The removal, transport and storage of excess soil from construction sites and regulations concerning its potential reuse, continue to be a challenge for provincial governments. In Ontario, concerns about the level of regulatory compliance worries those familiar with the soil industry.
In Québec, the matter has made headlines recently.
Possible criminal connections and clandestine truck runs are part of the murky background surrounding the alleged illegal dumping of contaminated soil and illegal backfilling along the shore of Lac des Deux-Montagnes, just west of Montréal.
Most of this dumping appears to be taking place on Kanesatake Mohawk territory. Locals claim it has been going on for years with little government intervention.
Kanesatake Mohawk Council Grand Chief, Victor Bonspille, told local media some community members under financial stress have been receiving payment in exchange for accepting material onto their properties. Journalist Christopher Curtis said in an article he witnessed 12 trucks dumping on a lot in just 30 minutes this past June.
As public outcry and media attention has grown over the summer, the Québec Ministry of the Environment announced in late August that preliminary action will be taken.
In a media release, the ministry said it has been carrying out “checks” in the area, and as a result has opened an investigation, “to identify those responsible for these backfilling activities and to document the nature of the shortcomings on the banks, shorelines and in fish habitat.”
The investigation will focus on both the dumping itself and the alleged sources.
At Lac des Deux-Montagnes, the ministry will co-ordinate its efforts with partners that include the Kanesatake Band Council, the Québec Provincial Police (QPP), and the Secretariat for Relations with First Nations and Inuit. Near the alleged sources in Montréal, actions will be taken to prevent the transport of contaminated soil to Kanesatake.
Reports of illegal dumping near Kanesatake increased after the closure of the nearby G&R recycling centre when its permits were withdrawn in 2020. The open-air dump had reportedly been receiving construction waste from sites in Greater Montréal for years. Water holding 144 times the allowable concentration of sulphide was found on the site.
Former G&R co-owner, Roberto Scoppa, has alleged criminal connections and faces several years in prison for various drug charges. He and his company, Location Tri-Box, were recently fined more than $35,000 for environmental violations on agricultural land near Mirabel. The company closed in 2023.
Ministry action near Kanesatake has been minimal until now. One local resident was quoted as saying she was “practically laughed off the phone” when she called to report an environmental emergency on Mohawk land.
“He actually told me, ‘Come on now, this situation is well known, it’s not an emergency.’”
It’s taken high profile coverage from the media throughout the spring and summer, and road blocking threats from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous area residents, to elicit serious action.
Pascal Quevillon, mayor of Oka, told the CBC he was pleased with a recent spot-check inspection operation by the QPP in July.
“It’s better late than never,” he said. “But 90 per cent of the problem has been solved. We’ve put a lot of pressure on the truckers in recent months.”
The Province of Québec has an excess soil processing system which, it says, is designed to, “keep tabs on project-site contaminated soil in Québec.”
The system called Traces Québec was initiated in 2021 and is similar to the soil registry system developed in Ontario. It has since become mandatory across the province.
Businesses or project managers must create an account with Attestra to report movements through its web portal. At the source, site managers use a tracking slip to enter the soil information into the Traces online system. After the soil is weighed and then transported to an authorized receiving location, treatment centre, burial or reclamation site, the receiver also files with the Traces system to accept the load.
However, only strict enforcement of provincial regulations will protect land and water from contamination by those seeking shortcuts.
John Bleasby is a freelance writer. Send comments and Climate and Construction column ideas to editor@dailycommercialnews.com.
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