Burns Bog Landfill

MOTION

Notice Given at the February 15, 2000 Meeting of Council by Councillor Louis.

Burns Bog Landfill File: 3757

WHEREAS the City of Vancouver has operated a landfill in Burns Bog in Delta since the late 1960's;

AND WHEREAS the lease allowing Vancouver to operate the landfill is not due to expire until 2035;

AND WHEREAS that landfill occupies approximately eight percent of Burns Bog;

AND WHEREAS Burns Bog is now considered to be a valuable and unique ecosystem that merits preservation and protection;

AND WHEREAS the Provincial Government is conducting an Ecosystems Review of Burns Bog which will be completed on March 31, 2000;

AND WHEREAS preliminary studies related to that Review have already identified a number of rare and or endangered species;

AND WHEREAS leachates from the Vancouver landfill may contain toxic substances that could endanger the sensitive hydrology of the area;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council direct City staff to:

1. Undertake a comprehensive study and review of the City landfill with particular emphasis on assessing the nature and amount of leachates that are seeping from the landfill, and their effect on the surrounding environment, particularly watercourses that flow into the Fraser River and Boundary Bay;
2. Report on the total and annual amount and nature of materials dumped in Burns Bog by the City of Vancouver;
3. Report on the total and annual amount and nature of materials dumped by commercial operators and private users;
4. Determine expenditures and revenues related to operating the landfill;
5. Report on environmental measures that have been undertaken or are being planned in anticipation of an eventual closure of the Burns Bog landfill.

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