An Act to Maintain the Current Footprint and Certain Requirements of the Otter Lake Landfill<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe legislation will constrain the footprint of the landfill to the original approved dimensions. That is, 9 cells built to a maximum height of 113 m above sea level. HRM had recently sought approval to increase the height of the landfill an additional 15 metres, and had referenced the possibility of building as many as 18 cells.<\/p>\n
Below is a letter MLA Rankin sent to Ken Meech, Executive Director of the Community Monitoring Committee, informing him of the proposed legislation, and explaining his reasoning for it.<\/p>\n
Dear Ken (ED of CMC),<\/p>\nI first want to commend CMC for the ongoing work representing the community,
\nnamely, in ensuring operations at the Otter Lake landfill are monitored, and
\nappropriate environmental protections are adhered to. The continued
\nexistence of CMC, as part of the Industrial Approval, is critical to the
\nconfidence of the residents in the affected host communities.<\/p>\n
Upon being notified of the decision from the Department of Environment to
\nrule HRM’s recent application for vertical expansion as incomplete, I
\nexplored other avenues to provide unquestionable certainty of the agreed
\nupon footprint at the landfill. It became clear to me that new legislation
\nwas required to limit both the number and size of solid waste residuals
\ncells.<\/p>\n
While CMC has communicated to the community that HRM does not intend to
\npursue vertical extension, or build new cells beyond the 9 cells, it is my
\nobservation that past statements cannot always be relied upon. I have
\nattached the Bill I introduced today and ask for your support, as the Bill
\nmoves through the legislative process.<\/p>\n
Bill 176 will enshrine in legislation the number of cells and the height of
\neach newly approved cell. I have continued confidence that the CMC will
\ncontinue to work with the operator and the municipality to monitor
\nenvironmental protection at the Otter Lake landfill. Current or enhanced
\nprotection is paramount for the confidence of the residents in the community
\nand I ask you to keep me informed of any further developments on this file.<\/p>\n
I welcome your comments, concerns and\/or questions.<\/p>\n
Iain Rankin
\nNova Scotia Liberal Party Caucus Chair
\nMLA – Timberlea – Prospect<\/p>\n
Copy:
\nChair of CMC Jack Mitchell
\nVice Chair of CMC Scott Guthrie
\nCouncillor Adams, District 11
\nCouncillor Rankin, District 12
\nCouncillor Whitman, District 13<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
*** UPDATE – Friday May 13, 2016 *** The Otter Lake Landfill Act was passed by the Legislature today. As soon as it receives Royal Ascent it will be published […]<\/a\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-kate","4":"post-290","6":"format-standard","7":"category-uncategorized"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7oNTv-4G","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1549,"url":"https:\/\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/?p=1549","url_meta":{"origin":290,"position":0},"title":"CMC Hires Two New Part-time Staff","author":"Jason Timms","date":"April 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The CMC has hired two new part-time staff, in line with the structural reorganization that resulted from last year\u2019s negotiations. They affected some aspects of the 1999 agreement between the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Halifax Waste Resources Society, which established the CMC. In place of an executive director, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1497,"url":"https:\/\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/?p=1497","url_meta":{"origin":290,"position":1},"title":"CMC Hires Environmental Consultant","author":"Jason Timms","date":"October 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Environmental Specialist Scott Morash, of Morash Environmental Consulting Services, Lakelands, N.S., has been selected by the Community Monitoring Committee (CMC) to serve as its new part-time environmental consultant. The new hire follows a decision at the last CMC meeting, Aug.31, to implement a monitoring program at the Otter Lake Landfill,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Envir_Specialist_ScottMorash2-295x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1407,"url":"https:\/\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/?p=1407","url_meta":{"origin":290,"position":2},"title":"HWRS to Appeal Otter Lake Landfill Decision","author":"Jason Timms","date":"April 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Halifax-Waste Resource Society is appealing the March 22 provincial decision that will allow Otter Lake Landfill to operate without its long-time protections against odour, litter, hazardous waste and infestations of rodents and scavenger birds. The HWRS represents all residents of the Halifax Regional Municipality, but in particular those who\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FEP-Sorters-at-the-Otter-Lake-Landfill-Sharpen-300x169.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":307,"url":"https:\/\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/?p=307","url_meta":{"origin":290,"position":3},"title":"Response to Comments about CMC at Council on May 18, 2016","author":"Mary-Frances Lynch","date":"May 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"HRM Council held a special meeting on May 18, 2016 to discuss Bill 176 - The Otter Lake Landfill Act. You can view the proceedings of the meeting. For background, you can read about the Bill in this previous post. During the meeting, some Councillors questioned the Community Monitoring Committee's\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"By WayeMason - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=42529430","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/servehalifax.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Council_Chambers_Halifax_City_Hall-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2038,"url":"https:\/\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/?p=2038","url_meta":{"origin":290,"position":4},"title":"Consider Joining Us","author":"Jason Timms","date":"November 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Community Monitoring Committee, known as the CMC, has a vacancy for an HRM volunteer member for which HRM is now recruiting. If you are interested in the municipality\u2019s waste disposal operations at Otter Lake and would like to be part of the 10-member community monitoring group that keeps an\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/otter_lake_view_11_2025.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/otter_lake_view_11_2025.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/otter_lake_view_11_2025.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1350,"url":"https:\/\/www.otterlakecmc.ca\/?p=1350","url_meta":{"origin":290,"position":5},"title":"HRM granted extension to submit its survey findings","author":"Jason Timms","date":"December 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"CMC has learned that the Department of Environment and Climate Change has granted Halifax Regional Municipality an extension until Jan.24, 2022 to submit the results of its recent consultation with the community. 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![\"Aerial](\"http:\/\/servehalifax.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Aerial-MIRROR-2014-OTTER-LAKE-10-300x225.jpg\")
On Wednesday May 4, 2016, Timberlea-Prospect MLA Iain Rankin introduced for 1st Reading Bill 176, titled An Act to Maintain the Current Footprint and Certain Requirements of the Otter Lake Landfill<\/a>.<\/p>\n