Thank you to everyone who participated and provided feedback on the Landfill Remediation and Closure Survey.
During the four weeks the survey was active (April 16 to May 15, 2021), CEI received 49 completed surveys, 15 unique visitors to the CEI website (cheamenterprises.com) and 398 unique engagements (likes, comments, shares) through CEI social media channels.
When asked, “What would you like to see done with the closed landfill”:
- 22 were in favour of the remediated landfill site being used as leasable land to provide revenue opportunities for the Nation.
- 16 were in favour of a solar farm to be a carbon-neutral Nation.
- 5 were in favour of a recreational park site for our members; and
- 0 in favour of covering the space with grass and leaving as is.
- Other ideas included a downhill bike track, a truck stop, a combination of solar farm and recreation site.
Of comments received when asked, “What are your main concerns?” 37 of the 48 participants indicated that their concerns were with site health, leakage, and danger of future contamination. Another concern is the benefit to the community—how will this positively impact members for generations to come if at all. This is an opportunity to continuously inform members throughout the remediation project and connect their concerns with information and the experts working on the project.
When asked, “What’s important to you?” 29 of the 49 participants listed safety, benefits to members and health as the most important followed by 13 participants listing long-term benefits for members, including revenues, jobs and member use. Overall, the comments were neutral in tone and shared expected comments, suggestions and questions about the remediation which is safe, benefits and health for the Nation.
As anticipated, most respondents expressed concerns about the health and safety of the Community and the danger of future contamination. We share these concerns and will be taking the necessary steps to mitigate these risks and assure the landfill is closed properly, any leachate is treated, and the site is capped and suitably remediated to prevent future leakage or health and safety issues.
Once again, we want to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey and provide feedback. We will do our best to incorporate this feedback into future planning for the site and will share more information with the Community on the site’s future use as planning progresses post-closure and remediation of the landfill.