The Provincial Government has announced initiatives to assist in the delivery of waste management services to areas on the Northern Peninsula.

"In support of the Provincial Waste Management Strategy, the Northern Peninsula Regional Service Board�s (NorPen) boundary has been expanded to encompass towns, local services districts and unincorporated areas north of River of Ponds. The expansion to the boards region and authority will ultimately allow for the addition of six appointees to the regional service board, expanding the board to 13," said the Honourable Dave Denine, Minister of Municipal Affairs.

At this time, NorPen�s waste management authority is being expanded into the Straits area which will result in three existing waste sites being consolidated into one site to more effectively manage waste disposal in an environmentally responsible and efficient manner. The three sites include Castors River, St. Barbe and the Straits. The amalgamated site will be located between East Brook and Western Arm Brook. In the future, subject to further discussion, NorPen may provide similar services in River of Ponds, Port aux Choix, Port Saunders and Hawkes Bay.

"The initiative will include an approximately $600,000 investment to decommission the Castors River site, clean-up the St. Barbe and Straits sites, and then re-develop the St. Barbe/Straits site into one site for NorPen. Funding will also assist with the purchase of a compactor truck," added Minister Denine. "This site will be an interim waste management site until the western regional site becomes operational no later than 2016. The Western Regional Waste Management Authority will work with NorPen to determine if this site will become a transfer station or be closed."

The Minister of Environment and Conservation, the Honourable Charlene Johnson, said that testing of the site was completed by an independent consultant and no issues of concern were raised in the report.

"The independent consultants who undertook the assessment of the site concluded that this was the most appropriate site in the sub-region," said Minister Johnson. "Furthermore, a comprehensive monitoring program will be implemented to ensure that there is a good understanding of the environmental conditions surrounding this site. I am also confident in the Norpen Regional Authority, as they have worked hard toward improving waste management on the Northern Peninsula, and have historically managed their sites to a very high standard."

NorPen will be responsible for the environmental monitoring, sampling, collection and analysis for which the Provincial Government has provided funding support.

"NorPen has been proactive in reviewing the site to ensure that there was no environmental contamination and is committed to cleaning up the existing sites, and carefully monitoring issues of an environmental nature in a responsible manner," said Doug Mills, Chair, NorPen.

In May 2007, the Provincial Government announced implementation of the $200 million Provincial Waste Management Strategy, with a goal for full implementation by 2020. The strategy calls for three full-service regional waste management facilities on the Avalon, Central and in Western areas of the island portion of the province, and programs which will be developed for the zones in Labrador to meet the provincial waste management goals.

Regional waste management authorities will be established in the various waste management zones on the island and in Labrador. The Greater Avalon Regional Site is expected to be operational by 2010, the Central site by 2011, and the Western Regional site no later than 2016. The provincial strategy will aim to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills in the province by 50 per cent supported by the use of disposal bans and development of new waste diversion programs.

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2008 04 10                                                  2:00 p.m.