We, the concerned residents of the Town of Mono, would kindly request that the Mayor and duly elected members of council turn down the application for a Proposed Site Alteration and Fill Permit at 833231 4th line EHS in the town of Mono, for the purpose of constructing a ½ mile horse training track.  The proposal includes the importation of fill in the amount of 22,000 cubic metres, which is equivalent to about 1835 tandem truck loads.

We recommend rejection for the following reasons:

·       As further discussed below, the risk of contamination of the neighbouring waterways, aquifers, wetlands and wells and/or reduction of well water due to site alteration and soil permeability.[1] 

·       The possibility of permanent damage to the construction of the 4th line road.

·       The unfair burden of road repair costs placed on the taxpayers of the town of Mono.

·       The change to the water run-off / ground saturation that will further exacerbate the risk of basement flooding (which immediate neighbours have already experienced during the last large rainfall).

As well, the large volume of truck traffic on the road will impact the immediate neighbours with;

·       Large amounts of road dust entering the homes and covering the properties,

·       Unreasonably loud noise from the road, the banging of the dumping, and the idling of the trucks lining the roads,

·       The blockage of traffic as the trucks queue along the road,

·       The garbage that will be left at the side of the road (plastic water bottles, cigarette butts, and fast food containers, etc.) as was already experienced last year

·       The inability of the neighbours to enjoy the road and their properties (dog walking, kids playing) through the summer months

Most importantly, the proposed fill site is at the highest elevation (point) in the neighbourhood. This equates to an absolutely unmanageable risk to the water tables, wetlands, rivers, aquifers, and ground water run-off being contaminated by the excessively large amount of foreign fill being introduced. Contaminated fill is often “mixed” with clean fill for illegal disposal[2][3] - It is well known by Government and Municipalities that this is occurring on a more frequent basis, hence the change to environmental and municipal laws.  Given the amount of fill being requested, it would be next to impossible to test every truck entering the site for contamination.

Given the amount of fill that was received last year, we are already at risk for contamination.

Given the immediate impact and long-term risks to the neighbours, any continuation of the project should be accompanied with a long-term insurance policy against ground water and soil contamination that would result in the devaluation of the surrounding properties.

We would also request regular and continuous advanced testing of the neighbouring water wells for any potential commercial contamination[4], including for heavy metals, PCBs, organics, and others. This testing should commence immediately, given the fill dumping that has already occurred.

If this project is denied, we would request that the fill that was brought in last year without a permit be removed – as per precedent already set in Mono[5][6].  This should be done prior to the spring thaw when run-off would release any potential contamination as described above.

[1] https://www.ontario.ca/page/management-excess-soil-guide-best-management-practices
[2] http://www.loopstranixon.com/files/Site_Alteration_By-Laws.pdf
[3] https://osrtf.ca/primer/
[4] http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=8993
[5] https://www.inthehills.ca/2015/09/how-clean-fill-became-a-dirty-word/
[6] https://mono.civicweb.net/document/33022