Jun 30, 2009 - 11:11 AM

By Chris Hall

SCUGOG -- Voting in favour of the contentious incinerator project wasn't an easy decision but it was the right decision, says Scugog Mayor Marilyn Pearce.

Following last week's endorsement of the energy-from-waste project by Regional council, Mayor Pearce explained that in the end her vote of support for the incinerator came down to two questions: Is it safe and can Durham residents afford it?

"In all of the studies, the answer was yes to both," said Scugog's mayor. "I'm not saying it was an easy decision, but I spent many days and nights reading materials and... my decision became fairly clear."

In three votes last week, Durham councillors approved the health study and environmental monitoring program, the host community agreement with Clarington, and the final environmental assessment document which included the business case.

The project has now been forwarded to Ontario's Ministry of the Environment for provincial approval.

If everything falls into place, the $272.5-million facility would burn up to 140,000 tonnes of residential waste coming from primarily Durham and York regions as early as 2013.

In previous weeks, Regional councillors listened to dozens of delegations, the bulk of them opposed to the project. All of those people who appeared before councillors to voice their concerns were part of the process, stressed the mayor, and their suggestions were added to the final report.

"The public had a great deal to play in the final (risk-assessment) document," said Mayor Pearce.

However, when it came time to vote on the matter, she stressed that "it wasn't easy."

One thing that kept playing on her mind, though, explained the mayor, was the potential for landfills to leak and the importance of clean groundwater. That's of particular significance for northern townships where both municipal water sources and individual property owners get their supply, she said.

All six regional representatives from Scugog, Uxbridge and Brock townships voted in favour of the incinerator project.

"I think while the focus has been on air quality, water (quality) is a huge issue in rural areas," said the mayor.

At the end of the day, she noted, "I'm very comfortable with my decision."

During last Wednesday's marathon debate on the incinerator project, Durham councillors questioned Dr. Robert Kyle, the Region's medical officer of health, on the safety of burning garbage.

When asked if incineration is safe, Dr. Kyle said the risk assessment study "shows no unacceptable risk. Do the results say no risk? No, but the doses are extremely low.

"The risks are acceptable, based on the norms. That's the best we can say," Dr. Kyle added.

"If your definition is no risk, we can't say yes to that. The levels will be at an extremely low dose and the concentrations will be extremely low," the doctor stated.

Ross Wilson, a toxicologist retained by the Region, said, "In short, yes, I do think it's safe.

"The concentrations would be so minor an increase, in most cases, you won't be able to measure the increase," Mr. Wilson said.

The provincial Environment Ministry is expected to announce its decision early in 2010.

~ With files from Keith Gilligan