AG urges city to consider blacklisting Tomlinson - Action News
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Ottawa

AG urges city to consider blacklisting Tomlinson

The city-owned Springhill landfill in Osgoode has been leaching garbage sludge into the groundwater, and has cost the city millions of dollars as a result of a bad deal signed with a private company, the auditor general revealed.

'We've never taken a step like this,' says Auditor General Ken Hughes

The Springhill landfill was opened in 1996 by the old Osgoode Township and has been operated by Tomlinson ever since. (CBC)

The city-owned Springhill landfill in Osgoode has been leaching garbage sludge into the groundwater, and has costthe city millions of dollars as a result of a bad deal signed with a private company, the auditor general revealed Thursday.

Auditor General Ken Hughes released a damning report and suggested the city consider blacklisting Tomlinson, a major player in the city's construction and waste management industry in Ottawa.

"We've never taken a step like this and made a recommendation this severe," Hughes told reporters Thursday.

The old Osgoode Township opened the Springhill landfill at 7720 Springhill Road in 1996, and tapped Tomlinson to operate it.

'This was not a good contract'

7 years ago
Duration 0:33
Auditor General Ken Hughes says his office has never made a recommendation this severe.

But since the City of Ottawa inherited the land post-amalgamation, the relationship with Tomlinson over the landfill has been fraught.

The city is entitled to 40 per cent of the profits from the landfill. Since it's opened, the city has made about $6.3 million out the deal but has spent more than that on legal services, forensic accounts and engineering consults to manage the contract with the company.

Tomlinson withheld important documents that would give the city an accurate account of the royalties it's owed, Hughes said.

"It just isn't possible to be sure that the revenues provided to the municipality were correct," he said.

Tomlinson has not responded to CBC's request for an interview.

Ken Hughes is the the city auditor general. (Andrew Foote/ CBC News )

Groundwater contaminated

The city was notified in December 2017 by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change that the contaminated groundwater from the landfill was migrating to neighbouring properties and mixing with surface water outside of the dump.

The contamination was having an impact on a provincially significant wetland next to the landfill.

When the city found out, it tried to get Tomlinson to stop accepting waste, but the requests were ignored. It wasn't until the city pulled its approval from the province that the landfill was temporarily shut down in May 2018.

The cleanup is expected to cost between $7 million and $8 million dollars, as well as an extra $2 million to take care of stormwater management. There will also be ongoing operating costs once the work is done.

Tomlinson will need council approval before they can start operating the landfill again, which it won't get until the environmental issues are dealt with.

City still working with Tomlinson

The company has committed to work with the city on clean up, but no specifics have been agreed to yet. City manager Steve Kanellakos said if the company doesn't cooperate, he's prepared to ban the company from all city projects.

"We'll have a big fight with them, I think, legally. But we're not afraid of a fight," Kanellakos said.

City staff say most of Tomlinson's work is high quality, and the relationship with the company outside of the landfill issue is good.

The city does a lot of work with the company, since it's a major player in Ottawa's construction industry. According to the company's website, Tomlinson received a City of Ottawa award for environmental excellence for building Ottawa's first "complete street," Churchill Avenue.

Hughes said the city should seriously consider whether it wants to work with the company again based on how poorly it's handled the landfillcontract.

Farmers raise concerns about Springhill landfill

6 years ago
Duration 0:55
John Lackey and Greg Mount are worried that the landfill could be leaching garbage sludge into the groundwater.

Contract mismanaged

Under the terms of the contract, Tomlinson was allowed to take in waste from its partner companies with deep discounts or even free of charge. That has reduced the life of the Springhilllandfill, which is at 75 per cent capacity, Hughes said.

But even though the city inherited a bad contract during amalgamation, it does share some of the blame for the situation at the dump, he said.

Before 2014, there isno evidence the city did anything tomanage the contract with Tomlinson. The city is also missing an entire section of the contract related to the proper insurance needed for the site.

Hughes made 16 recommendations to improve operation and oversightat the landfill, the bulk of which have already been implemented.

"The file is appropriately managed at this time," said Marilyn Journeau, director of the city's solid waste service.

The city took Tomlinson to arbitration in 2010 over some of these issues, and the process took six years. The city received an undisclosed settlement from Tomlinson last month.

Tomlinson also released four years worth of the financial documents city staff have been asking for last month.

Forensic accountants are now combing through those documents to find out if the city is owed any more money.

"There seems to be good will on the part of Tomlinson," said Kevin Wylie, general manager of public works and environmental services.

City officials plan to meet with Tomlinson very soon to discuss next steps.

The auditor general promised to follow up on the file "sooner rather than later" to make sure city management has adhered to his recommendations.