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Vulnerable
It turns out, no one is standing on guard for thee. Wind and rain have been blowing across Prince Edward County all weekend long. Meanwhile, massive mounds of road salt lie uncovered and exposed to the blowing rain, stockpiled on a patch of ground next to Picton Bay—plumes of sodium chloride crystals are often picked up by the winds and scattered across the nearby countryside. Much more salt is dissolving in the rainwater and leaching into the ground—most of it draining into the bay.
The Terminals operator says there is nothing to worry about, that it is working in cooperation with regulatory agencies and, besides, less than one per cent of the road salt they bring in is being lost to the environment. But that one per cent, means more than 800 tonnes of salt is finding its way into Picton Bay each year. How do we know what this is doing to the bay? To the town’s drinking water? Eight hundred tonnes seems like a lot of road salt in that shallow bay.
Doesn’t some government agency owe this community an explanation?
The salt mountain has grown much larger than it has ever been, and much nearer to the edge of the escarpment, says a neighbour who has lived across the Bay for the 25 years.
Picton Terminals is required to have the salt covered in tarpaulins, according to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC)—though it is not at all clear how that eliminates the risk of discharge into the environment. However, since October 7 the stockpiles have remained uncovered after heavy winds blew the tarps off the piles.
So where are the folks whose job it is to protect this bay? The MOECC knows the groundwater is being contaminated by the salt. Testing by their own officials indicate chloride concentrations in both the shallow and deep groundwater are as much as 90 times greater than the standard set by the provincial safeguard agency.
They know, too, most of this salt ends up in Picton Bay—and that this is a bad thing.
“This discharge has the potential to cause adverse impact to surface water,” wrote Robert Putzlocher, MOECC District Engineer in May.
Last week, after repeated attempts by Picton Bay residents to insist that MOECC act to enforce its own regulations, the agency responded saying its staff were following up with the company to ensure the salt stockpiles were covered. Weeks after the fact. Further the MOECC has requested Picton Terminals to produce an action plan to prevent the tarps from blowing off again.
So, there it is. Effectively, there are no safeguards for the neighbours and landowners around Picton Bay, or for those who rely on this bay for their drinking water. No agency is taking meaningful action to protect the groundwater or the bay. It is only the neighbours and the organization Save Picton Bay who are sounding the alarm bells.
Municipal officials did not respond to questions about the risk posed by elevated salt levels to Picton’s water system. Are residents at risk of higher sodium levels? Are the pipes at risk of corrosion and failure?
No one, it seems, is looking out for you.
Sadly, we should not be surprised.
In 2013, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forest (MNRF) simplified the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to make it easier for developers to “harm, harass and kill” species at risk of extinction in this province. Since then, according to the Ontario Commissioner of the Environment, the MNRF has received more than 3,000 applications to disrupt or kill endangered species, and not one has ever been turned down. Every developer that has asked, has received a permit from the MNRF to harm, harass and kill one or more endangered species in this province.
That simply means, that in Ontario we have no protection for these vulnerable creatures. Our province, under the Wynne government, has abdicated its authority—handing the fate of these species over to developers.
Currently, an industrial wind developer is churning up the landscape in preparation for the construction of a nine-turbine project near Milford. Regulations written to protect the Blanding’s turtle prescribed a start date not sooner than October 15. Yet crews were moving earth well before that date—potentially ripping endangered species from the earth. No one is watching. There is no enforcement. No consequences.
A warm fall has disrupted the schedule of the turtles. But not the developer. Naturalists have pleaded with the MOECC and MNRF to step in—to ensure the safety of the vulnerable species. Ministry officials have declined, saying they disagree with local naturalists about what Blanding’s turtle habitat is. It’s a difference of opinion, they say.
The truly fascinating bit here, is that the ministry’s opinion of the turtle’s habitat is based on a consultant’s report— commissioned and paid for by the developer.
This would be a scandalous and mournful situation in a remote developing nation. But we live in perhaps the most prosperous place on earth. If we can’t protect our neighbours from poisoned waterways, what are we doing? When we issue permits to kill the most vulnerable species in our midst like they were hallway passes, what does that tell us about who we are? Our values?
In the next provincial election, let’s demand our leaders restore the protections and safeguards that were torn down by this provincial government. Let us write the rules based on the best science and practice—not what will enrich a developer. Then, let’s equip these regulators with the tools and funding to do the job properly.
Let’s ensure our desire for a clean and healthy environment actually means something.
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