A Canadian Pacific Railway inspection train - Date/Photographer unknown.

20 August 2013

Soil from White River Derailment Where
400 Barrels of Oil Spilled to be Dumped
at Havilland Landfill

Havilland Bay Ontario - Soil removed from the site of a train derailment that spilled 400 barrels of oil this spring is being disposed of at the Havilland landfill site.
 
The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) confirmed Tuesday that 12,000 cubic metres of soil from a Canadian Pacific derailment near White River will be used as cover material at the Crown landfill site at Havilland Bay, about 35 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie.
 
Jolanta Kowalski, an MNR spokesperson, said the soil may contain crude oil or canola oil but she said it has been independently tested to be non-hazardous waste.
 
"The Havilland Waste Disposal Site is the closest one that can take non-hazardous waste, so that's why the decision was made to move it there," said Kowalski.
 
Barry Collins, a nearby cottager, has been watching truck after truck pull up to the landfill and drop off loads of the material.
 
He said he's uneasy about the material being dumped at the Havilland site, which is up the hill from him and from Lake Superior's Havilland Bay, even if the soil has been declared non-hazardous.
 
"You just know it's going to eventually run somewhere," said Collins.
 
He questions why the soil would be trucked all the way from White River to Havilland, a distance of roughly 280 kilometres, presumably at some expense.
 
Kowalski said the soil is being moved from the derailment site because it is within the flood plains of the White River. She said the Havilland landfill, which is considered landlocked is the closest site that could take the material, which will be placed over waste already deposited at the landfill.
 
She said bringing the soil to Havilland has some spin off benefit in that the MNR otherwise would need to pay to bring in cover material from elsewhere.
 
A private contractor who operates the Havilland landfill could not immediately be reached for comment. Representatives from the Sault North Waste Management Council, a non-profit organization pushing for sustainable practices in the area, did not immediately reply to messages left Tuesday afternoon.
 
Meanwhile, cleanup at the site near White River is long completed, says CP.
 
The oil that spilled was part of a 128-car mixed freight train on its way to Montreal. It derailed 3 Apr 2013.
 
Kevin Hrysak, a rail company spokesperson, said remediation was completed that month under the supervision of the MNR and MOE. He said CP worked with the MOE and MNR on an approved method for the disposal of the soil.
 
Michael Purvis.

Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada