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Bld to further study sludg e plan is rejected By Mke Kowaloid An attempt to force dloser scrutiny of a controversiai sewage sludge storage faci- Qlityproposed for south Witby has faied. Whitby councillor Joe Drumm was rebuffed in his efforts Monday to have the $10-million Durham Region project undergo further review. By a vote of 4-4, Town council rejected Drumm's request te ask Ontario Environmient and -Energy Minister Normi Sterling te elevate the proposai te a higher status. Since tie votes are con- sidered lost under Town council rules, opjonents of plans for six sludg holdinf tanks at the Corbiett Cee sewage treatment plant must now turn elsewhere te enlist support for subjeet- ing the project te an indivi- duai environmental assess- ment. Immediately following. its defeat of Druimm's motion, council endorsed a lanning department staff report that agreed with the find- ingsoi a massive environ- mental study' prepared in conjunction with the pro- posai. UWelre talking about a $10-million project that nobody else wants,» said Drumm in criticizinq Dur- ham's proposed solution for disposing of the end pro- duct produced ini its sewage -Te 1> otenclosed tanks would store treated sewage (sludge) from or- Region facilities during the winter months until it can be hauled' away and sprayed on fariners' fields as fertilizer. Durham now has less than two months' storage capacity available at its sewage plants and althoh it incinerates sludge atte Duffin Creek plant in Ajax this is only a temiporary Measure. Economic and environ- mental concerne rule out incineration as a per- manent means of disposing of the 100,000 gallons of sludge produced ever, day. Although a recently com- pleted env=rnmentaî study b% Simcoe Engineering stes that Corbett Creek is the best location for the storage facility, Drumm rei- terated his long-held oppo- sition te building the plant ini an urba.n area. With each of the six tanks capable of holding 178,000 gallons of siudge, Drumm estimated that mnore than 400,000 acres of farmland wili be needed for sludge disposai. insfstence that usny impact on nearby businesses resi- dences and adjacent lhick- son's Woods wiiderness area wili be minimal or non-existent at best. "Here is an op portunit te delve inte thisiproperiy,' said Emm, in . sissing the study' ocusions. 'Bogeyman' fear only "I wonder what benefits there will be te the munici- 1pality if we support ts at this time? he asced. While he conceded that there were some flaws in the process, councillor Mar- cel Brunelie warned against asking Sterling to put the project in a higher cateoy You can'3,t just ask for a bump-up,» said Brunelle in stressingi that the Town wili need evidence if it in- tends te challenge the Sim- coS study's findings and that the cost of consultants' reports and lawyers could bei "hundreds of Ïthousan. of dollars." Pointing to the foi volume report on his des Brunelle s"d "I know hc much it cost te do ail th- can oimgn o u it ilcs ou iagieuhow mu Brunelle argued ti opponents of the propo have yet te offer prnoofi building the facility at Ce bett Creek wili harm tl environment, homeowne or businesses. "There has to be a legit mate reason (for a humI up) and I haven't heardi just bogeyrnan stuif," 1 said. Brunelle said there wi be no "significant» odoui and no need for worn shouid a ma«or spili occur. "Mis 5tudis so texie the thev put it on fields te groi fo?' he said. "This is the right ang proper thing te do ang there's no solid reason no te do it other than the fea, Of the bogeyman and that' teo high a cost (bump-up) t mnflct on our taxpayers.» Councillor Dennis Foi agreed that uthere art bogeymen here, but the) exist at the regional level. Fox said he has been Lir- sk, DW Lis, Lch lat sal iat le Brs Iti- 't, lie iii rs at (We're GrowVing Lin your neighbourhood and Werelùn MONEY CONCEPTS Whitby is looking for mature entrepreneurial womien and men who are cormîtted to excellence. You wiII enjoy the best of both w -ids: the opportunity to work indcpendently and the fuit suppoto ucsfl locally owned <)t ice within a strong national organization. MONEY CONCEPTS is one of thec thstest growing independent fînancial inlanning companies in Canada. We operate within a frar-nework of integrity, prolcssionaljsmn and trust and provide complete financial planning services to individuals, faàmilies and businesses. If you can demonstrate a track record of'sLIcc5ss in a previous career and would like to learn more about opportÙinitics at Moncy Concepts, cail us today. Discretion is assured. [~J MONEY1627 Dundas St. E. ~ CONEPTSWhitby., LIN 2K9 CONCEPTS(905) 436-9115 Mutuial Funds. RRSPs, RRIFs, Annuities, GICs. Life and Disability Insurance aslcing for the past three years te be kept updated on the project's status, but the informiation has been «rela- tively sparse» at best. SEE PAGE 30 Whitby FreePress, Wednesday, November 27,1996, Page 3 P8 AUR' L CUL TLJ P0A9~