Site 41 - Dump over drinking water?
For Immediate Release
July 14, 2009
New Conflict of Interest Confirms Site 41 is Out of Control, says Council of Canadians
The Council of Canadians has learned that Jagger Hims, the company Simcoe County contracted for the groundwater analysis of controversial dump Site 41, was recently acquired by a company called Genivar - a major landfill developer. According to Genivar's website, "The firm is currently working on more than 25 sites across Quebec and has been directly responsible for the construction of 15 technical landfill sites". Jagger Hims is Genivar’s second acquisition of a company working on Site 41. Genivar also recently bought Henderson Paddon, hired by the County of Simcoe for all their Landfill Site designs including Site 41.
But the new Site 41 controversy doesn’t end there. In 2007, “Simcoe County hired Genivar Consulting Inc. to identify the business case for County Landfill Site 41… Genivar Consulting has identified Site 41 as both safe and suitable for a new waste management solid waste facility,” according to a county newsletter.* Now Genivar, a company with a vested interest in building landfills, including Site 41 specifically, controls whether or not Jagger Hims releases the ModFlow (a widely used US Geological Survey computer-generated modeling system, also known as a Modular Three-Dimensional Groundwater Flow Model).
“In light of these revelations, Warden Guergis needs to call an emergency meeting of Simcoe County council, halt construction on Site 41, and put a one year moratorium in place immediately,” says Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow.
Jagger Hims, whose data interpretation Site 41’s viability is based on, has refused to release the ModFlow groundwater analysis to the public, the Community Monitoring Committee (CMC), or the Council of Canadians. Jagger Hims has even refused to comply with an order from the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (the order was issued just one week before Genivar’s May 20, 2009 announcement that it had acquired Jagger Hims). The pretext for Jagger Hims denying access to the ModFlow was their alleged independence, despite the fact that it is now a subsidiary of Genivar, a landfill industry company.
This in itself raises some serious questions about why Jagger Hims is refusing to release the ModFlow after being bought by a company engaged in the landfill business. It also raises new questions about potential bias, conflict of interest, and whether the ModFlow analysis is scientifically impartial, given Genivar’s direct financial interest in Site 41 proceeding.
“For the members of Simcoe County council who have supported the dump in the past, this should sound the alarm that something is seriously wrong with Site 41,” says Barlow.
Jagger Hims was retained by Simcoe County to collect and analyze ModFlow from 1998 to 2006, required for the Site 41 provincial Certificate of Approval, but has never released the calibration data. Rob McCullough, Director of Environmental Services for the County of Simcoe made it known at the June 2009 CMC meeting that the recent Genivar purchase of Jagger Hims would make his job much easier as he now would only have to deal with one firm in the development of Site 41.
* County of Simcoe, County Council Update. Issue 5, Page 2. January 2008.
-30-
For More Information:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org.
Background sources for editors:
* Genivar Announcement of Jagger Hims Acquisition: May 20, 2009
* Genivar’s Involvement in the Landfill Industry
* Simcoe County Overview of Genivar's "Site 41 - Business Case Analysis" (word file download)
* Council of Canadians Background Information on Site 41
ACTION ALERT: Help Save the World’s Purest Water from Being Turned into a Dump Site
TAKE ACTION - Contact Dalton McGuinty
Please take action - help us make a difference. Call or write Dalton McGuinty at 613-736-9573 or dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org on this issue and tell him to support a one-year moratorium.
Premier McGuinty,
You said about the landfill on Site 41 in Simcoe County that, “It’s never easy to locate these damn things…I have to rely on experts on issues as to whether we compromise the environment. The best advice we’ve received is it’s viable. There has been extensive work done to ensure we properly understand the impact of the landfill site…” And yet your environmental commissioner says “if we were to start this process today, we would not build this site” and your information commissioner has issued an order for a critical report (on the impact of the landfill site) to be released to the county, that still has yet to be released. Premier McGunity, please listen to your commissioners. Please support the Council of Canadians’ call for a one-year moratorium on Site 41 to allow for an independent peer review of the (Modflow) study on the safety of the dump, meaningful public consultations, and an assessment of the dump on a fuller criteria of provincial regulations, laws and local impacts.
Sincerely,
You can send your letter automatically online
TAKE ACTION - Support the Blockade
A peaceful construction blockade at Site 41 is now in its second week!
Farmers and First Nations, cottagers and Council of Canadians members stand united to prevent this unnecessary, uneconomical and dangerous dump from poisoning the purest ground water ever tested. We need your voice and your help to stop this project and show the government and developers that we will no longer accept threats to our fresh water sources.
Come to Site 41 this week. The 24-hour blockade needs support - even if you are not ready to block the gates yourself.
You can camp in the clover with the peaceful aboriginal women and men who have been there for more than two months. (Please note: there is a strict policy against alcohol, drugs and weapons at the campsite).
WEB LINKS
* Visit CoC webpage for maps, photos, voting records and more.
* Sign the online Site 41 petition
* Join the Site 41 Facebook group
* Watch No Water to Waste
RALLY FOR A MORATORIUM
Saturday, July 25
1:30 p.m. at Site 41
Bring a water glass to toast the cleanest groundwater ever tested.
--
Sign up to receive Council of Canadians e-Newsletters and Action Alerts --
The Council of Canadians
700-170 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON K1P 5V5.
