Town ordered to share report, scolded for holding closed meeting

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Nevil Hunt

EMC News - After a year of delays, the Town of Carleton Place has been forced to share a consultant's report after the provincial Information and Privacy Commission ruled the document should be made public.

The privacy office adjudicator who delivered a written ruling went a step further, criticizing town council for barring the public from a meeting contrary to the provincial Municipal Act.

The document finally released details the town's original plans to deal with chemical contamination under Lake Street East and the former Canadian Tire store at 7 Beckwith St. The town purchased the Beckwith land in 2008 for $1 and plans to erect a farmers market pavilion and parking lot on the site.

Testing has shown that there is a plume of perchloroethylene in the soil about six metres below the surface, covering an area of roughly 200 square metres. Perchloroethylene - commonly referred to as "perc" - is used in the dry-cleaning trade and in smaller amounts as a degreaser in auto service shops.

The town hired a consultant to draft a proposal to deal with chemicals under the land. SNC-Lavalin Environment proposed the town carry out regular monitoring of the perc plume, and try to treat the chemical in the ground with oxidizing materials.

The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) rejected the proposal in 2011 and the town had to draft a second plan.

MOE spokesperson Kate Jordan provided an email response to questions about the process. "The ministry determined, through the technical review, that the township's proposed remedial approach of simply monitoring the contaminants while they break down over time was not acceptable," Jordan wrote.

One new piece of information in the draft report relates to Carleton Place residents who rely on well water for drinking.

In a Feb. 10, 2011, statement issued by the town after the Canadian Gazette first reported on the contamination, there is no mention of nearby residents using well water for drinking. The town statement said: "The comment regarding people being exposed to fumes from tap water has no relevance as the Town is serviced by a pressurized, closed watermain system with the water source being the Mississippi River."

The draft report says there are two homes - one on Lisgar Street and one on Albert Street - that use groundwater instead of municipal water. There is no information about any testing of the well water these homeowners may be consuming.

Canadian Tire's head office says the town was provided with information about contamination at 7 Beckwith St., before the town paid $1 for the land.

Canadian Tire communications adviser Joscelyn Chernick-Smith responded to questions via email. She wrote: "All reports were provided to the town in advance of closing (the sale)."

MEETING CLOSED TO PUBLIC

In a Dec. 20, 2011, ruling issued by Information and Privacy Commission adjudicator Diane Smith, the town was required to release the first proposed remediation plan for 7 Beckwith St., but Smith went further, ruling that a meeting held in camera on Jan. 11, 2011, should not have been held with the public and media barred from attending. She said she would order the record of the meeting disclosed

Details of the meeting will be published in an upcoming edition of the Canadian Gazette.

nevil.hunt@metroland.com