Valero Energy awaiting public comments on Eastern Passage site cleanup

Valero Energy Corp. plans to clean up a former bulk fuel storage facility in the Halifax area.

Nova Scotia's Environment Department has confirmed the Texas-based company has applied for industrial approval to remediate the 186-hectare site on Main Road in Eastern Passage.

The process requires community consultation.

A notice from the company said it began accepting comments from the public as of Dec. 1 "regarding any potential for impacts that may extend beyond property during the activities." The feedback period ends Jan. 15, 2021.

Barbara Adams, the Progressive Conservative MLA for the area, said people need an online information session before they can comment.

"I could ask a whole lot of questions, but how can I even ask when I have not seen an environmental report as to what is even in there or what the remediation plans look like?" said Adams, who lives next to the Valero property. 

Adams said there are probably 1,000 homes in the immediate area and a daycare that backs onto the site.

Valero spokesperson Louis-Phillipe Gariepy said the cleanup stage should have no adverse or lasting impact on the community. He said it involves the removal of old structures as well as some soil testing.

"If tests show the soil is contaminated with hydrocarbons, it will be removed and replaced with clean backfill," Gariepy told CBC News from Montreal. "So there will be some truck traffic."

Property will be sold

He added if people have any concerns about the remediation, they should contact the company or the provincial government so they can be addressed during the permit process.

Valero plans to sell the property once it is remediated, said Gariepy. Comments on what should be built on the land should be addressed to the new owners during the redevelopment stage.

A Nov. 28 newspaper ad by the company indicated most of the remaining buildings and underground infrastructure "will be removed to allow for future commercial or industrial development."

A spokesperson for the Environment Department told CBC News in an email that details of an application for a permit are not released until after it is approved.

Environment Minister Gordon Wilson said Wednesday that public consultation on a remediation project is not handled by the department.

"It is up to the proponent for them to design their consultation," Wilson said following a cabinet meeting. "It's the same process we've put a number of projects through, including the Imperial Oil cleanup."

The minister added that once department officials review the application, they can ask for another round of public consultation if they have concerns or questions.

"I think our processes are very thorough," said Wilson.

Tammy Jakeman, who has lived in Eastern Passage for 27 years, said people have posted a lot of ideas to a community Facebook page about what should be built on the land once it has been cleaned up.

"There's been calls for a larger grocery store, there's been calls for a collaborative health clinic and there's been calls for a better recreation facility," said Jakeman, who was nominated last month as the provincial NDP candidate for Eastern Passage.

"It's going to be huge," she said. "I don't think anything this large has ever happened in this community before."

According to Valero's newspaper ad, work on the site is expected to begin in March and be completed by October 2021.

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