Letter to the Editor: Regarding the new proposed landfill site from Friends of the R.M. #161

Residents of Moose Jaw, please raise your voices and let your objections be heard.

Is Moose Jaw’s front yard really the only or most suitable site for the newly proposed REGIONAL Garbage Disposal Facility?

Here are some thoughts that have been brought forward.

only “1 mile” from 30,000+ residents of our city
your homes, your children’s schools and playgrounds, your businesses
no possible residential expansion to the north of Moose Jaw if this site goes forward

hospital, hotels, restaurants, and businesses in direct path of these winds
streets, playgrounds, yards, and homes could be directly impacted by possible stench, air born pollutants and garbage all carried by N.W. winds
city states that certain tasks will be avoided at the dump when high winds and/or high temperatures exists
how will this affect the formation of smells and the distribution of garbage into our air space?

can be and is often a disastrous event at garbage collection sites
hospital would have to evacuate the sick and incapacitated
N.W. winds would push toxic smoke and chemical fumes into our city – remember Moose Jaw, 30,000 people would only be “1 mile” away
adding fuel to the flames… no less than 3 fuel retail businesses would be located directly south of the dump. There would be a great possibility that an already environment disaster could escalate into a blazing inferno!

main entrance into proposed dump site will be a left hand turn off of the #2 highway when proceeding north of the city
“2” lane highway is not designed to handle this type of traffic
used by heavy transport trucks, fuel tankers, huge farm machinery, K+S commuters, Buffalo Pound and northern rural residents, tourists to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park and to Sask Parklands, 5 to 6 Prairie South school buses, etc.
add to this busy traffic load – a fleet of slow-moving garbage trucks, large transport trucks carrying commercial waste, trucks and trailers of local and surrounding residents and smaller communities – all hauling to the REGIONAL dump daily
extremely busy and confusing intersection at the North Service Road and Highway #2
9^th Ave. N.W. will also, most likely, be a chosen access point to the garbage collection facility by many residents. 9^th and Highway #1 is already a deadly corner.

city’s estimated budget for this project is approximately 24 million
city hired consulting firm SNC Lavelin estimated that a much smaller (104 acres) REGIONAL landfill site would cost approximately 91 million (start of project to final closing). This was done in 2016 so inflation is not considered in the estimate.
city has provided no project-by-project proposed budgets
the city has a chosen one of the highest appraised pieces of land in southern Sask as their proposed site.
no actual purchase price has been released
has the city done an in-depth, extensive research study on using land the city already owns?
could money spent on purchasing a new parcel of land been used to improve and repair infrastructure in our old and aging city?

zero public input
no impact studies on how this garbage site will affect the lifestyles and health issues of the 30,000+ residents of Moose Jaw
city is dealing with “real life” issues and “real life” people and yet have chosen to remove from this process all opinions and concerns of the people they are representing.

Remember that behind the pretty name, the berms, the fences, the trees – a dump is still a dump! Our beautiful little city deserves better than this.

Bring your concerns to R.M. #161 Open House and Waste Management Hearing on March 19, 2024 at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

All R.M. #161 residents and city residents welcome.

For more info contact Wilda Soper at 306-693-2458; Friends of the R.M. #161 and the City of Moose Jaw Residents

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.

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