Conservation authority examining Uxbridge property for compliance
Oct 08, 2008 - 02:18 PM
By Jeff Hayward
UXBRIDGE -- An Uxbridge farmer has been asked by a conservation authority to stop a fill operation on his property, after another resident raised concerns about historic tire dumping there.
Ed Beach, a Concession 2 resident, has complied with the request, voluntarily calling off trucks hauling fill onto his site while the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) checks out the property, he said. Mr. Beach has also parked combines at the entrance of his land to curtail trespassing, which he said has been a problem recently.
Residents, as well as the Township, have raised concerns whether Mr. Beach has the authority to transport fill onto his property under a provincial permit, long after thousands of tires dumped on the property were buried over. Mr. Beach said he is now adding fill to shore up a ravine in order to control erosion of the property, as well as build a berm.
Mr. Beach said he decided to block the entrance to the fill site because "people are snooping around". Regarding the cessation of fill being transported onto his land, he noted, "I volunteered to be cooperative until we have this sorted out."
The Township had initiated an investigation of the property to ensure Mr. Beach was operating within permit guidelines, but now the LSRCA has stepped into the picture, confirmed Tom Hogenbirk, manager of engineering for the conservation authority. Mr. Hogenbirk said the LSRCA and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) conducted a meeting regarding the Beach farm recently and "(Mr. Beach) was requested to stop filling... he (has) complied voluntarily.
"The site is under investigation... nothing's concluded."
Mr. Hogenbirk said another meeting is scheduled between the LSRCA, the MOE and the Township in the near future, but it won't be open to the public as there are "potential legal issues".
Meanwhile, the Township has learned new information about the Beach farm. Until recently, the Township believed it had authority over the entire site, said Mayor Bob Shepherd.
"The property consists of regulated and unregulated land," said the mayor, noting the unregulated portion is under Township jurisdiction and the rest under LSRCA. "We're confident there's no illegal dumping of fill on the unregulated area," he said. "All we can comment on is the unregulated section."
Residents, including Anne Holmes, have been vocal about the Beach site in council chambers. Recently, a video showing the once-exposed tires surfaced in the possession of Ms. Holmes, who explained the property is at the headwaters of the Pefferlaw Brook. Ms. Holmes wants the tires removed and shredded, as she fears contaminants will leach into groundwater. Others have raised concerns regarding the nature of the fill being trucked in.
Mr. Beach said the investigation has stalled his projects, but is confident he can resume the work. "It throws my schedule off but as far as I'm concerned this is my lifetime work, to look after that farm," he said.
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