280 ISLAND HIGHWAY - UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the April 10, 2019 Corporate Officer’s report entitled “280 Island Highway – Update” be received.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

To inform Council of receipt of Certificate of Compliance for 280 Island Highway.

BACKGROUND:

The Town entered into a Remediation Agreement with the purchaser of 280 Island Highway coincident with the transfer of title (April 2017).

Under this Remediation Agreement, the Town’s environmental consultant, SLR Consulting (hereinafter “SLR”), has been permitted access to the site, at the Town’s cost, for sampling at the same time that the property owner carried out construction activities.

The work by SLR was undertaken in compliance with Provincial legislation whereby the property owner (or the past property owner – in this case, the Town) is required to deal with the property’s environmental condition and obtain either a certificate of compliance or a determination from the Ministry of Environment (MOE).

DISCUSSION:

SLR’s activities at 280 Island Highway began in Spring 2017 with soil, water and vapour sampling.

Later in 2017, SLR decided that additional sampling would be required once excavation work got underway (January 2018) to ensure compliance with MOE requirements.

In the summer of 2018, subslab vapour ports were installed in the parkade once the suspended slab forms were removed to allow for the highest quality sampling data.

With sampling results below the applicable standards, an application for a certificate of compliance was made through the Contaminated Sites Approved Professionals Society (CSAP) (the screening and review body acting on behalf of the Province) and on March 25, 2019, the certificate was issued by the MOE.

As well, since the title transfer, SLR also filed two annual progress statements with MOE pursuant to the Environmental Management Act – a condition of the release granted to the Town by MOE when it permitted development permit issuance in September 2016.

It should be noted that the costs to carry out this work – including legal, consulting, sampling, lab analysis, application fees to CSAP and MOE – total approximately $181,700 over four years (2016 – 2019).

CONCLUSION:

While this project has been challenging in many respects, staff is pleased that the legal instrument is now in hand from the MOE as it serves to reduce the potential for ongoing environmental risk and associated liability.

In the coming months, staff will discharge the section 219 environmental remediation covenant that the Town registered on the title to the property as a condition of the release provided by the MOE in September 2016 (when MOE permitted the Town to issue the development permit for the project proposed for 280 Island Highway).