Court action on pipe halted, but may not be finished
By Bill Rea

An application for a judicial review, launched by opponents to the sewer plan in King City, has been dismissed, but further action could be pending.

In a statement dated July 10, the Divisional Court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the application, although representatives of the the citizens' groups that launched the action stated they supported the dismissal.

The application was filed a year ago, alleging widespread failures by York Region to comply with Oak Ridges Moraine protection legislation regarding the authorization and construction of the York-Durham Sewage System (YDSS) in the village. Proponents of the legal action had been previously told by environmental lawyer Eric Gillespie that the Region had stated the sewer proposal complied with one clause of the moraine legislation. But the Act has many clauses, and he said the plan might not comply with all of them.

Gillespie told the Sentinel Friday that new information had come to light that caused all parties to agree it was best to have the application pulled.

"Nobody's asking for any legal costs from anybody else," he added.

Gillespie added it would be fair to say that further action is possible. "There are still possibly some outstanding issues," he said, adding they could be explored, although nothing definite has been decided yet.

He also said any future action would focus on the moraine act and conservation plan. "That is sort of the area the people have been looking at and will continue to look at," he commented.

Since there's been no decision on whether to take further action, Gillespie wasn't able to comment on a possible timeline.

Jeff Laidlaw, chairman of King Environmental Groups (KEG), said the costs and time factors played a role in not going ahead with the action.

He added there had been a lot of discussion about taking a different approach, including addressing interpretation of law. Laidlaw said there are discrepancies between how KEG interprets the intent of the moraine legislation and how the Region does.

Laidlaw said there will likely be another legal action, led by Concerned Citizens of King Township (CCKT). He also said he understood such action is "imminent."

CCKT Chair Brian Bornstein was not available for comment.

Mayor Margaret Black was upset at the cost that the Township had been put to in order to address the action. Latest estimates had put the figure at more than $50,000, and she said the Region would be out roughly the same amount.

"A complete waste of money and time and energy," she remarked. "We need funds for so many other things."

Councillor Jane Underhill, who has always opposed the sewer plan, said she understood the costs were a big factor in the decision not to pursue the original action.

She lamented the fact that money is lacking for citizens' groups to carry out such actions, even when they have a good case.

"I think the citizens' groups had a good case," she declared.