Issuing hundreds of tickets against dump truck drivers didn’t work, so the City of Hamilton went to court seeking an injunction against the property owner of 1802 Regional Road 97 in Flamborough to stop the illegal dumping of fill. Thursday a judge granted the injunction which allows police to block access to the property if necessary. A city bylaw forbids dumping of fill from anywhere outside Hamilton boundaries and this latest stuff appeared to be coming from Cambridge.
The injunction was filed following multiple attempts by the City to prevent the property owner accepting fill from outside the City of Hamilton and to obtain proper permits for accepting fill. City staff have conducted investigations and enforcement actions which have resulted in over 300 Administrative Penalty System (APS) tickets worth $150,000 being issued to various trucking companies for transporting fill to the site.
The owner of the property told the Hamilton Spectator that the fill is clean and is needed to raise the ground level of the property so it can be topped with topsoil and eventually farmed.
But the city has laid seven APS charges against the property owner with respect to causing Site Alterations without a permit, which so far have been apparently ignored. Fines can go up to $25,000 and are at the discretion of the court under the Provincial Offences Act.
Leave a comment