Erie-Lincoln MPP Tim Hudak is calling for action by Environment Minister Laurel Broten in the ongoing Pelham sludge dispute. Hudak sent a letter to the Environment Minister, a year after the issue was first raised by Pelham residents.

In the letter Hudak calls on the Environment Minister to take some real action two years after first receiving her Expert Panel's report which recomended sound-sorb be managed and regulated like any other waste, and one year after Pelham residents first raised their concerns.

MPP Tim Hudak's letter is below.

July 16, 2007

Hon. Laurel Broten
Minister of the Environment
12th Floor, 135 St. Clair Ave. W.
Toronto, ON M4V 1P5

Dear Minister Broten

For over a year the residents of Pelham have been waiting for some meaningful action from your Ministry to clean up the massive sound sorb berm on Church St. in Fenwick in the Town of Pelham. On Saturday, the St. Catharines Standard reported that a year has passed and the Ministry of Environment has not been able to enforce orders to clean up the massive sound sorb berm on Church St. in Fenwick.

A year after Pelham residents first raised the alarm - and two years after your Ministry's Expert Panel Report called for sound-sorb to be managed and regulated like any other waste - your Ministry appears to be strangely unable or unwilling to enforce Provincial laws or regulations on this property.

Worse still, it has been two years since your own Expert Panel recommended that this product be managed and regulated like any other waste. Your Ministry staff report that you are still "reviewing" that report. Minister, with all due respect, it did not take Tolstoy two years to write War and Peace, let alone review a 53 page report!

It is time for action. On behalf of the residents of Pelham and neighbouring communities, I respectfully request that you immediately implement the two year old recommendations of your Expert Panel report. Furthermore, I ask that you immediately act to ensure the protection of the local environment around the Church St berm as opposed to simply writing polite letters to the property owner.

For the past year the residents of Pelham have fought tirelessly for the protection of their local environment and their own homes. Despite being proved correct time and time again, their concerns continue to go unaddressed.

In closing, please accept my best wishes.

Sincerely,

Tim Hudak, MPP
Erie-Lincoln