Hay River and KFN will work together on new dump location

Hay River and the Kátł’odeeche First Nation have signed an agreement to cooperate on a site for a new solid waste facility.

The town says it has virtually no access to land for a new landfill but holds a “shared interest” with KFN, which uses the same existing landfill.

“This is taking steps towards helping with getting our site selection, which most likely will not be town-sited lands but going into commissioner’s land, and ensuring that KFN will still have access for municipal landfill once we take future steps,” said Hay River senior administrator Glenn Smith.

Peter Redvers, representing the Kátł’odeeche First Nation, said the deal allows the First Nation involvement in identifying a new site and ensuring “lands aren’t alienated from inherent Aboriginal use or any existing treaty rights.”

“The town has agreed to involve KFN in each step in the process of narrowing down the site,” he said.

Hay River’s existing landfill “is an old facility,” said Smith, full of decades-old risks from materials dumped in eras when standards weren’t as high, though work in recent years has upgraded it in a bid to prevent the recurrence of a fire like one in 2019 that cost the town more than $1 million.

Its location is “fairly close to the river,” said Smith, meaning significant work goes into monitoring the landfill’s effect on the surrounding environment, and the town wants “a better location that’s going to allow for more modernized solid waste practices and reduce those risks of fire.”

“The current landfill has been deemed to be full for almost a decade now,” said Redvers.

“Assessments really say that it’s at the end of its life, and so there has been clear consensus between the town and the Kátł’odeeche First Nation – and a particular push by the Kátł’odeeche First Nation – to get the landfill moved from its current site close to the river.”

The timeline to construct a new dump isn’t firm, but town documents have suggested it’s an ambition in the next few years – if money can be found.

Hay River could be “in a better position in the next year or two towards actually starting site construction, if we get that funding,” said Smith.

“Building relationships with Indigenous governments is going to be key to moving forward as a community. Shared interests and major infrastructure projects need new partnerships, and councils are very aware of that now.”

“The sooner there is a new landfill site and that landfill close to the river can be closed down and begin the process of remediation, the better for the river and certainly for members of the Kátł’odeeche First Nation,” said Redvers.