NEWS RELEASE
TOWNSHIP OF ORO-MEDONTE
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ORO-MEDONTE – At the January 13 Council meeting, Council passed By-law 2016-012 aimed at protecting our environment and community.
The Site Alteration By-law 2016-012 is a new By-law that will assist Council and staff with the growing concern of the placement of fill that is being drawn into the Township.
Currently, the Township has two By-laws that address the removal of topsoil and the placement of fill in environmentally protected areas.
The Site Alteration By-law will regulate fill coming into Township as well as alterations on lands that involve changing the grade of land.
Protecting our Environment and Community
The Site Alteration By-law 2016-012 is a multi-step process and is targeted to be in full implementation by spring 2016.
It is intended to control the placement and removal of fill on lands within our jurisdiction in the Township.
The first step is to regulate the large commercial fill operations by prohibiting the placing or dumping of more than two thousand cubic metres (2000m3) of fill on any lands.
To put that into perspective, it equates to a total of approximately 200 truckloads of fill for the entire municipality. This step is now in effect.
The next step will involve the Township implementing a By-law that reflects a permit process for commercial fill operations.
This will assist Township staff to monitor and regulate the fill brought in to the Township.
A third party agency will perform sampling and testing of the fill to ensure it is clean.
“Fill is considered to be any kind of material that is either deposited or placed on lands and includes soil, stone, concrete, asphalt, dirt, sod, turf, or combination of these materials. Without the proper measures in place the Township has no jurisdiction on regulating the dumping of fill on all lands within the Township,” said Curtis Shelswell, Chief Municipal Law Enforcement Officer. “Establishing a permit process will assist staff in ensuring that clean fill is being used for the purpose of site alteration. In our ongoing efforts to protect the environment, Council and staff are working together to put measures in place to prevent contaminated fill from coming into the Township,” he said.
Protecting our Capital Assets
Part of the By-law will include control measures for heavy truck traffic by regulating the hours of operations, the haul routes permitted for use, and the number of loads allowed per day.
It will also include security measures to address any potential damage to Township roads and/or infrastructure as a result of these operations.
The costs associated with the damage will be charged back to the company or owner.
“Now that the By-law has been enacted by Council, Township staff are able to regulate the large commercial fill operations (over 2000m3),” said Mayor Harry Hughes. “The next step of the By-law is targeted for the spring 2016 that will implement a permit process for individuals wishing to complete Site Alteration on lands within the Township,” he said.
Oro-Medonte is a diverse and beautiful community with a central location in Ontario.
A community of 20,078 full-time residents, Oro-Medonte covers a land area of 61,000 hectares, stretching from the northern border of Barrie and Lake Simcoe to the southern fringes of Orillia and north to Tay and Severn Townships.
For more information, please visit our website www.oro-medonte.ca.
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