[All] As above so below: Soils must be assessed

[Louisette Lanteigne]

Hi folks
 
I spoke with Susan Bryant who is working to stop housing from getting too close to industrial areas out in Elmira. One of the things I told here is that our region has a tendency to ignore things that are buried underground including moraines, contaminates, lechate, gases etc.
 
I sent her a link to a handy report by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Association then I took the same concept and swifty applied it to the new Ira Needles mega mall area. Below is the letter I just sent to the City of Waterloo, City of Kitchener and Regional Council members. 
 
Lulu :0) 
 
 
____________________________________________
 
Dear Council members
 
It is imperative that studies be conducted on the proposed Ira Needles Mall area adjacent to the landfill to assess for risk of soil and gas contamination.  
 
The existing bore hole data for the Ira Needles Mall area is insufficient to determine impacts on the water table because the studies only went down to an average depth of 1 to 3 meters. Testing sediment at these shallow depths would not reveal any concerns regarding potential impacts to aquifer systems or subsurface contamination issues related to the toxins or gases produced at the landfill. 
 
To protect public health and safety and to protect the municipalities from possible costly litigation issues it would reasonable to mandate a proper subsurface assessment to determine if there are any soil or gas contamination risks to deal with. 
 
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation has a document to outline the associated risks that shows what we should be looking for in regards to proposals like this. It is important to note that the City of Kitchener has been used as a case example of how landfills can contaminate buildings. The CMHC believes that monitoring issues of this nature is "extremely important." Here is the web link to the CHMC report: Soil, Gases and Housing: A guideline for Municipalities. 
 
http://www.cmhc.ca/en/inpr/bude/heho/upload/Soil_EN_w.pdf
 
Thank you kindly for your time.
 
Louisette Lanteigne
700 Star Flower Ave.
Waterloo Ontario
N2V 2L2
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