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Whitby, Ont. – The Regional Municipality of Durham would like to advise residents that boiler #1 at the Durham York Energy Centre (DYEC) remains off-line in response to the recent stack test failure. Boiler #1 will stay off-line while the operator, Covanta, acquires approval from the Ministry of the
Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) for the abatement plan and completes phase one of the investigation to the satisfaction of the MOECC. The DYEC continues to operate boiler #2.

Currently, Covan a’s abatement plan—which includes a detailed action plan to determine the root cause of the exceedance and prevent further exceedances—has been reviewed by the Regions of Durham and York and their consultant, HDR Inc. The MOECC will now review and provide input on the abatement plan. Boiler #1 remains off-line while the abatement plan is under review.

The process to complete a detailed assessment involves two phases of investigations. Phase one
outlines inspections and investigations being undertaken while boiler #1 is offline. Covanta is currently completing the phase one activities. HDR Inc. staff is onsite to confirm the inspections have been completed, review the observations, verify that the identified corrective action is appropriate and establish that all action items have been implemented. Once phase one activity is completed by Covanta, a request will be forwarded to the MOECC for approval to re-start boiler #1.

With the start-up of boiler #1, phase two can begin. Phase two includes additional investigations, as well as physical and diagnostic testing that will be undertaken after the restart of boiler #1, and the subsequent completion of an additional stack test by Covanta.

Residents may sign up to receive email notifications whenever new documents are posted to the Durham York Energy Centre project website. To register for these updates on new documents posted to the website please submit your email address through the subscribe section of the project
website https://www.durhamyorkwaste.ca/Home/Subscribe.aspx.

Emissions monitoring data is streamed in real time and posted on the project website (www.durhamyorkwaste.ca), as well as on a large electronic board outside of the visitor's centre. Environmental reports, as well as a comprehensive overview of the facility and answers to frequently asked questions are also available online.

The Durham York Energy Centre, located in Courtice, is Durham Region's primary long-term disposal option for waste and only processes the household waste remaining after Durham and York Region's aggressive composting, recycling and reuse programs. Both regions are leaders in waste diversion with diversion rates consistently above 50 percent. For more information on the Durham York Energy Centre,
visit www.durhamyorkwaste.ca, call 1-800-667-5671, or email info@durhamyorkwaste.ca.

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Media inquiries:
The Regional Municipality of Durham
Corporate Communications Office
905-668-7711 or CorporateCommunications@durham.ca