Proposal to pile trash higher at N.B. landfill nears decision

A proposal to pile trash higher at a Saint John area landfill is nearing a decision.

If approved, the Crane Mountain landfill’s maximum height of 90 metres above seal level would be extended to 117.5 metres.

The Fundy Regional Service Commission says the increase would extend the landfill’s lifespan from 2048 to 2078, and save $22 million by not having to build additional containment cells.

“You won’t see the landfill anywhere, any different, than you do now,” says Marc Macleod of the Fundy Regional Service Commission, who says the height will be accumulated in a dome shape.

The physical footprint of the landfill would stay the same.

“That’s the advantage of this,” says Macleod. “We’re not destroying other virgin ground to bury garbage.”

The Crane Mountain Landfill is located just off Route 7, near the municipal limits of Saint John and Grand Bay-Westfield.

Macleod says the landfill’s liner will include marine clay, which he calls “the best liner system out there.”

“Because the transportation of water through it is very minimal, combined with an HDP liner which also mitigates any leaching through,” says Macleod. “It’s a two layer system.”

The community monitoring committee Crane Mountain Enhancement Inc. says there are several concerns about the proposed height increase, including its appearance, odour, and effects on groundwater.

“Eventually, the marine clay will still allow leakage to permute through it,” says John Doubt, chair of Crane Mountain Enhancement Inc. “A clay base is only good for so many years.”

Doubt says the added pressure on landfill liners is a concern for about 1,000 private well owners who live downstream from the Crane Mountain facility. Doubt says the cost savings are also short sighted.

“It’s a bit of a red herring to say they’re saving money because eventually they will have to build those new cells and they’ve still got the landfill in this location anyway,” says Doubt. “It’s more a case of saving money now for spending it later.”

An environmental impact assessment has been completed by the provincial government.

The Fundy Regional Service Commission’s board is scheduled to make a decision about the proposed height increase on July 26.

Grand Bay-Westfield mayor and commission board member Brittany Merrifield says more time should be given to finding other possibilities.

“To me, this is a decision that doesn’t need to be made now,” says Merrithew. “If the real goal is expanding the life of the landfill, we need to look at more creative and more modern solutions than simply making the garbage pile bigger. Why are we not looking at more robust diversion strategies, as an example?”

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