A proposal to let Stoney Creek's Taro dump take incinerator ash is being denounced by the area's councillor as a "disturbing" betrayal of the community.

Brad Clark said he's shocked no one notified him of a bid by owner Newalta Industrial Services Inc. to change the site's operating licence to remove a prohibition on the waste.

"Incinerator ash is highly controversial," he said. "It's usually laden with heavy metals."

While Newalta submitted its application to the Ministry of Environment in April, there has yet to be any public notification on the province's Environmental Bill of Rights registry.

But the proposal is mentioned in official minutes from a March 3, private meeting of the site's neighbourhood liaison committee meeting obtained by Hamilton Community News.

Only one citizen was on hand for the meeting -- also attended by two ministry representatives -- and "there were no concerns" about the proposal, the minutes state.

"How could anyone argue that there's no need for public consultation?" said Mr. Clark, who only learned about the plan when contacted by a reporter.

"I have no documentation on this at all, but clearly it should be reviewed by the city and we should be commenting on it," he said.

"It's amazing that we have to rely on the press to tell us that there was an application to go in for incinerator waste."

Ministry spokesperson Jennifer Hall said the Newalta application remains under review and a decision is expected shortly on whether it will be posted on the environmental registry.

She said the company's supporting documentation argues the proposal is an "administrative change" that doesn't require public notification.

Previous administrative changes to the licence have been "very, very minor" with no environmental significance, she said.

"If that's what they put forward as their rationale, the ministry has to agree that that's appropriate," Ms. Hall said.

"I'm not in a position to say what (the ministry's reviewer) is thinking about because he hasn't made a decision."

But Newalta regional manager Michael Jovanovic said he believes the application seeks "a minor administrative amendment" and he hasn't heard otherwise.

"You've got four months since it was submitted," he said. "If they decide that they want to post it now, it would be pretty unfair to us, as far as the process is concerned."

Mr. Jovanovic said Newalta has accepted incinerator ash at its Imperial Street processing plant in Hamilton for years, but presently sends the waste to competitor dumps.

Ash is a good solidifying agent because it absorbs moisture and its alkaline properties also neutralize acidic waste, he said.

Mr. Jovanovic said he believes original objections to allowing the waste at Taro were prompted by concerns about ash from the city's former SWARU incinerator, which has since been demolished.

He said Taro's suppliers potentially include existing energy-from-wood plants and the Liberty Energy sewage sludge incinerator proposed for Strathearne Avenue North.

"The material still has to be a non-hazardous material," Mr. Jovanovic said. "So if it's acceptable from that perspective and it's acceptable from our perspective of use in processing, then there wouldn't be a reason why it shouldn't be able to come up here."

But Mr. Clark said the ban on incinerator ash was one of the conditions negotiated by the former Stoney Creek council "to appease" community opposition when the dump was approved by the then-Conservative government without public hearings in July 1996.

"This is ridiculous," said Mr. Clark, who led a citizens group that fought the dump before he entered politics, initially as the area's Conservative MPP.

"What's the point of having an environmental assessment if the Certificate of Approval can be amended after the fact without public consultation? It's a sham."