County contamination sites addressed

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

Wheatland County is once again asking for a grant of $60,000 from the Alberta Community Partnership Program to investigate and review possible contaminated properties in the villages of Standard, Hussar, Rockyford and in Wheatland County.
“We have committed to do our own sites,” said Coun. Alice Booth. “We did ask the Town of Strathmore to partner with us, but they were not in the position to participate.”
There is speculation that there may be up to 30 sites that need attention, with four already identified.
Clearing up properties that could be used for business or development is part of the Public Sector Accounting Board mandate, which requires municipalities to deal with contaminated properties.
In the past, toxic materials like old batteries, oil drums, pesticide containers and paint cans were buried in village and hamlet dumpsites. The railways also had abandoned storage and dumpsites along the track lines. Farms often had garbage sites where everything that wasn’t burned was buried.
Ninety per cent of railway ties are now reused, but according to Health Canada, 10 per cent of 4.5 million ties are discarded with the possibility of the creosote entering ground water.
As part of their strategic planning to meet environmental guidelines, the county wants to investigate and identify sites that may be contaminated so they can be targeted for clean up, estimating the cost of reclamation for the properties. The county attempted to address the issue in 2015-2016, but grant money did not come through. Reapplication for a grant was approved Dec. 6 and it is hoped that the partnership with the other villages will increase the chances of gaining approval and award for the project.