CIP Lagoon
- Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Citizens working to change the fate of provincial clean-up project
By Meredith Brown, Ottawa Riverkeeper
For 30 years the Town of Hawkesbury has lived with an abandoned and contaminated site on prime riverfront property, in the heart of their community. The sludge left behind from 60 years of pulp and paper manufacturing has rendered the shoreline useless, and continues to pose a serious risk to the Ottawa River today. The Province of Ontario is stepping in to “remediate” the site with a partial clean-up that casts serious doubts among locals, professional engineers and environmentalists, and leaves taxpayers footing the $20 million dollar bill. The community is working tirelessly to demonstrate a “better way” to decontaminate the site, and as Ottawa Riverkeeper, I think it is imperative to draw attention to this very important issue. Let’s remember – pollution is not a local issue. It affects everyone in the watershed; communities, ecosystems and people. In the coming weeks, citizens, advocates, lawyers, business leaders, provincial bureaucrats, town council and the Mayor all have the ability to collectively change the direction of this project, for the benefit of our communities and our river.
The Background
For roughly 60 years, the Town of Hawkesbury was the host municipality to a Canadian International Pulp and Paper (CIP) manufacturing mill. Prior to 1961, very few regulations existed for the industry and fibre-bearing effluent from the mill was allowed to discharge directly into the adjacent Ottawa River. When Hydro-Quebec constructed the Carillon Dam, that same year, CIP was no longer permitted to discharge directly into the river. To deal with waste from the facility, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) issued the required licenses to build a “wet lagoon” and a 14-hectare containment facility was engineered on an adjacent parcel of crown land.
This “wet lagoon” was constructed by building a high dam around a series of four natural islands in the Ottawa River. The dams were created to allow for settlement of the suspended solids from the effluent, and polluted water was allowed to pass through into the river. Accumulated fibre sludge was periodically dredged and deposited in shore-based disposal cells. Occasionally, floodwaters from the Ottawa River enter the lagoon, transporting the polluted effluent directly into the Ottawa River. This “wet lagoon” was the making of a legacy of mismanagement and pollution that the Town and Townspeople would be left to bear for generations to come.
In the mid-1980’s, the CIP Pulp and Paper Mill was closed and the buildings were demolished. The Ministry of the Environment issued approval to use part of the “wet lagoon” as a landfill for some of the demolition debris. CIP surrendered their interest in and occupation of the property, however no provision was made to force CIP to restore the site to environmentally acceptable conditions.
Today the site is odorous and too contaminated for safe use. The full extent of the contamination is still unknown, however water in the “wet lagoon” does not meet Provincial Water Quality Objectives, and exceeds the acceptable limits for a long list of substances, many of them toxic.
The Proposed Plan
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources commissioned environmental studies to provide the necessary information to develop a plan to remediate CIP “wet lagoon”. Based on the findings from a class Environmental Assessment, the MNR has recommended a solution to partially decontaminate the site. Their proposal, put forth by an independent engineering firm, does not address ongoing pollution into the Ottawa River, and does not restore the site to its previous state – conditions that will allow the community to fully use the waterfront property. Their plan leaves contaminated sludge on the site, with a shallow layer of soil for cover – I believe this is the “out of site, out of mind solution” – one I often use with my 3-year old. It’s the minimum cleanup allowable to satisfy Ministry of Environment requirements to “close the site”, and turn their backs on decades of environmental harm – all for the price tag of $20 million dollars. This is not a solution.
A Better Plan
A group of independent professional engineers (who specialize in site remediation) have analyzed the Ministry of Natural Resources Environmental Assessment, and have proposed alternatives. Their findings reveal that a full site cleanup and remediation can be completed for the same $20 million that MNR will spend to do a minimal “cover-up”.
It’s our $20 million dollars – we should have a say. Let’s do this right.
Ottawa Riverkeeper attended a public meeting in Hawkesbury, organized to inform the community about the proposed remediation of the site. Experts were on-hand to explain how the site is contaminated and what needs to be done to clean it up, once and for all. Lawyers were on-hand to explain that if the Province goes ahead with a partial clean-up, the Town of Hawkesbury will become the proud new land owners of a contaminated site. In the end, they could be held accountable for the legacy of pollution left behind by CIP. Ottawa Riverkeeper was on-hand to remind people that a partial solution is no solution at all – unless the site is fully decontaminated, it will continue to pollute the Ottawa River for generations. Through the entire process, there was never any consideration given to the future value of a fully restored riverfront. Ottawa Riverkeeper was on-hand to remind everyone that the value of a healthy, restored river is priceless. This case is not only about a parcel of land for future development, it’s about restoring the Ottawa River and the community’s access to and interaction with their river.
What’s Next?
On April 27th, the Mayor and councilors of Hawkesbury will meet to decide the fate and future of the CIP lagoon site. They have, prior to now, supported the MNR’s preferred alternative of a partial cleanup, and they must now decide whether or not to overturn their original motion and urge the Province to consider full site remediation.
Ottawa Riverkeeper has written to town council, the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Environment, encouraging them to do “the right thing”. The proposed option for partial cleanup is short-sighted and does not take the health and future of the Ottawa River, and its communities, into account.
Our Shared Vision
- The sludge should be removed from the wet lagoon and treated (decontaminated) in a separate location.
- The wet lagoon should be restored to its natural condition
- The dykes should be removed from the Ottawa River to free the four islands, as they existed before 1961
The future of Hawkesbury, its people, and our river is at stake.
An electronic copy of the Ministry of Natural Resources Environmental Study Report is available on the Town of Hawkesbury’s website at www.hawkesbury.ca
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