Ben Doornekamp of Picton Port Terminals speaks to Prince Edward County’s Committee of the Whole (File Photo: Nicole Kleinsteuber / Quinte News)
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is investigating Picton Terminals for noncompliance with a Provincial Officer’s Order to cover salt piles at the quarry.
On November 1, the MOECC issued an order that included 13 items pertaining to the covering of storage piles of salt and its stormwater runoff; dust and spills from petroleum coke; plans and measures to prevent discharge and removal of contaminants and drainage. As part of the order, Picton Terminals is required to cover them within 15 working days of shipment receipt. The company is also required to conduct quarterly samplings for two years of the groundwater and surface water, which includes Picton Bay.
According the MOECC, the ministry has not yet received results for Bay water sampling. The first round of results (not including Picton Bay) have been received by the ministry and they indicate impacts to local groundwater and a neighbouring property, with potential impacts to Picton Bay, as a direct result of bulk salt storage on the property.
MOE Spokeswoman Cathy Chisholm said on July 26, the ministry learned that the salt was not covered within the required 15 days. She said staff went back out to the site last week and found that the pile was still uncovered.
“As a result, the noncompliance has been referred to the Ministry’s Environmental Enforcement and Compliance Office (formerly IEB) for investigation,” said Chisolm. “In the meantime, ministry staff have asked Picton Terminals to cover the salt and ministry staff continue to regularly visit the property.”
In December, owner Ben Doornekamp told Quinte News the company decided to pull out of a rezoning application needed for a multi-million dollar expansion because after speaking with their lawyers and planning department they felt addressing the Ministry’s concerns was more imperative than the rezoning matters that could take years to clean up.
On Tuesday, Doornekamp said the 300,000 tonne salt piles have been covered since last year’s orders were issued. He said word of this incident being referred to the Ministry’s EECO for investigation was news to him.
“We have received salt on five different occasions this summer,” said Doornekamp. “We receive it, move it and cover it within 15 working days.”
He said when MOECC staff attended his business he explained a heavy wind storm caused a tarp to blow off one of the piles last week and the company is in the process of putting them back on. He explained the piles are normally covered with a tarp, secured with ropes and weighed down by gravel around the edges.
He added the company has been proactive in creating berms to assist in deterring salt runoff and dust from entering his neighbour’s property.
He offered he is meeting with the MOECC on Wednesday August 15 to discuss building two storage sheds for the salt piles as a plan to ‘completely eliminate the salt runoff.’
“We have developed a stormwater management plan to cover them in dry storage,” said Doornekamp. “We are optimistic that after 36 years of being uncovered, that when salt arrives next year, it will go into dry storage.”
This new information piqued the interest of Chisolm who said she is eager to hear more about he plan on Wednesday.
