Disaster

County seeking relief from the Ship Source Oil Pollution Fund for last year’s Picton Bay disaster

On July 12, a report on the 2017 Year end Capital and Budget results for Prince Edward County was presented to council and if one looked closely, there were some dramatic numbers related to the Picton Bay Disaster in the “Community Grant and Operating Budget” section. Currently, the costs for last year’s disaster are sitting around $582,000— and without some help from liable parties, it will be a cost that the taxpayers will be on the hook for.

Save Picton Bay member David Sutherland wants to make sure that any costs laid on the taxpayers are done with transparency.

“It just seems odd that this wouldn’t be more in the forefront of a budget. It was a single line-item on page 34 of a hundred page report. It would be great for the public to see a breakdown of how the County spent this money,” says Sutherland.

According to Amanda Carter, Director of Finance for the County, a claim has been submitted to the Ship Source Oil Pollution Fund for the Picton Bay Disaster for the full amount. It is anticipated that the full amount of the claim will be covered. Carter also states that if the amount is not fully recovered through the Oil Pollution Fund, the municipality will seek to secure the balance from McKeil Marine. Carter, however, does not know how long it will take for the fund’s administrator to adjudicate the claim. She is hopeful that the County will have a response in 2018. Regarding what the money was used for during the disaster, Carter says that the County incurred costs related to laboratory fees, equipment, equipment rentals, water haulage and overtime costs.

The Picton Bay Disaster gained national notoriety when a barge sank in March at Picton Terminals, prompting a water emergency and other hassles for the community. Even though the barge sinking had minimal to no effect on the environment, the resulting clean-up and risk to the local water supply made it an expensive few weeks for the County. Then in May, the County declared a state of emergency after officials expressed concern about rising waters in the Bay Of Quinte. The declaration of a state of emergency meant that the County would be able to access more resources for protection of waterfront properties. The barge sinking, combined with the flood disaster totals bring the cost of the two disasters to well over $1 million in 2017, for which the County has applied for relief.