Expo 86 lands were found to be contaminated, a deal was in the offing by the BC Socreds to sell the property to an off-shore investor for $50 million, one problem, the buyer didn't want any part of the cleanup costs that should have been borne by the previous owner.
The Expo Land was assembled by the BC Socreds after purchasing it from the companies that had spent 100 years polluting, contaminating the soil, water and foreshore.
Problem for the Buyer was waived because the Socreds introduced a Bill that forced the environment responsibility onto the current owners of property eg. British Columbian Taxpayers: Cost: $51 million.
How is it then that contaminated soils and ASH are being dumped into an old quarry site above Shawnigan Lake and totally ignore the responsibility of treatment that should be borne by developers from where the material is coming from.
Is it possible to ascertain the sources of the contaminate so that lawsuits may launched against them for violation of environment laws that were written in 1986?
Minister Mary Polak
Reports and Information Sheets related to South Island Aggregates/Cobble Hill Holdings
MLA Andrew Weaver:
On the Wisdom of Dumping Contaminated soils in the Shawnigan Lake Watershed
Document Sources within BC Government:
2013
Permit PR-105809 : Cobble Hill Holdings Ltd. (BC0754588), under the provisions of the Environmental Management Act / Ministry of Environment. --
Permit & Information bulletin and Figure A & B (in colour)
2013
Ministry assessment : [environmental protection notice : notice of permit 105809 for South Island Aggregates/Cobble Hill Holdings Ltd. at 640 Stebbings Road]. --
2012
Technical assessment for authorization to discharge waste [electronic resource] / Active Earth Engineering Ltd. ; submitted to BC Ministry of Environment, Environmental Management Branch ; prepared for South Island Aggregates Ltd. ; prepared by Matt Pye. --
Technical Assessment & Public Consultation Report
2012
Bedrock geology of the South Island Aggregates Stebbings Road Quarry / Kirk Hancock. --
Geology Report & Addendum
2012
Summary of public consultations [electronic resource] : application for authorization to discharge waste at 460 Stebbings Road, Shawnigan Lake, BC / submitted to BC Ministry of Environment, Environmental Management Branch ; prepared for South Island Aggregates Ltd. ; prepared by Jeff Taylor. --
Public Consultation Report
The Expo Land was assembled by the BC Socreds after purchasing it from the companies that had spent 100 years polluting, contaminating the soil, water and foreshore.
Problem for the Buyer was waived because the Socreds introduced a Bill that forced the environment responsibility onto the current owners of property eg. British Columbian Taxpayers: Cost: $51 million.
How is it then that contaminated soils and ASH are being dumped into an old quarry site above Shawnigan Lake and totally ignore the responsibility of treatment that should be borne by developers from where the material is coming from.
Is it possible to ascertain the sources of the contaminate so that lawsuits may launched against them for violation of environment laws that were written in 1986?
Minister Mary Polak
In August of 2013, South Island Aggregates/Cobble Hill Holdings was granted a permit to receive contaminated soils and ash and process it through bioremediation or landfilling, and discharge treated effluent to an ephemeral stream. The permit was appealed and the Environmental Appeal Board upheld the permit decision, and the permit was amended on June 4, 2015 to incorporate additional requirements as directed by the Environmental Appeal Board. Below is a list of FAQ’s for this site, as well as documents relating to the original permit application, and ongoing oversight of the permit by the Ministry of Environment.June 4, 2015
Reports and Information Sheets related to South Island Aggregates/Cobble Hill Holdings
- Ministry of Environment Presentation of Sampling Results to Shawnigan Lake Residents July 2015
- Ministry of Environment Information Sheet - Summary of Permit 105809 July 2015
- Ministry of Energy and Mines South Island Aggregates Information Sheet July 2015
- Ministry of Environment Information Sheet - Summary of Compliance with Permit 105809 July 2015
- Ministry of Environment Report - Summary of Compliance and Monitoring June 2015
- Ministry of Environment Information Sheet - Summary of Receiving Environment Monitoring July 2015
- Ministry of Environment Information Sheet - Lot 21 Surficial Soil Sampling July 2015
- Ministry of Environment Report - Lot 21 Surficial Soil Sampling June 2015
- Ministry of Environment Information Sheet - Lot 21 Historical Records Review July 2015
- Ministry of Environment Report - Lot 21 Historical Records Review July 2015
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| Surface Stormwater Quality at Cobble Hill Holdings - November 2015 |
November 17, 2015 File: PR-105809
Cassandra Caunce
Director, Compliance Section
Environmental Protection Regional Operations
Ministry of Environment
RE: Surface Stormwater Quality at Cobble Hill Holdings November 14, 2015; Metals, TSS and Turbidity
Runoff was observed leaving the west boundary of Cobble Hill Holdings quarry site (PR-105809) following a heavy rainfall event November 12 & 13, 2015. Ministry staff were on site to sample and observe conditions on November 14, 2015. At that time, a very low volume trickle was observed leaving the site though it was evident that higher flow was present prior to constructed channeling. The purpose of sampling was to determine whether the subsequent runoff had contacted landfilled material and whether it meets ambient water quality guidelines. SNIP
MLA Andrew Weaver:
On the Wisdom of Dumping Contaminated soils in the Shawnigan Lake Watershed
On August 21, 2013 the Ministry of Environment (MOE) granted South Island Aggregates Ltd. (SIA)/ Cobble Hill Holdings (CHH) a 50-year permit to receive up to 100,000 tons of contaminated soil annually (a total of five million tons). The proposed location of the site for the contaminated soils is the SIA quarry located at 640 Stebbings Road (Lot 23 owned by CHH). This is located off South Shawnigan Lake Road between Shawnigan Lake and Highway 1. SIA proposed to back fill their quarry with contaminated soils while they continued to blast for new aggregate material. The permit was granted subject to “requiring complete containment of the soils to be introduced into the quarry.”
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| 640 Stebbings Road |
Document Sources within BC Government:
2013
Permit PR-105809 : Cobble Hill Holdings Ltd. (BC0754588), under the provisions of the Environmental Management Act / Ministry of Environment. --
Permit & Information bulletin and Figure A & B (in colour)
2013
Ministry assessment : [environmental protection notice : notice of permit 105809 for South Island Aggregates/Cobble Hill Holdings Ltd. at 640 Stebbings Road]. --
2012
Technical assessment for authorization to discharge waste [electronic resource] / Active Earth Engineering Ltd. ; submitted to BC Ministry of Environment, Environmental Management Branch ; prepared for South Island Aggregates Ltd. ; prepared by Matt Pye. --
Technical Assessment & Public Consultation Report
2012
Bedrock geology of the South Island Aggregates Stebbings Road Quarry / Kirk Hancock. --
Geology Report & Addendum
2012
Summary of public consultations [electronic resource] : application for authorization to discharge waste at 460 Stebbings Road, Shawnigan Lake, BC / submitted to BC Ministry of Environment, Environmental Management Branch ; prepared for South Island Aggregates Ltd. ; prepared by Jeff Taylor. --
Public Consultation Report