ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS AT RICHMOND AND
WARWICK LANDFILL EXPANSIONS TO RESUME

BURLINGTON, ON - Waste Management of Canada Corporation (WM) announced today that the Environmental Assessment (EA) process for the proposed Richmond and Warwick landfill expansions are underway once again. The Richmond landfill is located in the Town of Greater Napanee, Ontario, and the Warwick landfill is situated in the Township of Warwick, Ontario, near the City of Sarnia.

The EAs are being carried out through the development of nine discussion papers, which are being distributed in draft form and finalized based on public consultation and peer review. WM will release the remaining three discussion papers for both projects on November 9th. The consultation period for Discussion Papers 7, 8 and 9 is 150 days, beginning in early November and ending in late April.

Once the discussion papers are finalized they will become part of the formal EA submission provided to the Ministry of the Environment for its review.

"We are pleased that we can once again proceed with the EAs for Richmond and Warwick, and engage with the local communities," says Cal Bricker, WM's Vice President of Public Affairs.

To bring both communities up to date with the proposed landfill expansion project, WM is today distributing Community Update newsletters that explain what has happened to date and how the public can continue to be involved. Web sites have also been launched for on-line information (richmondlandfill.wm.com and warwicklandfill.com). Storefront Information Centres are also open in both local communities.

WM is proposing to build two environmentally safe, multi-purpose waste management facilities. The expanded sites will include recycling and composting operations and a modern landfill. Plans for the landfills include capturing the landfill gas and turning it into energy. As both sites are nearing capacity, and if the expansions proceed, they will ease the growing pressure for landfill capacity in Ontario.

The EA processes for the landfills began in 1998. The processes came to a halt in June 2003 after two groups initiated a legal challenge to the Terms of Reference for the Richmond site. A provincial court ruled in favour of the groups initiating the legal challenge. WM appealed, and in August 2004 the higher court ruled in favour of WM.

"We'd like to thank community members who have participated in the EA process to date and we encourage citizens to continue their involvement as we bring forward the last three discussion papers," Mr. Bricker said.