The building freeze near a closed landfill in Howick Township has been eased after preliminary results from testing for contamination.
In April, Howick council was made aware of a former landfill at a site in Wroxeter that was to be part of a land purchase. Howick sold the land in 1976 for $2 to an adjoining landowner.
In May, a D-4 study was initiated by GM BluePlan Engineering, which was to test for possible contamination of the site.
At a Special Council Meeting on Tuesday, BluePlan recommended Howick shrink a buffer zone around the site after finding "little to nil contamination" in groundwater to surface water.
The new buffer zone is 30 metres based on water quality, and 100 metres based on gas quality. This buffer zone will likely remain in effect until the winter, where BluePlan can do the final test for gas under frozen conditions.
Public Works coordinator Brady Nolan says this means anyone should be able to get a building permit outside the 100-metre zone, provided they meet all other necessary requirements.
CORRECTION: On July 5, 2018, BlackburnNews.com incorrectly reported that the building permits would be granted within the 100-metre zone, when in fact it is outside the 100-metre zone. The correction has now been made in the above article.
