Saint John council has narrowly approved a controversial land use change that will allow clay to be extracted from a wetland area to assist operations at the regional landfill.

The Monday night council vote resulted in a 5-5 tie, forcing Mayor Don Darling — who under normal circumstances would not vote — to break the deadlock.

"At the end of the day, we need this supply, the landfill is all of our landfill," Darling said. "We all use it. We need supply of clay."

The go-ahead from city hall was critical to the Fundy Regional Service Commission's plans to extract both clay and rock from the 16-hectare plot of rural wood and wetland area, which sits near neighbourhoods along the Westfield Road on the city's west side.

How will it be used?

The commission successfully argued the high quality "marine clay" used to build linings for cells at the landfill could not be found in sufficient quantities for a reasonable price anywhere else.

The clay lining helps prevent trash contaminants from seeping into the groundwater.

Monday night's approval required a rare tie-breaking vote from Mayor Don Darling. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

Under the plan, the commission would do extensive excavations of the wetland area over the next three decades and compensate by leaving behind a "remanufactured" wetland area twice as big.

Marc MacLeod, executive director of the Fundy Regional Service Commission, said the landfill has been searching for a source of sufficient quantity of marine clay for the past 12 years.

This will allow the operation to continue until its projected end-of-life in 2048 or 2049.

A space for illegal dumping

He estimates the ready supply, which is less than four kilometres to the landfill, will save ratepayers $12.8 million over the next 30 years, as the size of the landfill grows.

He said market prices for clay are too high and the ability of suppliers to meet the facility's demand is in question. And marine clay is only found in wetland areas.

At the same time, MacLeod referred to the area as a scarred, "strip cut" piece of land that's been run over by ATVs. He said it has also been used as a space for illegal dumping.

Plan opposed by residents

But the quarry and excavation plan is opposed by many residents living in the area.

David Bowen spoke out at Monday night's city hall meeting.

He is worried about muddy runoff from clay extraction, loss of habitat for waterfowl, and the potential impact on residential property values.

"Should a pit or quarry be approved, my tax assessment will be appealed," said Bowen. "And I'm trusting that many of the 900 residents from South Bay to Martinon will do the same."

Roberta Lee, who is also a resident in the area, said there are too many unknowns regarding environmental impacts to put a realistic price tag on the project.

"Costs of these contingencies cannot be predicted," she said. "The claims of financial savings cannot be substantiated."

The Fundy Regional Service Commission proposes to extract clay from a wetland area, shaded left, and rock fill from a quarry site, shaded right. (City of Saint John)

The approval of the land use changes was recommended by planning staff. However, the changes had previously been rejected by the city's planning advisory committee.

"The justification for the proposal is questionable," said Eric Falkjar, chair of the planning advisory committee. "Several unknown costs were left out."

A positive provincial environmental impact assessment is also required so the project can continue moving forward.

The results from that review are expected in April.