Appeals against the location of the County of Simcoe’s Environmental Resource and Recovery Centre (ERRC) project in Springwater Township have been dismissed in a ruling of the Ontario Land Tribunal released this week.
As part of the ruling released on Jan. 25, vice-chair of the tribunal Sharyn Vincent noted she was not convinced the project, which will be built in the Freele Tract of the Simcoe County Forest, would cause significant harm to the forest or wildlife.
“The evidence does not support the assertions...that the significant woodlands will be threatened,” wrote Vincent.
In her decision, Vincent also noted the tribunal heard no compelling evidence to shake or question the merit or efficacy of the proposed program and mitigation work to address any potential impacts on local bird and bat habitats.
“We applaud the decision by the Ontario Land Tribunal which is an important step forward in the process to develop the county's ERRC,” said County of Simcoe Warden George Cornell in a statement.
“Siting a waste facility will always be a challenging process; however, this decision validates the significant planning, engineering, environmental and scientific studies/evaluation that went into the selection of this rural site located on Horseshoe Valley Road in a small section of the county's Freele Forest Tract.”
The ERRC waste processing project, located at 2976 Horseshoe Valley Road West, has been in a holding pattern while it made its way through the Ontario Land Tribunal (formerly Local Planning Appeals Tribunal) process starting in 2019.
The project was first proposed by the county in 2010 as part of its waste-management strategy.
The facility, once built, would receive the county’s organics and recycling to be broken down into compost, fertilizer or fuel.
The county considered more than 100 sites for the facility. They applied to the province for permission to build the facility in the middle of the Freele Tract of the Simcoe County Forest after receiving approval on the location from County of Simcoe council.
The province approved the county’s request earlier in 2019 and granted an Official Plan amendment to allow the facility in the forest.
Three local groups appealed the Official Plan amendment decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal, stating publicly they don’t oppose the ERRC project as a whole; they only opposed the site chosen by the county in the middle of a forest.
Since then one of the appeals, filed by neighbours Ed and Scarlett Krajcir, was withdrawn.
The other two appeals were filed by local advocacy group Friends of Simcoe Forest, and Linda Van Casteren, owner of Nicholyn Farms.
The ruling noted that Van Casteren is a member of the Friends of Simcoe Forests and supports their efforts, but had concerns that directly affect her livelihood and the viability of the retirement lot for the planned residential use.
Van Casteren raised questions about traffic, noise, odours and whether the county was appropriately fulfilling its stewardship mandate.
Over the course of the hearing, which took place in September and November 2021, the tribunal heard oral testimony from eight witnesses on behalf of the county, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Springwater Township, three lay witnesses and three witnesses qualified to give opinion evidence on behalf of Friends of Simcoe Forests, the owner/appellant on behalf of Nicholyn Farms, and was in receipt of one participant statement opposed to the proposed amendments.
“Having considered all of the submissions and evidence... it is the finding of the tribunal that the Friends and Nicholyn have not persuaded the tribunal,” wrote Vincent.
According to the findings of the tribunal, the witnesses for the Friends of Simcoe Forests failed to introduce compelling evidence that the permanent removal of a portion of the woodland would actually threaten the health and integrity of woodland feature or the significant wildlife habitat function for the local birds.
“There is no doubt that even if the ERRC does not proceed at this location, the woodlands, left to natural succession and/or best practices of forestry management will be subject to change and impact,” wrote Vincent.
In an emailed statement from Friends of Simcoe Forests sent to CollingwoodToday.ca, the group said they are discussing further steps.
“Friends of Simcoe Forests is disappointed with the decision,” said President Mary Wagner. “We are grateful to our many members that have helped and continue to support the protection of our forests.”
As part of the decision, the tribunal granted the county permission to amend the Official Plan and zoning bylaw of Springwater Township to allow the ERRC to be built. The decision will be finalized once the tribunal receives revised Official Plans and zoning bylaw amendments.
The county must also prepare an Environmental Management Plan and Wildlife Management Plan prior to site plan approval, which must be developed in consultation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority.
“This is an important decision; however as the tribunal pointed out, further approvals and processes are required from multiple levels of government before the project can proceed. We look forward to working with these, and with interested members of the public, going forward,” said Cornell.
