Condo board says no proof spill came from its buildings
Site has decades-long history of industrial use prior to residential development
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A condo corporation president says there is no evidence a hydrocarbon spill came from its buildings along Con Road, raising questions about how the city will prove its origin and how it will recoup clean-up costs.
Water and sewer construction work along Con Road last summer uncovered hydrocarbon contamination. Determining the origin and who pays for clean-up costs could get complicated as a condo corporation disputes its buildings were the source of the spill. - NNSL file photo |
"There is no evidence of there having been, nor is the board of Diamond Ridge Condos aware of, any spill or discharge of heating oil on our site since Diamond Ridge Condos was established," stated Rohan Brown, president of the condo board, in an e-mail to Yellowknifer this month.
Brown's statement came after city staff told councillors soil contaminated with hydrocarbons was found last summer during water and sewer work on Con Road between 54 Street and Rycon Drive.
Hydrocarbons are organic compounds that make up fuels such as gasoline or heating oil.
Dennis Kefalas, the city's director of public works and engineering, said the city suspected heating fuel because of the smell.
Part of the spill is on city property where the construction work was happening. Kefalas estimated a larger portion is on Diamond Ridge Condo Corporation site, which has a history of industrial use before condos were built.
Grimshaw Trucking's depot and warehousing occupied the area from 1959 into the 1980s, historian Ryan Silke stated in an e-mail to Yellowknifer.
That history could complicate the city's plan to get "restitution" for costs the city incurs while cleaning up the spill on its land.
Coun. Shauna Morgan asked if the source was a private home along Con Road when the issue came up at a municipal services committee meeting April 3.
"Yes, that's correct," said Sheila Bassi-Kellett, the city's senior administrative officer. "We will work with the homeowner to address this on our lands and work with them to guide them under the terms of the Environmental Protection Act to make sure they're able to clean up what they need to under their responsibility."
The city has not yet tried to recoup costs from the condo corporation, Brown stated, adding the condo corporation had an environmental site assessment carried out.
Of the five samples taken around the condo buildings, only the one taken closest to the contamination site was found to have hydrocarbon contamination. As well, testing carried out by the city "determined that the contaminant is not the same substance as that contained in the heating oil storage tank of one of our units," Brown stated.
The city declined a request for an interview about the information raised by the condo corporation.
Kefalas didn't mention the testing in a previous interview about the spill.
The city didn't answer a question about the history of the property. Instead, city spokesperson Nalini Naidoo directed the newspaper to fill out a form, which includes a $100 filing fee, to access development history records of the property.
An investigation into the spill remains open, Department of Environment and Natural Resources spokesperson Judy McLinton stated in an e-mail.
She stated the property owner hired a consultant to narrow down the area impacted by contamination and to try and determine a source of the hydrocarbon.
Information gathered in that investigation will be used to determine what happens next, McLinton stated.
