Sep 10, 2009 - 04:30 AM

By Kristen Calis

PICKERING -- Despite York Region's decision to move the location for a proposed odour-control facility (OCF) originally planned for Pickering back to York, residents are still fighting it.

"Why should it affect us and not York at the same time?" said Cherrywood West resident Gordon Belfry at a recent meeting on the topic.

The Region of York had originally planned to build an odour control facility that's needed to accommodate the expansion of the 'Big Pipe,' which takes sewage from York to the Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant in south Pickering, on Altona Road, south of Cherrywood West.

But after opposition from residents, Durham Region council didn't support the location. Durham chairman Roger Anderson and York chairman Bill Fisch then signed an agreement to build the OCF on the west side of the York-Durham boundary, between the Taunton-Steeles connection and the 4th Concession Road.

Booster fans, which will help push the odour back into York Region, are still planned for Altona Road, Fairport Road and Scarborough-Pickering Townline Road.

Local group Stop the Stink formed early this year to fight an OCF they feel would negatively affect Pickering residents. The group held a meeting to update residents last Thursday.

Mr. Belfry's home would have been 300 metres from the original location, and is now 800 metres away. However, since the winds travel southeast, it'll be even worse, he said.

"It's like a straight shot right across the field," he said.

Also, since he uses well water, he's concerned with the water quality should any toxins from the facility leak into the soil.

Stop the Stink member Devi Gopalan listed a number of concerns. Residents are worried about possible health risks, the fact they have yet to see a properly working OCF and mostly, that weren't consulted on the new location, which wasn't passed by council. Ms. Gopalan added the environmental assessment has already been handed to the Minister of the Environment, who has final say.

Jennifer O'Connell, Pickering Ward 1 City Councillor, informed the group that she and Ward 2 Regional Councillor Bill McLean are planning to bring forward a motion that will seek a judicial review of the process.

At Tuesday's planning and development committee meeting, she gave formal notice the motion will come to the next council meeting.

No one from York Region attended Thursday's meeting. But at a past public information session, Erin Mahoney, the commissioner of environmental services for York Region, said the OCF has been moved out of the concentrated area and into a rural one instead based on the community's opposition.

"We responded to the community," she said. "The best place is where we had it. On balance, we've heard the needs of the community and we've responded to it."

There would be "non-detectable odours coming out of the stack," she said.

Stop the Stink hopes as many people as possible will sign up for upcoming Durham Region council meetings to show their disagreement with the current location.

More than 2,000 people have signed a petition against the OCF. Also, Stop the Stink attended a rally recently at Bob Hunter Memorial Park in Markham, named after the founder of Greenpeace and where the pipe is planned to run through.

-- with files from Keith Gilligan