Rural resident Wilda Soper wants to give her family’s century-old farm to her son eventually, but that may not happen if the city builds its new landfill less than a mile from her doorstep.
The City of Moose Jaw wants to build the “solid waste management facility” about 1.6 kilometres north of Highway 1 on 156.09 hectares (390.23 acres) of agricultural land that once belonged to farmer Truman Bailey. After he died in 2016, his family rented out the land under the Great West Farms Limited banner; they sold two quarters of land plus part of a third quarter for the landfill project.
A grid road would separate the dump from Soper’s land, while her yard would be 650 metres west of the site. If she wanted to leave, she would have to drive straight toward the landfill to reach the road.
“I’m not impressed (with how close the dump would be). I’m totally opposed to it on many levels,” she told the Express.
Some of Soper’s concerns include the venue’s proximity, the visual aspect, the devaluation of area land, and the potential inability to find new buyers if farmers were to sell. The site also contains “highly productive agriculture land,” so to misuse that property “is a crime.”
The Moose Jaw Express has spoken with several area residents concerned about the location and the lack of public consultation. A rural citizens’ group has arisen and is working to overturn the location.
The Express will have a separate article with comments from city hall.
This article is the second in a series about this topic.
'Lack of transparency'
Soper accused city hall and city council of exhibiting an unacceptable “lack of transparency.” She noted that she only learned about the proposed landfill on Facebook after reading about a petition against the project.
“Our land that my son is now farming has been in our family and has been inhabited for over 100 years. He would (like to take over one day). … (He) had fully intended to build on that site. Now, I don’t know,” she said.
“He’s got two little boys (and) they were looking forward to raising them in a quiet rural atmosphere out there,” she added. “That’s not going to be possible now.”
An unsightly tourist attraction
Keith Steinhauer farms three miles north of the old A&W restaurant on the North Service Road. He noted that city hall appears to be concerned about only a few area landowners but pointed out this will likely affect over 500 people.
“This is really going to be good for tourism in Moose Jaw (for tourists) to see our newest attraction,” he chuckled.
Steinhauer said that in Great Falls, Montana — a place he drove through recently — its landfill is 14 kilometres outside the community. While dump trucks regularly make that trip, he noted that Moose Jaw’s city hall claims trucks here can’t travel beyond two kilometres.
“Somebody is trying to pull one over on us real quick and … try to pretend it’s all going to be OK,” Steinhauer added.
Contradictions at city hall
With city council promoting heritage places in Moose Jaw, Soper couldn’t understand why officials wouldn’t want to also protect historic, continuously farmed agricultural land. She chalked up this discrepancy to alleged contradictions emanating from city hall, particularly in the reports it has produced.
Some reports claim that the municipality consulted with residents and stakeholders, while others suggest city hall selected the site based on technical terms and not on opinion or emotions, she alleged. While the city said it is open to questions, she wondered why anyone would bother when they would be ignored.
Soper also wondered why the site couldn’t be situated further northwest since city hall has claimed the new dump won’t produce any pollution.
Expanding the current dump
Soper noted that city administration has provided council with information since 2012— and that former city councillor Brian Swanson reminded his colleagues in 2020 — that the province has allegedly permitted Moose Jaw to expand the current landfill to the east. This was conditional on the city installing a liner to protect the shallow reservoir.
Swanson predicted that city administration would hire many consultants until it found one that would recommend building the new dump on agricultural land — which has proven to be true, she continued.
“It’s just been so clandestine. I know that the privacy of the people that were selling this land was important, but (it was) at the expense of the rest of us in the RM and in the city as well,” Soper said.
While the city has claimed the province has been OK with the expansion since 2012, a document obtained through a freedom of information request shows the Ministry of Environment only became aware of that desire in 2016.
Contractor’s unclear motives
City hall hired Calgary-based contractor Scott Land & Lease Limited to approach rural landowners about selling their land for the solid waste management venue, Soper said. She heard that the company approached four people — including her — before finding the Bailey family.
Soper said she spoke to one family member, who claimed the consultant never told them what the land’s new purpose would be or who wanted it, claims that she confirmed based on the call she received.
“But apparently, the family that sold the land were not as attached to the land as the rest of us, so they weren’t worried about what it would be used for … so they agreed to sell,” said Soper.
The Express contacted the Bailey family, but no one was willing to comment.
Disaster in the making
Soper thought the site could affect tourism since visitors would see the dump as they drove past on both highways. Moreover, she questioned the safety of Highway 2, considering it’s already a busy road with farm machinery, school buses, area residents, Buffalo Pound Lake users and potash mine workers using it regularly.
“It’s a disaster waiting to happen out there,” Soper added.
(Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect more accurate information.)
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