The report assessing twenty potential locations for a site for a waste management facility to service Kings and Queens County is now available. Prepared by the Prince Edward Island Waste Management Commission, for the Minister of Technology and Environment, the document, "Report on Site Selection," describes the criteria developed for ranking the sites and the application of these criteria to the twenty locations. Last week a 320-acre parcel of land in Tracadie Cross was announced as the preferred site for the facility based on supporting evidence in the site selection report. The site will be a key part of the waste management infrastructure required for full implementation of Waste Watch across the Island.
The report offers an outline of the site selection process including the information that the site selection criteria were reviewed by a group of representatives from interest groups in eastern PEI. This group considered a number of siting objectives as well as individual criteria under each objective. Seven major objectives were identified, leading to over 40 parameters being considered for each site. The objectives included natural environment, physical suitability, groundwater and surface water protection, public health and safety, public acceptability, planning/development issues, and economic issues.
The Tracadie Cross site was selected based on availability of land, environmental suitability, as well as economic factors. Although not ranked as the top scoring location by the environmental consultants, Tracadie Cross did meet and exceed all the established environmental criteria. Combining this information with economic considerations and acquisition problems concerning other sites resulted in Tracadie Cross becoming the highest ranked site. One of the main criteria of the Commission for site selection was a 200-300 acre parcel of land. It was not possible to secure this in at least two of the four recommended sites. The Tracadie Cross site encompasses two available Crown properties and privately-owned property on which an option to purchase has been secured.
Factors that led to the elimination of higher ranked sites include the potential cost of development and operational costs. Major road construction to provide access, distance from the centre of the Province and traffic patterns through built up areas are all items that led certain sites to be eliminated from the final selection. The Tracadie Cross site is located at the back of a block of land, approximately two kilometres north of Highway 2 (St. Peters Highway). The active site area will occupy approximately 50 acres of the total 320 acre site.
Although selected as the preferred site, the Tracadie Cross location must undergo a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which includes public consultation. The proponent for this EIA will be the successful bidder of the Request for Proposals currently underway to select a private company to run the Island's waste management system.
Copies of the "Report on Site Selection" are available from the PEI Department of Technology and Environment. Call 368-5000 to receive a copy.