Sep 03, 2008 - 03:30 PM

By Jeff Hayward

UXBRIDGE -- The only things he's trying to hide on his Uxbridge farm, Ed Beach says, are dust and noise as trucks dump fill on the site.

Thousands of tires were dumped on his 100-acre farm between the 1950s and 1970s, to build up a ravine running through the property to control storm water erosion. He said his family has been dealing with runoff from neighbouring properties for years.

But residents' concerns have surfaced regarding possible leaching from the now-buried tires into groundwater sources.

Anne Holmes said she has been raising a red flag to local and provincial government officials about Mr. Beach's property, on Concession 2 near Wagg Road, for 15 years. "(The site) is at the headwaters of the Pefferlaw Brook," lamented Ms. Holmes.

She has also obtained a decade-old video of the site, showing countless tires dumped on the property before they were filled over. Although it is unknown exactly how many tires are buried there, the Ministry of Environment estimates as many as 70,000. But having the tires underground is a better plan than leaving them on the surface, said ministry spokeswoman Kate Jordan. "The information I have... is that there is limited leaching of any contaminants, and therefore there are no groundwater concerns related to this," she said.

Mr. Beach said he has a provincial permit to fill in the site, noting it was issued to him in the late 1990s. After sitting down with Township officials and the Ministry of Environment in 1998, it was decided it would be best to bury the tires as they were a fire hazard, said Mr. Beach.

"I'm not hiding anything, everything is legal," he said. He is also building a giant berm at the fill site that minimizes the impact of construction noise and dust on neighbours, he added. "I only allow two local (trucking) companies to bring in fill, to reduce the traffic," he said.

Mr. Beach noted the 10-year-old video of the unburied tires on the property, delivered to Ms. Holmes from an unknown source, required someone to trespass on his farm to record it. "The video is illegal," he said.

When asked how long the Township has known about the tires on the Beach farm, Debbie Leroux, Uxbridge's clerk, noted, "We know a certificate of approval was issued in 1999."

She said the Township is now looking into the matter because "we're getting complaints... we're investigating."

Ms. Leroux said the Township is determining if the fill being used falls within the guidelines of the provincial permit. "If it's outside the certificate of approval... then we'll have to decide if the (Township) bylaw applies and ensure steps to make sure (the site) complies."

She added a provincial permit would "trump" any bylaw Uxbridge passed to stop the operation if Mr. beach is operating within permit guidelines.

Meanwhile, residents such as Ms. Holmes plan to continue taking action in the matter. "How can anyone give a permit for this?" she asked. "I want these tires removed and shredded."

- with files from Torstar