Comment pertaining to an ERO…

Comment pertaining to an ERO #019-1230

As a lakefront property owner on Wollaston Lake, in Coe Hill Ontario, I have concerns with the Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) application itself and also with the manner in which this process is being conducted.

The application for this ECA is for a trailer park which is located on the shore of Wollaston Lake as well as the bank of the Deer River. Although this establishment has been operating at this location for over 40 years this ECA will be the first one granted for this property. Wollaston Lake is classified as an “At Capacity”, “Lake Trout Lake”, and since the proposed sewage works will be developed on the active flood plain of the Deer River, a river that flows directly into Wollaston Lake, I believe that an Environmental Impact Assessment should be obtained as a minimal prerequisite before any approval of the ECA is granted.

Wollaston Township’s lack of enforcement of non-compliance issues regarding infractions of its Comprehensive Zoning By-law, including some matters that involve this property, should also be closely examined, and taken into consideration, prior to the approval of this ECA application. Further to this, I believe consideration should be made for the requirement of a Site Plan Control Agreement, entered into by both the owners of the property and Wollaston Township, in order to ensure that the works are constructed and operated in such a way that ensures the environment is safeguarded, now and in the future.

With respect to the ECA itself, the public has not had a reasonable opportunity to examine or obtain the documentation associated with the application. Despite a Freedom of Information request being made to the MECP, and a separate private request being made to the applicants of the ECA , no materials have been available to the public other than for ‘viewing only purposes’ at the MECP office in Belleville or Toronto. Since these documents were not readily available to the public for a considerable after the original posting, consideration should be given for this lack of reasonable access to the materials, which in turn, made it impossible to arrange for an independent 3rd party review of the application to be completed within the allotted time.

Since the purpose of this is exercise, as set out in the Environmental Bill of Rights, is to ensure that there is an opportunity for public participation in the process, I am requesting that the deadline for submitting comments on this issue be extended primarily to ensure that there is sufficient time allowed for the completion of a professional engineering review of the submitted documentation.