Government not coming clean on dirty sites, including in McAdam

FREDERICTON – There are 1,046 sites in the province classified as contaminated, and 51 of those sites are in southwest New Brunswick, including McAdam.

The office of the Auditor General of New Brunswick (AG) released its annual report for 2022 in November. One of the sections in the report deals with contaminated sites. The Courier requested the list of sites in southwest N.B. and was told the AG office did not have a list and they were only working off what the government provided. The office of the minister of Environment and Climate Change and said the department does not maintain a public list of sites.

Through an Access to Information request, The Courier was able to obtain the list of contaminated sites in the province. The request included the type of contaminant at the site. Contaminant type was not provided in the government response. The government charges a fee to receive information about the type of contaminant, even through an Access to Information request.

The AG report notes that most of the locations are listed due to petrochemical contamination and are the result of a spill or vehicle accident.

More than 75 per cent of the contaminated sites have been open files for more than 10 years according to the AG report.

The lack of a legislative and regulatory framework has, according to AG Paul Martin, “contributed to the department’s inability to ensure timely remediation of contaminated sites,” and “risks leaving New Brunswickers susceptible to adverse impacts.”

The report also noted that, “Ineffective processes risk contamination spreading and higher remediation costs.”

Martin noted in his report that the government has not designated any single body to co-ordinate remediation of government-owned sites. Also, there is no plan to address orphan sites, which are locations where an owner can’t be located.

“Both of these issues have potential negative impacts on future liability and cost to remediate,” Martin stated.

In March of this year, the government set up a liability in its accounts of $50.8 million for clean-up of contaminated sites.

The report made 17 recommendations to the department of Environment and Local Government, and the Executive Council Office.

Premier Blaine Higgs said the government is reviewing the AG’s recommendations and looking at what the risk is associated with the various sites to the public. They are looking at whether the site is contained and poses no risk to the public or whether it’s, for example, leaching into the groundwater or possibly contaminating fish stocks.

“We’re looking at reducing the liability, but certainly working on the ones that have any risk of any kind to the environment or to individuals,” said Higgs.

Pressed further on whether the government would make the list of sites and contaminants public, Higgs said he didn’t know what had been asked for versus what’s unavailable.

“If the land were something we could declare as surplus property and we’re selling it, every condition around that land would be provided,” he said.

The Department of Environment and Local Government would not make anyone available for an interview, however responded with an emailed statement.

“The Department of Environment and Local Government will be updating its website to ensure specific information pertaining to contaminated sites is available to the public with clear indications of where supplementary information is located,” said the statement, which also said the department has recently adopted new procedures that will focus on addressing the backlog, all the recommendations in the AG’s report have been accepted, and a response with implementation timelines has been provided.

robertfisher@stcroixcourier.ca

Robert Fisher

Fisher is a writer/author, photographer and filmmaker. Itinerant observer of life. His dog, Lincoln, is a travel companion and has been coast-to-coast with him four times.