Two other local businesses in the crosshairs of the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change   

Sonia Roy

 

After the Centre de tri Forget inc., it is the turn of Charlie and Jamie Young Transport and Construction and the Myral sorting center to have to collaborate with the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MELCC), following illegal deposits of waste on several properties in the municipality of Pontiac. The deposits, which contained plastic and ceramic particles, polystyrene, concrete, wood, brick, glass, gypsum, electronic parts, asphalt as well as sifting residues, were made on six properties during the summer of 2012. The residual materials, mostly from the Myral sorting center, were used for backfill on the lots. Following MELCC inspections in November 2012, Charlie and Jamie Young Transport and Construction had been found guilty, as of June 2018, of contaminating the six affected properties through illegal dumping. A more recent inspection by the Ministry in 2021 determined that waste materials deposited on properties where disposal was not permitted had also contaminated three other nearby properties. The nine contaminated properties, located on Chemin Julie, Chemin du Village, Chemin Tremblay and Chemin de la Montagne, are included in the Order 704-A (under section 114 of the Environment Quality Act) that the MELCC issued to the two companies, as the Myral sorting center was directly involved in the use of unauthorized waste materials for landfill purposes. Recall that the Environmental Quality Act, in force on the provincial territory since March 2018, has as its objective to "provide Quebec with a clear, predictable, optimized authorization system that complies with the highest standards of environmental protection.". Charlie and Jamie Young Transport and Construction and Myral sorting centre will be required to restore the nine sites to conditions as close as possible to their pre-fill condition, and to submit a clear and detailed plan for the restoration of the site to the MELCC. Following the removal of the backfill, the two companies will be required to conduct additional soil and water testing on each lot to determine contamination, if any. They will also have to implement certain measures regarding the preservation and restoration of wetlands, this condition being directly related to the presence of the Western Chorus Frog (a small frog native to Canada) on certain lots prior to the backfill work. The MELCC issued this order to the two companies on July 19 through an official press release, and also mentioned that it would be important for the landowners to allow access for the site restoration activities.

Photo caption: The Myral sorting center, at 815 Vernon Street, in Gatineau
Photo credit: Sonia Roy