Tim Hortons coffee plant appeals ministry restrictions

A Tim Hortons subsidiary has filed an appeal against the Ontario Ministry of the Environment that could delay the launch of the company’s new 74,000 square-foot coffee roasting facility at the Ancaster Business Park.
The appeal argues the ministry’s certificate of approval conditions place unfair restrictions on the plant’s day-to-day operations.
In its grounds for appeal filed last week, Fruition Manufacturing Limited calls the certificate of approval conditions “onerous considering that the facility is located in an established industrial park and is using the latest technology to deal with stack emissions from coffee roasters.”
Fruition, also referred to in appeal documents as Maidstone Coffee Canada, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tim Hortons operator TDL Group Corp.
David Morelli, Tim Hortons director of public affairs, declined to comment directly on the appeal.
“We think it would be inappropriate to comment on something that is before the appeals board right now,” he said.
Mr. Morelli was also unsure whether the appeal will delay the facility’s opening, which is planned by the end of the fourth quarter of 2009.
“We just want to wait for the decision on the appeal,” Mr. Morelli said. “We’re not making any assumptions.”
Fruition is appealing a condition to notify the environment ministry’s district manager within two days of an environmental complaint, arguing the requirement is an unnecessary, duplicative administrative burden. The appeal also takes issue with the ministry’s prescribed odour limits and the broad definition of “sensitive receptors,” which could include neighbouring homes, day-care facilities, schools, parks, commercial plazas or office buildings.
When fully operational, the new facility is expected to supply Tim Hortons stores across Canada. The plant will include three drum coffee roasting machines each with a capacity to roast up to 3,000 kilograms of green coffee per hour. Emissions will be controlled using three catalytic oxidizers.
Production will run in two eight-hour shifts per day.
Fruition purchased 3.9 hectares of land on Cormorant Road from the City of Hamilton earlier this year for $1.8 million.