An Environmental Appeal Board (EAB) hearing on whether the province should have endorsed a remediation plan for the site of the George Hotel and Residences in Gibsons has been adjourned until next year.
The request for adjournment came from the developer鈥檚 lawyers.听
Klaus Fuerniss and The George Gibsons Development Ltd. are a third party in the appeal, which was launched by the Gibsons Alliance of Business and Community (GA小蓝视频) against a decision by a Ministry of Environment official.听
The central issue is whether the ministry should have granted a 鈥渟tatement of support鈥� for the plan to remediate the construction site, which is suspected of having contaminated soil from previous industrial activity.
In a letter to the EAB, the company鈥檚 lawyers say, 鈥淭he adjournment is sought in order to accommodate further investigations and testing at 377, 385, 397 and 407 Gower Point Road and 689 Winn Road and Winn Road right-of-way 鈥� and the adjacent impacted foreshore water lot leases.鈥�
The request for an adjournment goes on to say, 鈥淭he proposed additional testing and investigations relates to tributyltin (TBT) and to the protection of the Gibsons aquifer鈥� and that the additional work is needed, in part, to ensure the so-called 鈥渟ite profile鈥� and application for a certificate of compliance are in line with 鈥渁mendments to the Contaminated Sites Regulation (CSR), which came into force on November 1, 2017. The amendments revised soil and sediment standards for many substances and introduced new parameters for substances not previously regulated.鈥�
There will also be additional geotechnical work, which is being described as 鈥渘ecessary to provide sufficient information to finalize the design of the ground improvement for the proposed onshore buildings and the foundation system for the offshore proposed developments at the project site, with respect to the protection of the Gibsons aquifer.鈥�
Both GA小蓝视频 and the ministry have agreed to the adjournment, and Suzanne Senger, who was until last week president of GA小蓝视频, said the group considers the request for an adjournment confirmation that 鈥淕A小蓝视频 was right from day one.鈥�
鈥淲e found that there were issues, the issues are real and The George is now acknowledging that their remedial plan does not comply with the contaminated sites regulations,鈥� Senger said. 鈥淭hey still have to look at the issue of tributyltin in the sediments, which they have not adequately done, and there are serious risks to Gibsons aquifer because they haven鈥檛 addressed the geotechnical issues.鈥�
She claims the result was the Town issuing permits for a plan that was flawed and based on incorrect information and that did not comply with provincial environmental regulations.
Senger also said she remains cautiously hopeful that the new studies will lead to a site remediation plan that GA小蓝视频 could support.
鈥淭he ideal is that we force the developer to finally come up with a remedial plan and a project plan that pose no risk to the environment and the aquifer and we can avoid the EAB hearing altogether.鈥�
Senger said GA小蓝视频 has also succeeded, through the EAB appeal and an earlier, unsuccessful, court challenge, in getting the government to look at reviewing the rules that allow municipalities to opt out of the contaminated sites remediation process, turning it over to developers and the Ministry of Environment.
鈥淭he 小蓝视频 government now sees that what we鈥檙e saying is true and the process is broken and they need to resolve it,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e looking at removing the opt-out provision for the site profile. That would have forced the Town鈥檚 hand at the beginning of this process and made them be involved.鈥�
Fuerniss told Coast Reporter via email that his company鈥檚 environmental plan for the site is 鈥渁 living document鈥� that calls for ongoing testing and remediation in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to meet the requirements of the Town-issued Environmentally Sensitive Areas Development Permit (ESA-DP).
He said it makes sense to delay the hearing so the EAB can have the most up-to-date information.
鈥淩ight now, we are in the window where remediation and testing will have least impact on the environment,鈥� Fuerniss said. 鈥淲e have just begun site preparation, revealing areas where we could not previously conduct tests. Throughout this process we will be regularly submitting reports and plans on the process. This is a condition of the ESA-DP which we must, and will, adhere to.鈥�
Fuerniss also remains critical of GA小蓝视频 for 鈥渕ultiple legal challenges attempting to delay the project.鈥�
鈥淓ach of the challenges has been dismissed after costing the Town and my company hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees,鈥� Fuerniss said.
The additional studies will be done by Keystone Environmental and Horizon Engineering, consultants that have been working on the project since its early stages.
According to the documents submitted to the EAB, Keystone鈥檚 additional work could be done as early as December and the geotechnical work, to be done by Horizon, will take up to 24 weeks.
Fuerniss said the work being recommended by Keystone and Horizon was already factored into the timeline for construction. 鈥淚t certainly won鈥檛 delay it. Absolutely not,鈥� he said.
The new date for the EAB hearing, which will be held in Sechelt, is Oct. 21, 2019.
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