The City of Barrie, like many other older towns and cities, deposited waste in non-engineered sites, referred to as “Historic Waste Sites.” In Barrie, there are four sites that were used from 1947 to 1965 along Bunker’s Creek and three that were used from 1960 to 1963 on Dyment’s Creek.
The Historic Waste Sites and their associated assessment areas were first identified in the City’s Official Plan in 1985, but have been known to be in existence well before that date. The Waste Disposal Assessment area boundaries were refined based on recent studies to ensure that future development in the area of the Historic Waste Sites will be managed in keeping with the need to protect public safety. The assessment area originally identified more than 20 years ago is largely unchanged, however, the recent studies showed that some properties could be removed and other properties needed to be included within this D4 Assessment area.
D-4 Study
The Province of Ontario requires all municipalities to ensure that a D-4 Study is conducted in the vicinity of old waste disposal sites. A D-4 Study is a study that is completed to determine if there are any impacts to persons and/or property due to development near a waste disposal site which could include the presence of landfill gas. The D‑4 Study assesses the potential impact of the landfill gas.
Landowners within the assessment area are only required to conduct a D-4 Study on their property if they are planning any construction which would require a planning application or building permit.
Testing/Monitoring on City-owned land
Testing and monitoring has been completed on and around the Historic Waste Sites, on City‑owned land. The studies have indicated that risk of exposure of methane gas to residents in the area around the sites is low. The studies conducted by the City to further define the waste disposal assessment areas are available on this page.
The City studies support a change to the existing assessment boundary for which development D-4 Studies are required. The updated assessment boundaries have been approved by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).
Barrier Wall & Venting System Installed in the Fall of 2019
Starting in early October 2019, the City installed a landfill gas passive venting system at Historic Waste Site 6 (used from 1960–1964), an inactive landfill located on the north side of Dyment’s Creek at the west end of Frederick Street, between Innisfil Street and John Street. This project included the construction of an underground wall and pipe system to ensure proper venting of potential methane gas from Historical Waste Site 6. This is a precautionary measure only.
Background information
In 2017, the City of Barrie hired Golder Associates Ltd. to study the risk of landfill gas movement from the Historic Waste Sites to neighbouring private properties. Golder identified that although the probability of landfill gas migration is low, they recommended that preventative measures be taken as a precaution.
Construction
The system that was constructed in the fall of 2019 includes an underground vertical barrier wall (200 metres long and approximately 2.5 metres below grade) that was installed along the north and east border of the inactive landfill to stop the movement of gas to residential properties on Frederick Street and John Street. A venting system was installed to collect and vent the gas (methane) that gathers along the inactive landfill side of the barrier wall using three vent stacks.
This map shows the location of the wall, the vent stacks and the historical landfill site lines. For more information, read the Fact Sheet about the project. Effected residents were contacted via mail, email and door-to-door visits before and after construction.