NEEBING — Neebing's existing two landfills will have to be expanded before a search for a possible new disposal site is contemplated, the municipality's new official plan says.
"Planning for a new site, or for further expansion to the existing sites, should commence five years prior to the current capacity being exhausted," the official plan document says.
Neebing's Scoble landfill has reached capacity, while its Sand Hill facility has enough room to operate for another four years.
"We are in the midst of preparing expansion applications for both sites," Neebing clerk-treasurer Erika Kromm said on Friday.
The official plan notes that an earlier estimate that gave the two landfills another 20 years of operation as of 2008 "has proven to be incorrect."
The latest version of the official plan was approved by the province with 14 amendments on June 3; the full document is available on the municipality's website.
Neebing, which came into being in 1999, was formed by combining five rural townships into one single municipality adjacent to Thunder Bay. The rural community is about 880 square kilometres, with Highway 61 its main artery.
According to the official plan, Neebing's population — currently about 2,200 — was forecast to grow by 2.5 per cent between 2015 and 2020.
"This did not materialize, and in fact, the population declined before rebounding slightly," the plan document notes.
"Limited growth is now projected for the municipality over the next 20 years."
The document added: "If projected modest annual growth of one per cent continues, Neebing could anticipate an estimated population of 2,845 people by 2045."
In the meantime, the document says, the municipality will seek to establish "a strong and diversified economic base "to be less reliant on the economic opportunities and economy" of Thunder Bay.
To that end, it plans to promote commercial development on Highway 61, tourism and "agri-tourism."
While doing so, the municipality will face limits on development due to "areas . . . located in proximity to, or within, areas in need of protection such as hazard lands, wetland areas and areas of archeological potential," the plan document says.
The Chronicle-Journal / Local Journalism Initiative
