A group of residents from Alleyn and Cawood and Kazabazua are circulating a petition against a proposal to build a mammoth engineered landfill near Danford Lake.

The Citizens Coalition Against the Proposed Danford Lake Landfill Project mailed an information package and petition to every ratepayer in the municipality and hopes to garner enough signatures to convince the municipal council to withdraw support for the project.

"We're gearing up to have a public meeting in the municipality on Feb.12 and we're hoping a large number of residents will show up," coalition executive member Andre Carriere said. "We'll have petitions in hand at the public meeting."

Carriere said the coalition was struck after Alleyn and Cawood hosted an information meeting about the proposal at the end of Oct. 2005. Since then 30 people have become actively involved in the group, meeting regularly, organizing, and now finally going public with a campaign opposing the project.

It's intimidating to come out and talk about it, but it's getting easier," he said. "The group is growing, the group is becoming more vocal, and the group is becoming more confident. We've asked for a moratorium on negotiations with the promoter until the population is better informed."

Carriere said the coalition includes permanent residents and cottagers from Alleyn and Cawood and the surrounding area. They all share deep concerns about the proposal and a commitment to see it quashed.

"People are so passionate about this file that quite a number of people are contributing substantial amounts of money to the coalition," he said. It's not only the landfill site - once it's there you have the potential to go in another direction altogether. We're really looking to preserve the quality of the environment."