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WHITBY, ON – The Regional Municipalities of Durham and York are pleased to announce the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has issued a certificate of approval (CofA) for the Durham/York energy-from-waste (EFW) facility on June 28. There is one CofA covering operational requirements related to air, noise, waste and stormwater and this CofA reflects the technical specifications of the Project Agreement, Environmental Assessment conditions of approval and the Regions’ integrated waste management system, as well as complies with all relevant regulations.

“This decision is historic for the Region of Durham. It allows us to be a provincial leader in the area of waste management, allowing Durham residents increased responsibility for the handling of our own waste,” said Roger Anderson, Durham Regional Chair and Chief Executive Officer. “It is important to thank the province for helping us to reach this milestone. Plus, it couldn’t have been done without the more than five years of public consultation and research into this issue. Our residents confirmed that they expect this facility to be clean and safe—and that’s how we intend to build it.”

 

"Ministry of the Environment approval of this final step of the Durham/York Residual Waste Study signals the start of an exciting future. Municipalities across the country will be closely following this project as it provides both a sustainable and innovative municipal waste management solution,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Bill Fisch. "The partnership between York and Durham was instrumental in bringing this project to fruition. Staff from both Regions worked through a detailed process to get to this point and with the MOE's approval of the CofA, we are now able to start construction of the EFW facility. Our EFW facility will set the standard for the future of waste management.” The Durham/York facility will process waste to create energy in the form of steam, electricity and heat with an approved capacity of 140,000 tonnes per year. The facility will only process municipally collected household waste (garbage) left over after the Regions’ aggressive diversion efforts, such as recycling and composting. The EFW facility will also be capable of recovering materials such as metal.

“Today's announcement is an important step in ensuring that residents of Durham and York Regions will have a long-term solution for managing our garbage,” said Cliff Curtis, Durham Region’s Commissioner of Works. “With this facility, we will be able to transform our garbage into energy and reduce our carbon footprint. This facility is just one part of the solution; the rest of it lies in our diversion efforts. We have a goal of 70 per cent diversion and with the help of our residents, we will reach our goal.” Preliminary design and engineering of the facility is well underway. It is anticipated that construction of this facility will begin in the fall of 2011 with a target operation date of 2014. The EFW facility will be located in Clarington’s Energy Business Park, on a 12-hectare parcel, north of the Courtice Water Pollution Control Plant in Durham Region. Covanta Energy Corporation is the full service contractor to design, permit, build, start up, commission and operate the 140,000-tonne-per-year EFW facility for Durham and York Regions. Covanta is the largest provider of EFW services in North America, with 41 operating facilities in the United States, including 24 that were designed and built directly by Covanta.

 

 

For more information on the Durham/York Residual Waste Study, visit www.durhamyorkwaste.ca, call

toll-free at 1-800-667-5671, or email info@durhamyorkwaste.ca.

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Media inquiries:

THE REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF DURHAM:

Joanne Paquette – Manager, Communications

905-668-7711 ext. 3732 or joanne.paquette@durham.ca

THE REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF YORK:

Barbara Moss – Communications Specialist

905-830-4444 ext. 1237 or barbara.moss@york.ca