Sewer dispute between Gordon’s Lodge and Gore Bay at impasse
By Margo Little
GORE BAY—Once again representatives from the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) have listened to arguments from both sides in the ongoing Gordon’s Lodge vs. Town of Gore Bay sewer works dispute. At the end of the hearing held in council chambers May 10, chair J. Sniezak, accompanied by vice-chair D. Lanthier, announced that a decision would be rendered in writing in due course.
In his opening remarks the chair cited a case study from a Toronto municipal dispute and suggested that the board may have no authority to intervene.
The conflict that brought the OMB representatives to Gore Bay involves a long standing issue dating back to the mid-70s. On August 20, 1975 the OMB granted applications made by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) on behalf of Gore Bay to provide sewage services. Then in September 1980 the ministry informed the Town that certificates of approval issued in 1978 did not cover Water Street to East St. (the lodge abuts Water St. and East St. where the main sewer line ends). The MOE confirmed in September 2011 that an error had been made in earlier certificates of approval.
Tuesday’s session was intended to clarify the role of the OMB in such stalemates. All parties are anxious to determine if the board does indeed have sweeping powers to enforce its orders. Those in attendance want to see the board either take decisive action or perhaps pass the matter on to the Superior Court of Justice.
The case had been examined by Honourable Justice Cornell earlier. On February 12, 2016 he wrote that, “it is in the interest of justice that any dispute about the order in questions or efforts to enforce them should be considered by the OMB.”
Speaking on behalf of numbered company 917488, known locally as Gordon’s Lodge, Laura Pinkerton outlined the results of her research into archived ministry and town correspondence. In her view, the board “should be shocked” by the high sewer rates applied to the resort and the lack of expertise that went into the inadequate system provided by the Town. “There’s a basic unfairness in this situation,” she said. “The Town hasn’t followed through with the order from 1980 and the OMB has exclusive jurisdiction to order compliance.”
The resort ended up with an eight inch ad hoc pipe running into the main sewer. Her consultants told her that it would have to be lowered 17 feet in order to let the effluent flow freely and to provide full services to Gordon’s. “The town provided sewer services without proper drawings; we have been paying high rates and no service provided,” she reiterated.
If the town does not complete the sewer works with appropriate engineering, then Gordon’s Lodge is asking for $2,750,000 in lieu of the installation. Ms. Pinkerton alleged that the town unlawfully collected $202,303.68 in sewer fees for a system that was inadequate. “I don’t need to pay for something that I don’t have,” she said.
Gerard E. McAndrew of Weaver Simmons presented the Town’s take on the matter at hand. He maintained that the delivery of effluent to the main sewer line is the responsibility of the owner (i.e. the Lodge). He dismissed the lodge’s allegation that the sewer pipe in place at present is illegal.
In an attempt to clarify the system as it currently operates, chairman Sniezak pointed out that Gordon’s Lodge has holding tanks that must be pumped out from time to time. Liquid flows out into the town’s main line but sludge and solids remain in the resort holding tanks.
It remains to be seen whether the OMB will claim ownership of what Justice Cornell calls sweeping powers to enforce their own orders. The chair did not specify a date for his decision.
