expensive trip to Europe ($192,000 of Durham Region taxpayer's money). They will tell you how they saw a daycare built right near an incineration plant, saw people hanging out their laundry in the shadow of a large incinerator, and how nobody protests or minds those invisible emissions from the stacks.

They will not, however, tell you that Europe's regulations are much more stringent than ours in Ontario, or that theirs is a much different waste stream than what will be fueling our hungry "made in Durham" incinerator, with much lower toxicity. They won't tell you that the EU is now reconsidering the use of incinerators and making the regulations even tougher, or that they are looking at other solutions. They won't tell you about the very real risk of nano-particles because they don't understand what they are or how they affect human health. It is a quite new science, and the Durham Region consultants didn't bother to include any of the primary papers or research on this very important aspect of incineration. They will give you half-truths and spin it just as the consultants have spun it to them, to make it all more palatable.

But it seems that there is a growing number of people in Clarington and Durham becoming more aware of the con side, which was not even touched on by the Region's consultants who were hired to promote incineration to the public, just as the European Magical Mystery Tour was designed from day one to promote incineration, not to show both sides of the issue.

The Mayor owes an apology to all those delegations over the past several months who have taken the time to research and to speak about alternatives - all those delegations he chose to ignore as they spoke of alternative solutions including increased waste diversion, stabilized landfill for the small amount of residual waste after separating organics out for composting and biologically and mechanically treating what is left, extended producer responsibility, and more.

An exact quote from the Mayor made on Tuesday evening...
"We have been hearing what they're saying; they've been saying basically the same message over and over again; 'say no, say no, say no, say no', but what they have not done is they have not given us an alternative."

So why wasn't he listening to all those delegations? We submit it is because he made up his mind long ago and is pushing hard for incineration, just like our influential and tunnel-visioned Regional Chair, Roger Anderson. Much of Regional Council has been convinced that this is a safe, clean, wonderful project that will be oh-so-good for Durham Region, if not for Clarington.

Why are they so afraid of the whole truth, instead of hand-picked "facts" that they are exhibiting in their consummately one-sided promotion of incineration.

They also talk about "state of the art" or newest technology, but we know it will be what is most affordable, not state of the art. Chairman Anderson told us that months ago at one of his committee meetings where a large number of residents were present. He said that "Plasma Arc", for example, is too new, too experimental, too expensive so it would not be one of the technologies even considered. Yeah, right.

Even the newest "scrubbers" will not remove nano-particles from the emissions stack before they are released into our already compromised airshed. They cannot remove all the toxins and then even those that are removed... what to do with that pesky leftover ash? Guess what... it will have to go to a LANDFILL.

Watch tonight and ask questions. Please watch the repeats of the Talk Local show (see times below) for a much more intelligent and in-depth discussion of what we're really looking at if we have this incinerator built here. A much more complete and honest discussion without the political spin that we've sadly, now come to expect.

From the DEW website NOTICE BOARD:

NEW Thursday, September 6/07 at 9 p.m. - watch Mayor Jim Abernethy and Cliff Curtis tonight at 9 pm - Rogers Cable TV. Program is "Talk Politics". It's a call-in show so people can call in to comment and ask questions.

NEW Thursday September 6/07 - If you missed Dr. Deb Jefferson and Wendy Bracken (Clarington residents) featured on the "Talk Local" (Rogers Cable) show on Wednesday evening at 9 pm, please take the time to watch a repeat episode at any of the following times:
Thursday - 12:30 AM, 8:00 AM, 12:00 PM
Friday - 10:00 AM, 8:00 PM
Sunday - 10:00 PM
Monday - 2:00 AM, 5:00 AM
Tuesday - 8:00 AM

Monday, September 10, 2007 - Incineration Peer Review Reports 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers, Municipal Administrative Centre40 Temperance Street, Bowmanville, ON - Council meeting (open to public)Decision on Clarington Peer Review Report on Incineration EA processIf you wish to appear as a delegation to speak on this item or your feelings on siting a large incinerator in Clarington to burn Durham Region's garbage (along with some of York Region's) as well as bringing in garbage possibly from Peterborough, Port Hope and other areas outside Durham Region, contact the Clarington Clerk's Dept. (905-623-3379) on or before 4 p.m. on Friday, September 7th. A preferred site will be chosen near the end of this month so it is important to be heard.