CALEB NICKERSON

LITCHFIELD May 17, 2019

The Pontiac Sorting Centre was forced to scale back its workforce last week as management works to reach an agreement with the Ministry of the Environment over the cleanup of its site in Litchfield.

The Sorting Centre has received 10 notices of non-compliance from the Ministry for the improper storage of construction wastes, dating back to 2013.

In February 2019, the Sorting Centre was fined more than $40,000 for their litany of infractions, and on May 3, they received an order from Environment Minister Benoit Charette to cease the deposit of materials, and set deadlines for compliance.

The Sorting Centre was required to submit a plan for the restoration of their site by May 18 and ordered that the asphalt shingles on the premises be disposed of properly within 120 days. They are also required to submit a report no more than 30 days after the completion of the site cleanup.

The Sorting Centre responded on May 6 with a press release that blamed the ministry for delaying certificates of authorization for the site. Reached by The Equity on May 17, Sorting Centre Director of Operations Gerry Philippe said that they have asked the provincial government for an extension to the deadline.

“We have our lawyers working on that and consultants as well,” he said. “We’ve asked for a delay, a 15 day delay just so we can prepare accordingly and then present something that makes sense.”

He said that they are working to comply with the ministry’s demands, but the case would likely be disputed in a courtroom. He was optimistic about their chances.

“We’re doing what it is that they want,” he said. “We’ve already sent a whole lot of tonnage down to Lachute and cleaning up the land … We continue to do that.”

He said that cutting back staff was a tough decision but with all the uncertainty around future operations, it was a necessary decision.

“We were hiring around 30 people and we do have to make some cuts simply because we don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “In the mean time we’re just being careful. We’re being good administrators actually … It will be around about ten people. It’s a very tough position for us obviously but our hands are tied at this time. If we cannot operate properly, then we cannot hire the people.”

Philippe worked for the defunct Green Investment Group Inc. (GIGI) before coming to the Sorting Centre. He said that when GIGI purchased the property back in 2010, there was a verbal agreement with the Ministry of the Environment that certifications would be approved in short order.

“At the time, they said, ‘You buy it and we will give you a certificate of qualification within the first six months or so,’” he said, adding that he didn’t actually witness the discussions. “Of course, that wasn’t written, so that’s the problem.”

He said that the proposed “technical landfill” for construction waste, across the road from the Sorting Centre’s current location, would sit adjacent to a disused landfill or “bio-park” from the former Smurfit-Stone Mill. He said that the bio-park was improperly capped, but the Sorting Centre needed government certification to manage the site, which they had requested back in 2014.

“The bio-park area originally belonged to the paper mill,” he said. “This is all part of our property now. The reason we took it was simply to have the landfill area right beside it so we can treat the leachate, for example, from both. The former biopark and our operation are able to use the same system.”

Despite the setbacks, Philippe said that he would like to continue operations in the Pontiac.

“The thing is, we don’t want to close,” he said. We want to continue … We know there’s a lot of people who appreciate the fact that we’re there. Not just the workers but the people that do renovations on their houses, contractors, a few municipalities are dealing with us already. That means they won’t have any access after we close up shop and it will all have to go down to Lachute because there’s no other alternative.”

Speaking at after the council of mayors meeting on May 15, Pontiac Warden Jane Toller said she had requested a meeting with the Ministry of the Environment to discuss the matter.

“We were trying to be supportive of the business, because they’re a business in the Pontiac, but we also want to encourage them to do the right thing,” she said.