By Debra Lynn, special to the North Island Gazette
The stabilization of a former pulp mill site on the north end of Vancouver Island is expected to be complete by this March.
B.C. Assistant Deputy Minister Laurel Nash gave the news during an update on the rehabilitation of the dormant Neucel site at a Port Alice council meeting on Nov. 8, reported attendee Beth Thompson.
Nash said trustee Price Waterhouse Cooper ran into several environmental issues, according to Thompson. Prominent among them was a retaining wall for the 100-year-old mill discovered to be contaminated with asbestos. The toxic material had to be bagged and shipped to Drayton Valley, Alberta, to be disposed of—a total of 120 truckloads.
No municipal landfill on the island was willing to accept the material due to the quantity of hazardous waste requiring a high level of expertise to handle and dispose of properly.
Meanwhile water treatment plant was also installed on site near the settling ponds. Because they had effluents in them and keep filling up with water, the water needs to treated until the settling ponds are eventually removed.
Although foreshore demolition is considered critical, it will need to wait because of restrictions pertaining to working from the water. Price Waterhouse is going to try to do as much as possible from shore.
The mill has been inoperational since 2015 and under the control of court-appointed receiver, Pricewaterhouse Coopers since 2020.
Coun. Russell Murray asked if the province was going to go after the original owners of the mill for the cost of the demolition and bankruptcy. Nash indicated that, because they are offshore, not much can be done. Given what happened at this mill, and other similar situations throughout the province, special legislation is being written to deal with foreign investments.
No decisions have been made regarding the future of the site, including future ownership. The site is currently in the hands of the province and the trustees. It may need be sold to recoup the roughly $110 million demolition cost so far.
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