Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 11/98) - Piles of sand, rock and unused gravel at the Salt Mountain gravel pit, leftover from last June's Fort Smith airport repaving project, have yet to be cleaned up.

At the heart of the delay is a dispute between a Fort Smith landscaping company and construction contracting companies associated with the $2-million airport repaving project.

Dave Hehn, owner of landscaper Territorial Land-Use Consultants (TLC) says cleanup of the Foxhole North pit, part of the Salt Mountain quarry, is not his responsibility.

Several companies were involved with the paving project.

Arny's Construction of Rae-Edzo was the general contractor on the project. Arny's rented paving equipment from Edmonton-based Carmacks Construction Inc.

Arny's sub-contracted some of the work to Hay River's Rowe's Construction Ltd. and Stan Dean and Sons Ltd.

Rowe's supplied the gravel which was obtained from the Salt Mountain quarry. Stan Dean and Sons were brought in to crush quarry rock to make the gravel.

Arny Steinwand of Arny's Construction and Gord Pasini of Carmack's Construction said the dispute did not involve them or their respective companies.

"My company held the contract to do the job and sub-contracted some of the work to Rowe's and Stan Dean and Sons," Steinwand said.

Pasini said Carmacks has "nothing to do with TLC (and) why he is bringing us in I have no idea. We had a rental agreement with Arny's Construction."

Stan Dean and Sons president Robert Dean said his company's was hired only to crush the rock into gravel. The company was on site for about two months for the project.

"Our contract had nothing to do with cleanup," Dean said.

Hay River Mayor Jack Rowe, of Rowe's Construction, could not be reached for comment Thursday. Hehn, who holds the Salt Mountain quarry permit, estimates about 24,000 cubic metres of sand remains at the site. The sand is a waste product from the gravel production.

Under the land use permit, site cleanup is required.

The quarry is located about 30 kilometres west of Fort Smith.

To express his concern over the lack of cleanup, Hehn sent a letter dated April 24 to Arny's Construction. He also sent copies to Rowe's, Carmacks, the GNWT and News/North.

"I want to reclaim the pit and close it. I don't want to be in the gravel business," Hehn said.

Hehn's company is primarily a landscaping operation.

Hehn is also disputing what he received as payment in connection with the operation.

The matter, said Hehn, has taken his company to the "brink of bankruptcy."

And Hehn is no the only one seeking money.

Robert Dean said Dean and Sons is in the process of suing Arny's-Carmacks over what the Hay River company claims is insufficient payment for its rock crushing work.