LITTLE CURRENT—A Green Bush Road resident is upset after learning that a 365-ton crane overturned on his property last month, spilling diesel and hydraulic oil, in addition to damaging his fence.
“I live in Sudbury, but I have a property on Green Bush Road,” explained Fred Delabbio, who is an environmental engineer. “I arrived at my property on Saturday (October 26) following the incident and found a crane laying on my property, my fence damaged and spilt oil. I couldn’t believe that no one had phoned me; no one from the town (Northeast Town), the project (McLean’s Mountain Wind Farm project that crane is a part of) or the Ministry of Environment (MOE).”
As The Expositor previously reported, a 365-ton crane owned by All Canada Crane, under contract with White Construction and working on Northland Power’s McLean’s Mountain Wind Farm project, was involved in a one-vehicle incident on the Green Bush Road on Thursday, October 24, which led to the crane overturning.
The crane was removed from the ditch on October 26, with Canadian Shield Consultants Agency Incorporated’s spill response unit being responsible for the cleanup in collaboration with the MOE.
Sr. Environmental Officer with the MOE Steven Moggy told the Expositor last week that “as a result of the rollover of the crane into the ditch, there was a spill of hydraulic oil and diesel on to the ground.”
“The majority of the spilled material was located under the crane unit while it was on its side,” continued Mr. Moggy. “An environmental clean up company has been retained and are currently on site. The impacted area has been contained using spill pads and absorbent booms to ensure that the material does not migrate from the site. The next step is to remove any of the contaminated soil from the area and backfill accordingly. Any removed material is to be brought to an approved waste disposal facility.”
Mr. Moggy was unavailable prior to press time on Monday to provide an update on the cleanup, however McLean’s Mountain Wind Farm Project Manager Rick Martin was able to confirm that the cleanup was nearing completion.
“A minor amount of petroleum product seeped from the crane while it was inverted, however Lacroix Construction, under the direction of Canadian Shield Spill Response, immediately contained the area and has completed a full assessment and cleanup,” wrote Mr. Martin in a statement. “On October 31, a Canadian Shield representative met with the Ministry of the Environment’s Sudbury District Office, who confirmed that soil and water testing results were all within acceptable levels, and that backfilling of the excavation could proceed. We would like to thank local neighbours, town staff, and relevant government agencies for their cooperation and assistance. We would also like to thank All Canada Crane and H.B. White for their recovery and cleanup efforts, and we apologize for any inconvenience the road closure caused.”
Mr. Martin was unable to answer The Expositor’s questions as to how much petroleum product leaked or how much soil had been removed, but did say that Northland was expecting a report from Canadian Shield that would contain more details on the incident.
As for why Mr. Delabbio was not contacted and if his fence would be replaced, Mr. Martin responded, “we have reached out to local neighbours and will ensure that any private or public property impacted as a result of the incident is dealt with fully and in a timely manner.”
Mr. Delabbio told The Expositor that he is especially concerned about the diesel and hydraulic oil leak as his property is used as a research site by Laurentian University’s School of Biology.
“All Crane and Whites employees did a great job cleaning up, but I found some indications that some of the soil from the time of the accident went downstream prior to the barriers being put in place and this water flows through my property and into the North Channel,” said Mr. Delabbio. “I’ve asked the ministry (MOE) for a copy of the final report. I would like to know how much oil spilt.”
