Province OKs 1st stage for asbestos disposal site in Middle Stewiacke

Nova Scotia Environment Minister Gordon Wilson has approved the environmental assessment of a proposed asbestos disposal site for Middle Stewiacke, N.S., despite opposition from area residents and the local municipality.

Once used as insulation and in various construction materials, asbestos is a toxic substance that can cause cancer and other diseases when its fibres are inhaled.

In his decision on Friday, the minister wrote Colchester Containers Ltd. general manager Derek Ross to inform him of the decision.

"I am satisfied that any adverse effects or significant environmental effects can be adequately mitigated through compliance," the letter stated.

While the decision is a win for Ross's company, it still has many terms and conditions it will need to meet before it can start building the three proposed cells at its existing construction and demolition site off Highway 289.

Ross told CBC News that if his company is able to meet the conditions, he hopes construction could start in the fall.

But Christine Blair, the mayor for the Municipality of the County of Colchester, has said from the onset that an existing municipal waste disposal site in Kemptown means another one in the area is not needed. Staff at the Kemptown site are trained to handle asbestos.

At a council meeting last Thursday, the day before the environment minister's decision, two municipal bylaws aimed at preventing the proposal from moving forward were unanimously approved.

"The goal is to maintain hazardous substances in areas that already exist," said Blair. "We needed to do some upgrading of our bylaws and that's what we did."

Ross said he doesn't believe the bylaws can stop the project, and plans to meet with environment department staff in the next week or two.

Colchester Containers wants to operate the asbestos disposal site over 20 years.

Middle Stewiacke residents were outraged when they learned less than two months ago about the asbestos disposal plan. Dozens of them submitted their comments online as part of the environmental assessment review process.

"It makes no sense to me that you would put an asbestos waste disposal cell in Middle Stewiacke as the health hazards for exposure to asbestos for humans is well documented," wrote one resident.

All names have been removed from the online comments.

Another person wrote: "There is already an existing dump that is designed for handling hazardous waste located in Colchester County at Kemptown … Why do we need another one?"

Many provincial government agencies also submitted comments, many of them stating they had no issues with the proposal.

But Kriss Sarson, the Environment Department's district engineer who handles inspection compliance and enforcement, posted 35 comments or concerns to be addressed.

"How are the bags containing asbestos to be physically placed in the cell? Placement methods has to be such as not to damage the bags. Further description of handling on-site is required," Sarson wrote.

Residents are not giving up and are now looking into seeking a judicial review of the environmental approval.

"There were some good comments in there from people who are really good subject experts," said Middle Stewiacke resident Hazel Caldwell. "But the comments don't seem to have been acknowledged, so we are going to push a little further."

The old hospital in Truro, about 25 kilometres from Middle Stewiacke, contains asbestos and is scheduled for demolition. But there is still no firm date when it will be knocked down and it's not clear where the asbestos will go.

Since the Colchester-East Hants Health Centre opened in Truro in 2012, the Nova Scotia Health Authority has spent $982,805 on maintenance at the old hospital, including electricity, water and security.

There is currently no asbestos disposal site in the Halifax region. The Victoria General hospital site is also set to be demolished in the near future as part of the $2-billion redevelopment of the QEII hospital system.

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