BIRCH PLAIN, N.S. — A Cabot Trail shop owner is concerned about a material holding site that has been proposed for the land across the street from his store.
Brent Partland, owner and operator of the Wreck Cove General Store in Birch Plains, off the Cabot Trail in Victoria County, is concerned about a dredge material site that has been proposed for development by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) on the land across the road from his store.
“I found out about it because they had sent me a letter because I’m an adjacent landowner,” said Partland.
Proposed disposal site
Dredging is the removal of accumulated sediment from the bed of a body of water with clamshell buckets, draglines, backhoes or suction dredges, according to the DFO. The letter sent to Partland by Public Services and Procurement Canada’s (PSPC) environmental services group – on behalf of the DFO’s small craft harbours program – says that like many harbours, dredging is required every eight to 10 years in Little River to support the fishing industry and provide harbour access.
Dredging helps “ensure safe navigability and berthage of vessels” at the DFO’s small craft harbours facilities, according to the letter, which Partland shared with the Cape Breton Post.
“I know it needs to be done, I just don’t want the f—–g material – pardon my language – put across the street from my business and house – and next door, because I own the land next door to it as well,” said Partland. “I bought a nice piece of oceanfront land, and now my neighbour’s going to be a dump, a sand dump.”
The piece of waterfront land that has been proposed for the dredge material management site would “be used for long-term storage of sediment derived from maintenance dredging activities conducted at Little River (Victoria County) Small Craft Harbour,” says Scott Burley, senior environmental specialist for PSPC, in the letter to Partland.
“Options for reuse of this dredge material will be explored such that a portion of the material may be stored on site temporarily, however, it is anticipated that the majority of the material will be managed on site over the long-term.”
A follow-up letter to Partland states that though disposal of the material was historically done on private property, this is “no longer permissible under current regulations.” Disposal at sea is regulated by Environment and Climate Change Canada and requires permits that are more stringent “due to potential impacts on marine habitat and environment.”
PSPC considered trucking the dredge material to a provincial waste management facility. However, the nearest facility is in Baddeck, a site approximately 60 km away that does not accept dredge material, according to the follow-up letter.
“Although alternative properties were considered during selection of the proposed dredge material management site, the site in Birch Plain was selected for its close proximity to the harbour, availability for purchase, location along the coast, and topographically down gradient from residential properties,” says Burley in the follow-up letter.
Proposed Little River Dredging Material Management Site:
- PID #85140846
- Intended for operation in spring 2023
- Public comment period running until March 31, 2022
- Comments can be sent to Scott Burley at Public Services and Procurement Canada: [email protected]
A DFO-hosted public meeting to discuss the proposed site has been scheduled:
- On: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
- At: the North Shore and District Fire Department at 46177 Cabot Trail, Indian Brook, N.S.
Smell and contamination concerns
Partland, who also owns seven acres to the south of his store, is concerned about groundwater pollution by salt and any possible contaminants in the sand.
“That’s concerning to me,” he said. “ … I want them to make sure that nothing could happen. I don’t even want the site there, but if they’re gonna do it anyway, I need some safeguards.”
Partland is also worried about odours that material stored on the site may give off.
“The smell could impact,” said Partland. “… You’ve got disintegrating organisms and vegetation that are typically found in sand, and there’s definitely a smell when that stuff comes out of the water.”
Read more
The Cape Breton Post reached out to the DFO on Friday for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication. However, Burley notes in the initial letter to Partland that the sediment at Little River is mainly composed of sand, with smaller amounts of silt and clay.
“Samples collected from the harbour over a number of years indicate that the material meets applicable federal and provincial guidelines when analyzed for various parameters such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Pentaclorophenol (PHP), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs).
“Petroleum hydrocarbon analytical results indicated that lube oil fraction was identified in some samples collected from Little River SCH in the past 10 years. Concentrations of a number of metals (including boron, molybdenum, iron, copper, zinc, arsenic, aluminum, and cadmium) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also detected in some samples.”
The DFO letter says that many of these metals can naturally occur in the environment, however the harbour itself and the associated operations “may be a source of some of the exceedances detected.”
The project, PID #85140846, is currently undergoing an environmental and site assessment and the DFO letter states that “appropriate measures will be developed to ensure off-site impacts are mitigated.”
The letter notes that the “Little River Dredge Material Management Site” is intended to be operation in spring of 2023.
Communication delays and tree concerns
The intial letter Partland received was dated Jan. 25, 2022, however Partland did not receive it in the mail until Feb. 7. This meant that the first half of Partland’s 30-day public comment period was capped, since he didn’t become aware of the site until receiving the letter.
Partland sent a letter back to PSPC voicing his concerns, and in their follow-up letter the DFO extended the public comment period to March 31, 2022. Written comments about the proposed site can be submitted to Scott Burley at PSPC, who can be reached at [email protected].
Furthermore, a DFO-planned public meeting has been arranged for community members who have questions about the proposed dredge material site. It will be held at the North Shore and District fire department at 46177 Cabot Trail in Indian Brook, N.S on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Partland said that he is concerned the site is already greenlighted to go forward despite the fact that it is currently under assessment and undergoing public comment. He said drilling equipment has already been set up at the site and a number of trees have been cleared for the work.
“(PSPC is) claiming this is just (part of) the assessment period, the environmental assessment period,” said Burley.
“ … It just seems that they’ve already made up their mind and they’re gonna do it anyway, and they’re just gracing us with a meeting regardless only because I’ve raised such a stink with them.”
The initial letter Partland received from Burley indicates that a “treed buffer” will be retained around the proposed dredge material containment area “to minimize the view from adjacent properties.” Partland, however, said that the line of trees along the road has already been removed for the assessment work.
“I’m wholeheartedly not against the dredging, at all,” said Partland. “I understand it totally needs to happen, but my life and my business should not pay for that.”
Jessica Smith is a breaking news, human interest, environment and climate change reporter at the Cape Breton Post. Follow her on Twitter at @CBPost_Jessica.