Tel: (613) 233-2773; Toll-free: 1-800-387-7177
Fax: (613) 233-6776
inquiries@canadians.org
www.canadians.org
July 14, 2009
New Conflict of Interest Confirms Site 41 is Out of Control, says Council of Canadians
The Council of Canadians has learned that Jagger Hims, the company Simcoe County contracted for the groundwater analysis of controversial dump Site 41, was recently acquired by a company called Genivar - a major landfill developer. According to Genivar's website, "The firm is currently working on more than 25 sites across Quebec and has been directly responsible for the construction of 15 technical landfill sites". Jagger Hims is Genivar’s second acquisition of a company working on Site 41. Genivar also recently bought Henderson Paddon, hired by the County of Simcoe for all their Landfill Site designs including Site 41.
But the new Site 41 controversy doesn’t end there. In 2007, “Simcoe County hired Genivar Consulting Inc. to identify the business case for County Landfill Site 41… Genivar Consulting has identified Site 41 as both safe and suitable for a new waste management solid waste facility,” according to a county newsletter.* Now Genivar, a company with a vested interest in building landfills, including Site 41 specifically, controls whether or not Jagger Hims releases the ModFlow (a widely used US Geological Survey computer-generated modeling system, also known as a Modular Three-Dimensional Groundwater Flow Model).
“In light of these revelations, Warden Guergis needs to call an emergency meeting of Simcoe County council, halt construction on Site 41, and put a one year moratorium in place immediately,” says Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow.
Jagger Hims, whose data interpretation Site 41’s viability is based on, has refused to release the ModFlow groundwater analysis to the public, the Community Monitoring Committee (CMC), or the Council of Canadians. Jagger Hims has even refused to comply with an order from the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (the order was issued just one week before Genivar’s May 20, 2009 announcement that it had acquired Jagger Hims). The pretext for Jagger Hims denying access to the ModFlow was their alleged independence, despite the fact that it is now a subsidiary of Genivar, a landfill industry company.
This in itself raises some serious questions about why Jagger Hims is refusing to release the ModFlow after being bought by a company engaged in the landfill business. It also raises new questions about potential bias, conflict of interest, and whether the ModFlow analysis is scientifically impartial, given Genivar’s direct financial interest in Site 41 proceeding.
“For the members of Simcoe County council who have supported the dump in the past, this should sound the alarm that something is seriously wrong with Site 41,” says Barlow.
Jagger Hims was retained by Simcoe County to collect and analyze ModFlow from 1998 to 2006, required for the Site 41 provincial Certificate of Approval, but has never released the calibration data. Rob McCullough, Director of Environmental Services for the County of Simcoe made it known at the June 2009 CMC meeting that the recent Genivar purchase of Jagger Hims would make his job much easier as he now would only have to deal with one firm in the development of Site 41.
* County of Simcoe, County Council Update. Issue 5, Page 2. January 2008.
-30-
For More Information:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org.
Background sources for editors:
* Genivar Announcement of Jagger Hims Acquisition: May 20, 2009
* Genivar’s Involvement in the Landfill Industry
* Simcoe County Overview of Genivar's "Site 41 - Business Case Analysis" (word file download)
* Council of Canadians Background Information on Site 41
ACTION ALERT: Help Save the World’s Purest Water from Being Turned into a Dump Site
TAKE ACTION - Contact Dalton McGuinty
Please take action - help us make a difference. Call or write Dalton McGuinty at 613-736-9573 or dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org on this issue and tell him to support a one-year moratorium.
Premier McGuinty,
You said about the landfill on Site 41 in Simcoe County that, “It’s never easy to locate these damn things…I have to rely on experts on issues as to whether we compromise the environment. The best advice we’ve received is it’s viable. There has been extensive work done to ensure we properly understand the impact of the landfill site…” And yet your environmental commissioner says “if we were to start this process today, we would not build this site” and your information commissioner has issued an order for a critical report (on the impact of the landfill site) to be released to the county, that still has yet to be released. Premier McGunity, please listen to your commissioners. Please support the Council of Canadians’ call for a one-year moratorium on Site 41 to allow for an independent peer review of the (Modflow) study on the safety of the dump, meaningful public consultations, and an assessment of the dump on a fuller criteria of provincial regulations, laws and local impacts.
Sincerely,
You can send your letter automatically online
TAKE ACTION - Support the Blockade
A peaceful construction blockade at Site 41 is now in its second week!
Farmers and First Nations, cottagers and Council of Canadians members stand united to prevent this unnecessary, uneconomical and dangerous dump from poisoning the purest ground water ever tested. We need your voice and your help to stop this project and show the government and developers that we will no longer accept threats to our fresh water sources.
Come to Site 41 this week. The 24-hour blockade needs support - even if you are not ready to block the gates yourself.
You can camp in the clover with the peaceful aboriginal women and men who have been there for more than two months. (Please note: there is a strict policy against alcohol, drugs and weapons at the campsite).
WEB LINKS
* Visit CoC webpage for maps, photos, voting records and more.
* Sign the online Site 41 petition
* Join the Site 41 Facebook group
* Watch No Water to Waste
RALLY FOR A MORATORIUM
Saturday, July 25
1:30 p.m. at Site 41
Bring a water glass to toast the cleanest groundwater ever tested.
--
Sign up to receive Council of Canadians e-Newsletters and Action Alerts --
The Council of Canadians
700-170 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON K1P 5V5.
Tel: (613) 233-2773; Toll-free: 1-800-387-7177
Fax: (613) 233-6776
inquiries@canadians.org
www.canadians.org