Fearing contamination of their well water, someone from nearly every household in the MacPherson subdivision is opposed to a land treatment facility being proposed by Castle Rock Enterprises off the Alaska Highway.

Speaking to council Tuesday evening, Cathleen Lewis, a longtime MacPherson resident, said a petition circulated in her community containing 84 signatures from the majority of area households shows residents are concerned for their safety.

Lewis said neither she nor any of her neighbours were informed of the proposed land treatment facility even though she had requested notification from the city's planning department.

'The project was titled the Old Ski Road; you wouldn't know where that was unless you lived here for 30 years,' she said.

'I specifically requested residents be notified ... that didn't happen, and I don't know why,' she said.

'Community residents are just now becoming aware; the timelines are too short.'

Lewis said she is also concerned that the area being proposed may not fall in line with Whitehorse's Official Community Plan (OCP).

'This project does not lie in an area designated by the OCP for a land treatment facility.'

She also said she agrees with the concerns raised at the Association of Yukon Communities' annual general meeting by Haines Junction Coun. Mike Crawshay and Community Services Minister Glenn Hart that the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act (YESAA) has problems.

'I'm concerned that city council is placed in a postion where it is being asked to approve a permit for a property that appears to have passed at all assessment levels.

'It has been recognized that there are some challenges with YESAA, from the Association of Yukon Communities, at political levels and from municipalities.'

YESAA began reviewing the proposal earlier this year, extended time for consultation and issued recommendations.

Area resident Harry Kulych, who voiced his concerns to council last week, said he has been out to the planned site and still has objections.

'As more information comes forward on this project, my concerns over groundwater contamination have not diminished.'

Planning manager Mike Gau said his department has reviewed water quality concerns over the past week and he is recommending that council consider the proposal.

Gau said the land treatment facility plan has addressed how the risk of groundwater contamination would be addressed and has been dealt with through the YESAA process and by the Department of Environment.

According to council documents, a plan is in place to address a spill from the poly-lined contaminated lands facility, if one occured.

'According to the Land Treatment Facility Plan, in the event of leak in the liner, the cell will be emptied and the contaminated soil transferred to another cell, the area of the leak will be sampled and tested to determine if the leak contaminated any soil.

'The liner will then be repaired if possible or removed from the site and disposed of at an appropriate waste treatment facility,' council documents state.

'The YESAA Decision Document has listed ground water monitoring as a condition of this project. Specifically, the documents state that the proponent shall conduct groundwater monitoring as required by the Yukon government authorizations to gauge liner integrity and monitor for the presence of contaminants.'

Gau said monitoring wells are a requirement of the permit being issued to Castle Rock and that the wells would be able to detect water contamination if any occurred.

He said the wells have not been dug yet.

Coun. Doug Graham said he isn't confident that leaving the matter in the hands of the territory's Department of Environment is wise.

'After seeing the changes that were done in the YESAA decision document, I'm not confident about leaving it in their hands.'

He said he didn't understand why council would consider permitting another land treatment facility when there's already one operating in the McLean Lake area that wasn't at capacity.

'We have another 20-acre facility that's only being used 20 per cent of the time.

'I don't understand why we want to go ahead with this when it has the potential of screwing up a lot of lives.'

Mayor Bev Buckway said she doesn't feel it's council's place to judge whether the business is needed; only whether the proposal is an appropriate use of the land.

'We have to decide land use, not whether it's competition for someone else,' she said.

'We don't second-guess people's credentials. We leave that up to people with the expertise to do that,' she said.

'I don't feel that with my limited technical knowledge I can say whether it's installed properly.'

Wayne Deer, of Arctic Backhoe, told council the facility his company runs at McLean Lake is large and has the capacity to handle a lot more contaminated land.

'We have 20 acres of natural liner. It would hold up to 200,000 cubic metres.'

He said contrary to media reports last week, the clay liner under his treatment facility protects the environment.

'Nothing is getting through that soil.

'For special waste, we have a special waste permit. We have a concrete bunker ... that pad is six inches thick,' he said.

Paul Inglis of Access Consulting, who is assisting Castle Rock with its application, repeated comments from last week that there is little potential for environmental harm.

'The potential is very, very small.'

The size of the planned facility, he added, is about an eighth of a city block.

Coun. Jeanine Myhre said she doesn't know why council is being asked to approve the project before ground water patterns have been tested yet.

Myhre said she'd like to see the results of the hydrogeological study first.

'Either way, if they have to do the study, what does it matter if we come second or first?' she asked.