NEWS RELEASE
                                                                                       Office of the Official Opposition
October 6, 2008
For Immediate Release

Barachois Brook residents need answers

The renewed disposal and storage of contaminated soil at a site in Barachois Brook again begs the question as to why no consultation has taken place with residents and no environmental assessment conducted, says Opposition Environment and Conservation Critic Roland Butler.

Contaminated soil from the Stephenville Airport is being shipped to a soil disposal and storage site in Barachois Brook with great opposition from local residents. The approval of the site plan was given by the Town of Stephenville Crossing without any consultation or notice to the people living in the Local Service District of Barachois Brook. Residents are again protesting today to voice their displeasure with the disposal site in their backyards.

“I have received several calls today from concerned residents of Barachois Brook and Stephenville Crossing,” said Mr. Butler. “These people are still frustrated with the lack of answers they have received regarding the soil disposal site in their community and the potential impacts on their health and environment.”

Butler also noted that he is getting new complaints that contaminated soil being transported by the dump trucks is becoming airborne because there are no tarps covering the loads. People are concerned that they and their children are breathing in whatever toxins may be present in the soil.

“I previously called for a mandatory consultation process that ensures that all local residents are advised of such projects before they start. The people of Barachois Brook have already stated that they were not consulted and they still have no answers to their many questions. With the concerns that are being expressed, I am calling on Environment Minister Charlene Johnson to do a complete review of this circumstance to determine whether all regulations were followed and whether there is a need to conduct a complete environmental assessment to address the worries of local residents. All the people are asking for is some information and answers, and government should be willing to step forward and help rectify this situation.”

 

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Media Contact: 
Darrell Mercer
Director of Communications
Office of the Official Opposition
Tel: (709) 729-6151 or (709) 687-0477