Province and city tightening rules around illegal rural dirt dumping

The city and province say they're putting new laws in place to stop dirt dumping in rural Flamborough — particularly at Waterdown Garden Supplies.

The province will introduce legislation to stiffen penalties for illegal soil dumping, says Donna Skelly, PC MPP for Flamborough-Glanbrook. That includes forcing developers to register how they'll get rid of excess dirt, and doubling fines to $200,000 for environmental infractions.

Lloyd Ferguson, a Ward 12 councillor whose ward includes the Troy garden supply spot, says he's drafting a bylaw to clamp down on rural properties taking too much dirt. It will require people to apply for permits before they accept fill.

"I went out two weeks after I was sworn in," he said of the Troy spot. "I couldn't believe my eyes what I saw."

From the road, it looks like mountains of dirt, he said. Neighbours say the trucks arrive day and night, sometimes at a rate of hundreds a day.

Dirt dumping is a long-standing problem in rural Hamilton, and the city called for tougher provincial laws several years ago. It's a problem in Glanbrook, upper Stoney Creek and Ancaster — but especially Flamborough. 

The fill comes from GTA construction projects, including condo and road projects. The contractors have nowhere to put the mounds of dirt, so fill brokers approach and offer to get rid of it. Those brokers arrange trucks to take loads of it to rural Hamilton, where landowners are paid to take it.

Fill brokers can make nearly $1 million a year, Conservation Halton says. Some days, hundreds of dump trucks travel between the GTA and Flamborough.

There are environmental issues. The soil isn't tested, so no one really knows what's in it, Ferguson says. It also leaves thick trails of mud on roads, covers farmland and irritates neighbours.

The city can fine someone under its site alteration bylaw, which has a maximum $50,000 fine for corporations. Ferguson is consulting with the agriculture and rural affairs committee on his bylaw. He wants to make sure it doesn't hurt farmers. 

As for the province, Skelly's media release calls the changes "real action." It came, she said, after complaints from neighbours.

"The proposed changes will not only prevent illegal dumping in Flamborough, but also illegal dumping in other rural areas across the province," she said.

The provincial legislation will require developers, haulers and excess soil recipients to register the quality, quantity and destination of the soil. It will also double fines of up to $200,000 under the Environmental Protection Act when there's an environmental infraction. The province will also be able to seize vehicle plates.