Environment Quebec gives owners of Pointe-Claire PCB site new deadline
Quebec’s environment minister has given the former and current owners of an illegal PCB storage facility in Pointe-Claire until Nov. 13 to respond to an order to clean up the site that, according to a study released last week by the provincial government, still has more than 6,000 square metres of contaminated soil.
“If the companies do not comply with the order, the ministry will again support the work, and I can assure you that the government will make every effort to recover these amounts,” said Environment Minster David Heurtel in a statement. “Our priority is to ensure the safety of the public and environmental protection.”
The report compiled by Techno-Rem, a Laval-based environmental assessment and groundwater management firm, was made public last week. Labelled “confidential and privileged,” it was completed in June. It says the contaminants in the soil include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, dioxins and furans. It states underground water at the site on Hymus Blvd. is also contaminated with PCBs as well as dioxins and furans. The contaminated soil extends three feet below the surface in some sections, and contaminated underground water “probably transgresses the eastern border of the site,” the report stated.
The report lays out several recommendations, including studying the extent of the contamination east of the site, rehabilitating the soil, and monitoring the quality of the underground water.
In a statement released by the city of Pointe-Claire last week, Mayor Morris Trudeau said he is confident the former Reliance site and adjacent land will be cleared of contaminants. The city was given a copy of the 400-page report last week.
“The city of Pointe-Claire has an ongoing responsibility and commitment to ensure the health and safety of our citizens. Since illegally stored PCBs were discovered in Pointe-Claire, we have made sure that all risks are eliminated as quickly as possible, and we are continuing to do so,” the mayor said.
City spokesperson Marie-Pier Paquette-Séguin added that the city has “made every effort to ensure that all risks were eliminated as quickly as possible, and we are still working to achieve this goal in cooperation with the (Environment Department.)”
The Environment Department has assured the city that it will clean up the land if the owners do not. It sent a notice to the former owner of the site and to the current owner, Juste Investir, which bought the lot in an auction for unpaid property taxes in June. Juste Investir could not be reached for comment.
Cleanup and decontamination work at the site since 2013 have cost $4 million, according to Environment Quebec. The city footed a $435,000 bill to clean up contaminated run-off water.
Media reports first alerted authorities to the presence of illegally stockpiled PCBs on the site in 2013. Between 800 and 1,200 litres of oil containing PCBs were discovered.
Our priority is to ensure the safety of the public and environmental protection.