SALEM – Shane Lambert is frustrated and concerned with how an oil spill on Sideroad 15 was initially dealt with and the possible long-term effects not just to his property, but to the water that runs through Elora and Salem.
Wellington OPP reported they had closed Sideroad 15 between Salem Public School and Gerrie Road on Sept. 10 because of a spill.
Thousands of litres of soy bean oil was reportedly spilled onto the road.
“I didn’t witness the spill and I didn’t see the clean-up. But at 4pm I saw crews leaving and a mess on the road,” Lambert said in an interview on Sept. 12.
He lives on Sideroad 15 in the vicinity of the spill and said the first clean-up crew on the scene used a water truck to hose down the road.
“Instead of absorbing the oil, they used a water truck and sprayed the oil into the ditch and into the creek. It caused globs of oil to collect on my property,” he said.
The Nichol Drain runs through Lambert’s property and then flows into the Irvine River and through Elora.
He said his biggest concern was the contamination and the harm it could do to water and wildlife.
Centre Wellington Township staff completed the initial clean-up and Lambert alerted senior staff to what he considers a bungled job.
He also reported the spill to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks and they attended the scene on Sept. 11, placing barriers in places to hold back the oil.
They returned later with a vacuum truck to suck up the worst of it.
On Sept. 12 a private contractor attended and installed a dam and absorbent barriers to prevent oil on the vegetation from moving downstream.
“They have been working diligently to soak up and remove the worst of the remaining puddles,” Lambert stated in an email on Friday afternoon.
“Barriers will be left in place and replaced as necessary for the duration of remediation.”
The Ministry of the Environment has responded to an oil spill on Sideroad 15 outside Salem on Sept. 10. A truck transporting soybean oil spilled the majority of its 5,000-litre tank around 10:20am on Sept. 10. Submitted photo
According to a statement from the ministry, a truck transporting soy bean oil spilled the majority of its 5,000-litre tank at around 10:20am on Sept. 10.
“Most of the spill was to the road and gravel shoulder,” reads the statement, sent to the Advertiser late afternoon on Sept. 15.
“Impacts to the grass area were noted but there was no pooling of oil. There were no impacts to the Irvine River.”
The ministry statement adds, “The municipality used sand to soak up the oil on the roadway.
“A street sweeper was used to collect the oil-soaked sand, and it was disposed of appropriately following legislative requirements.
“The owner of the truck transporting the oil was notified of their responsibility to clean up the spill and remediate the spill area to pre-spill conditions.”
So far 1,000 litres of oil has been collected, the ministry states.
Booms are in place to contain the oil and the municipality will continue clean-up efforts this week.
“The oil is contained, and no impacts have been observed in Irvine Creek,” the ministry states.
“Further clean-up plans will be provided to the ministry this week which will include proposed environmental sampling.
“The ministry will continue to follow up on the progress of the clean-up to ensure appropriate action is taken and environmental impacts are properly addressed.”
Lambert stated in an email last Friday that his main concern is with the original way the spill was dealt with.
“I believe the bulk of the oil could and should have been collected from the road with absorbent materials for removal instead of washing it onto my property and into the creek, hoping no one would notice, simply because it was quick and easy,” he stated.
“It has made the clean-up far more difficult, costly and has damaged a delicate ecosystem.”
In an email on Monday, after observing clean-up efforts over the weekend, Lambert said he believes the clean-up is now proceeding properly.
“The environmental clean-up crew has done a great job of cleaning a lot of the oil from the stream,” he wrote.
“When I spoke with them on site yesterday (Sept. 14), they told me the plan is to install protection barriers around the creek before they use an excavator to scrape the contaminated foliage and soil from the surrounding ditches and remove it by dump truck.
“The barren ground will be remediated with replanting to prevent soil erosion.
“They may start as early as Tuesday this week. The road may be closed while they are working.
“Drivers should be warned of traffic delays and to use caution for the safety of the work crews.”
