Terminal saga

Fight over Picton Bay headed to Ontario Court of Appeal

In what is looking to be a yearly tradition, Picton Terminals has had their annual shipment of road salt delivered. Once again, Picton Terminals is having a hard time keeping the huge mounds covered. There are four giant cylindrical piles of salt on the property, and half of one of those piles is currently uncovered and open to the elements. The terminal had a delivery of salt on Thursday, October 11, and they have until November 1 to meet the MOECC’s request to have the piles fully covered. Despite a promise to MOECC last year (as documented in Picton Terminals POO Report # 1742-ASXLMQ) Picton Terminals did not complete “at least one dry storage structure prior to receiving any more salt on site”.

In checking in with Picton Terminals about the salt piles this year and the progress on the proposed storage facility, The Times was invited to tour the progress being made on getting these massive piles away from the elements. Upon arrival, it was requested that no pictures be taken and that no quote would be given as well. When taken to the location, the site is still being excavated and is currently a large hole in the earth. The plan, according to Picton Terminals, is by 2019 to have the storage structure built with a non-permeable floor and walls and a roof in place to the standards set specifically for the storage of road salt. The salt will be put directly into the facility and at no time will sit outside.

Save Picton Bay has filed a notice to the Ontario Court of Appeal dated October 22, 2018, regarding its declaration that the current use of Picton Terminals is not permitted. The grounds for appeal are that the Court erred in law by:

• Failing to correctly apply the case law the court acknowledged as applicable in this proceeding.
• Making findings that were unsupported by the evidence.
• Failing to direct that all costs of the Application be paid by the Corporation of Prince Edward County.
• In the alternative, by failing to find that Save Picton Bay was a public interest litigant and should not be required to pay any costs.

Save Picton Bay held a fundraiser at the Waring House this past Friday where almost $19,000 was raised for the cause. The major donor for this was Michael Hymus, who donated $10,000. Hymus lives directly beside the terminals.

“We are at the next stage now that the appeal has been tabled. It may take six months before that gets assessed, so in that regard we may have to wait for some time. Nevertheless, the process is underway and we feel we have just cause otherwise we wouldn’t have filed. It turns out that, what appears on the surface to be a little thing to argue, turns out to have lots of dimensions to it,” says David Sutherland of the Save Picton Bay Group.