"Professional campaign based on facts and logic convinced Durham
to say no to OCF” says Maurice Brenner

Durham tells York to deal with sewage stink Opposes Pickering site for plant to stop smell from neighbour's waste

Mar 12, 2009 
*Carola Vyhnak: 
Urban affairs reporter The Star

It's your smell, you deal with it.

Durham Region is sending that message to neighbour York Region after bowing to pressure from residents who don't want a sewage odour-control facility in Pickering.

Council agreed unanimously yesterday to tell York and the environment ministry the facility should be built in York, far from the proposed location near a subdivision at Alton Rd. and Finch Ave. E.

"The message to York is, `Take it and move it,'" Pickering Councillor Bill McLean said in Durham's packed council chamber. The project, a joint venture of the two regions that York is paying for, is awaiting provincial approval.

More than 4,500 people have voiced opposition through emails and petitions, arguing that the plant will foul the air, pose a potential health risk and lower property values.

A main objection was what some deemed a lack of public consultation, saying details were revealed only four months ago.

The facility, designed to treat the stench from York's sewage en route to treatment in south Pickering, is part of the expansion of a giant sewage system known as the Big Pipe.

Officials note the plant's purpose is to remove odours, and deny there would be any problems with smell, health or environmental risks, or devalued properties.

York spent $14 million on studies that concluded the Pickering site, 300 metres south of Cherrywood West subdivision, is by far the best location, for technical, social, environmental and financial reasons, said Erin Mahoney, commissioner of environmental services.

But York respects Durham's decision, understands the community's concerns and will take a "harder look" at other options on the original list of 13 possible sites, she said.

Mahoney warned a new location in York could cost more, have a greater environmental impact and be less efficient.

Yesterday's decision won't stop the sewer extension but it should "carry a lot of weight" with the environment ministry, McLean said, crediting the community for swaying council.

Opponents got their message across to Durham's works committee last month, when almost 50 spoke up at an all-day meeting. Yesterday, Maurice Brenner praised fellow residents for a "professional" campaign based on facts and logic.

Outside council chambers, a jubilant crowd vowed to continue their fight at the provincial level. Key organizer Devi Gopalan hopes to "flood" the environment minister's office with 10,000 letters.