Adams Mine

Adams Mine is an abandoned open pit mine in Boston Township near Kirkland Lake, Ontario, which was the cornerstone of a controversial waste management plan in the 1990s.

Related Topics:
Open pit mine - Township - Kirkland Lake - Ontario - Waste management - 1990s

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Proponents of the plan pointed to its potential for spurring economic development in a struggling Northern Ontario resource town, while opponents pointed to environmental concerns such as the pit's unstable rock walls, which could potentially have leached contaminants into Kirkland Lake's groundwater.

Related Topics:
Northern Ontario - Groundwater

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Adams Mine was originally proposed as a dump site for Toronto's garbage in 1989. The following year, the government of Metro Toronto selected Adams Mine as their preferred site. In 1995, Metro Toronto began their formal assessment; the project was rejected on financial and environmental grounds in December of that year.

Related Topics:
Toronto - 1989 - Metro Toronto - 1995 - December

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In 1996, however, Notre Development, a private firm, announced plans to revive the Adams Mine proposal through the private sector. Later the same year, the Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris made significant changes to the province's Environmental Assessment Act, dropping the requirements for needs assessment and investigation of alternatives to landfill, and giving the provincial government the authority to impose time and service limits on environmental assessments.

Related Topics:
1996 - Progressive Conservative - Mike Harris - Needs assessment

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Investors in Notre Development included Peter Minogue, the husband of Harris' local campaign manager, and North Bay businessman Gord McGuinty.

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Notre's proposal involved a consortium known as Rail Cycle North, which included Notre, Canadian Waste Services, Miller Waste Services, Ontario Northland and CN Rail.

Related Topics:
Ontario Northland - CN Rail

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On December 16, 1997, the Ministry of the Environment permitted only a limited Environmental Assessment Board hearing on the site's hydraulic containment system. Heavy community opposition was expressed in the hearings, but on June 19, 1998, the EAB approved the project. The community opponents filed an appeal with the provincial cabinet, which was rejected in August. An appeal was subsequently filed for a judicial review. In July, that appeal was rejected by the Divisional Court of Ontario, and in October, it was rejected by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Related Topics:
December 16 - 1997 - Hydraulic - June 19 - 1998 - Provincial cabinet - August - Ontario Court of Appeal

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On August 3, 2000, Toronto City Council voted to approve the plan to transport the city's garbage to Adams Mine. However, due to the volume of community opposition, Toronto council reviewed the issue, and voted the proposal down in October. Toronto subsequently pursued a proposal to have its garbage shipped to the Carleton Farms Landfill site in Michigan.

Related Topics:
August 3 - 2000 - Toronto City Council - October - Carleton Farms Landfill - Michigan

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