GFL facing 10 provincial charges over stinky Stoney Creek dump

Aura Carreño Rosas · CBC News

· Posted: May 06, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

GFL Environmental has been charged with 10 violations nether the Environmental Protection Act related to its stinky dump successful Stoney Creek.

Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) spokesperson Gary Wheeler said the charges were laid connected April 11, aft an probe by the ministry. The alleged offences happened between August 17, 2021 and November 24, 2023, helium said.

"The charges subordinate to the alleged discharge of a contaminant, namely odour and full reduced sulphur compounds, into the situation causing an adverse effect, and failing to comply with a ministry support by failing to run a discarded absorption tract arsenic required," Wheeler told CBC Hamilton successful an email. 

An appearance astatine the Ontario Court of Justice related to the lawsuit is expected connected May 15, helium added. If convicted, the institution would look fines nether the act. 

'Exceeding the standard'

Starting successful 2023, residents astir the GFL Stoney Creek Regional Facility person been reporting strong, astatine times overwhelming, "rotten fish-like," "sulphuric," and "chemical" smells. 

Residents antecedently told CBC Hamilton the smells person had antagonistic impacts not lone connected neighbours' quality to bask outdoor spaces successful the country astir the 65 Green Mountain Rd. W. dump, but besides connected their health, with immoderate reporting headaches and nausea.

The MECP said antecedently the odor is owed to leachate, a chemic stew of perchance toxic liquid, that came up portion gathering a caller landfill cell.

Wheeler said the 10 violations are:

• One number each of discharging, causing oregon allowing the discharge of: odour and full reduced sulphur compounds into the situation that caused oregon was apt to origin an adverse effect.
• One number each of failing to comply with an Environmental Compliance Approval by: allowing odour to go a nuisance, allowing leachate to transcend ineligible limits and allowing discarded to beryllium dumped higher than the ineligible limit.
• Five counts of causing oregon allowing the emanation of full reduced sulfur compounds "exceeding the standard," wherever and erstwhile radical frequent.

"Environmental compliance officers proceed to be the GFL Stoney Creek Regional Facility tract and surrounding residential areas regularly successful effect to odour complaints," Wheeler said. 

"The ministry continues to prosecute with GFL to guarantee that they are taking each imaginable steps to minimize odour impacts." 

GFL besides facing fines, provincial officer's orders

The MECP besides issued an "environmental penalty" to GFL connected April 28 for 3 events successful August and September of past twelvemonth wherever "landfill operations were confirmed arsenic the root of odour impacts successful the surrounding community."

The penalty is $5,000 for each event, for a full of $15,000, said Wheeler.

The Stoney Creek installation is besides nether 2 provincial officer's orders. 

One to trim leachate levels and behaviour aerial monitoring and different to "take actions" to little discarded piles presently supra the maximum ineligible heights.

"Most of the discarded piles, including those that are astir disposable from the surrounding community, were addressed by the extremity of 2024. The remaining humanities discarded piles supra the maximum permitted tallness volition beryllium relocated to caller discarded cells by December 2025," said Wheeler.

Council to look into giving taxation breaks to neighbours

In precocious February, councillors voted unanimously astatine wide issues committee to person unit look into providing country standing alleviation oregon immoderate different taxation alleviation to Upper Stoney Creek residents surviving wrong a 3 kilometre radius of the dump.

Tenysha Graham, a neighbour of the area, delegated past and said the stench is "causing unmistakable harm to our community."

"We are incapable to usage our backyards and children are incapable to usage assemblage playgrounds," Graham said astatine the committee meeting.

"I'm highly acrophobic for my wellness and truthful I nary longer spell for a locomotion oregon jog successful our ain neighbourhood."

Councillors besides voted unanimously to look into "legal options disposable to the city" successful narration to residents' concerns, including a imaginable impermanent closure of the site.

Both motions were enactment guardant by Ward 9 councillor Brad Clark, who said since November 2023, erstwhile the state strengthened penalties to landfills that contravene biology laws, GFL has responded to odours by saying they're not astatine fault.

CBC Hamilton reached retired to GFL for remark but did not perceive backmost earlier publication.