Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Providence (Sep 07/01) - Residents of Fort Providence are preparing to clean up a mess that a military operation left behind more than half a century ago at Axe Point.

Michael Vandell: co-ordinates clean up of 1940s military site at Axe Point.

The Fort Providence Resource Management Board, comprising seven community members, has lined up a $126,000 contribution agreement with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) to begin reclaiming the site, 60 kilometres down river from Fort Providence.

An environmental assessment, with assistance from Nahendeh Land and Environmental Services in Fort Liard, will be carried out first, according to Michael Vandell, land and resource administrator in Fort Providence.

"We want to find out exactly what's under this airport that all these elders talk about. When they (the military) left, they buried an old CAT, a bunch of tires, batteries, steel and old (fuel) drums ... instead of hauling everything out, they just buried everything they didn't need," Vandell said.

He added that there are a bunch of abandoned cabins on the site too, and "it's just like people just got up and walked away. There's still stuff sitting on the table."

There are concerns that PCBs, asbestos and fuel leaks have contaminated the site, Vandell said.

Six to eight workers will be needed to do slashing and clearing work beginning next week. They will create a passage to haul in some digging equipment and set up a small, temporary camp.

At this point, it's uncertain how the old supplies and contaminated materials will be transported from the site. A barge may be used or a winter road could be established along a cut-line route, but there's worry that a road would attract hunters, Vandell said. What is certain is that more funding will be needed to dispose of the aging waste.