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“We have very strong relationships with the city. We have for numerous years and we want to continue to do so,” Clement said in an interview. “We won’t take that stuff lightly, for sure.”

Photo by Errol McGihon / Postmedia

The former Osgoode Township signed a contract with Tomlinson in December 1996 to manage the Springhill landfill. In January 1998, the township signed a separate lease with Tomlinson that allowed the company to run a construction and demolition waste recycling facility on the landfill site. The 2001 municipal amalgamation meant the City of Ottawa inherited the agreements.

According to the Springhill audit, the city doesn’t know if it’s owed money under the contract because there’s a lack of proper financial documentation. On top of that, the province’s environmental authorities investigating contamination have flagged the conditions of a nearby wetland as “one of the worst in the eastern region of the province,” the audit says.

The city, as owner of the 100-acre site, is contracted to receive 40 per cent of the net profit as royalties, with the rest going to Tomlinson. The city has only collected $6.3 million in royalties from Tomlinson over the 21 years.

A “remedial action plan” related to closing the landfill could cost between $7 million and $8 million, plus, there would be annual operating costs.

The city says Tomlinson should pay for it all.

“In our mind, everything that’s happening at that site is a result of the operation of that site, so we will be asking them to take ownership of that,” said Kevin Wylie, general manager of public works and environmental services.