Months after transport truck crash, Swift Current resident still living with mess

A Burin Peninsula resident has been counting the days since a transport truck crashed near her home, still waiting for a proper clean up while living with the debris it left behind.

A truck, owned by Ontario-based Ollie Transport, went over an embankment near Nancy Barrington's Swift Current home on Feb. 4, spilling diesel and leaving behind parts of the wreckage. While the truck was quickly removed from the site, Barrington says the hood, fender, bonnet and broken glass are still scattered in the area.

"Every day I go out, you know, to the side of my home and all of the debris is there. You can still smell the diesel fuel out there," Barrington told CBC News.

She says Ollie Transport is responsible for the clean up and site remediation but as of Friday — 122 days since the incident — the company hasn't completed the work.

In fact, Barrington said, last month there was a community clean up initiative that helped her get rid of some of the smaller pieces of debris like glass, plastic and other contents that spilled out from the truck's cab during the crash.

"It's just nice to have people come together to help to clean it up and try to get it rectified and try to get some normalcy, I guess, back to where my property lies," said Barrington.

However, some of the larger pieces were too big to be removed and are still there, she said, and she can't afford to pay for them to be removed.

Barrington said oil also spilled from the truck, and some ended up in the ocean. She said she's worried about environmental damage.

Barrington said she has reached out to the Department of Government Modernization and Service Delivery about delays in the clean up. She said she was told the situation has become a legal issue.

"It's still an active case. [The government is] still actively involved, but the company is just not co-operating," she said.

Legal action

Government spokesperson Gina MacArthur told CBC News Ollie Transport had begun the clean up process but then stopped. Then, in early March the company was directed by a ministerial order from the Department of Environment and Climate Change to resume the clean up in a timely manner.

"This process includes a 60-day window within which the polluter may appeal the ministerial order. As this 60-day period has now expired, the provincial government has begun the steps required to pursue legal action against the polluter through the court system," MacArthur wrote.

CBC News has repeatedly attempted to reach Ollie Transport for an interview. The company has not replied.

Barrington said she's frustrated by the lack of action.

"It's like something that you keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get answers and to get done, but it's like nobody is taking responsibility for it," she said.

The experience of having a truck crash near her home has left Barrington worried whenever she hears the sound of vehicles driving on the highway nearby.

With greater economic activity expected in the next few years in her region, she's concerned there will soon be more trucks zipping along the stretch of roadway.

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