To the Expositor:
I was rather surprised when I attempted to get by the road block to my farm property on October 26, 2013, to find the crane laying on my property and the oil spill. Since this happened on October 24, 2013, I was very disappointed that the Town of NEMI (Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands) and or someone from the Ministry of Environment hadn’t contacted me. I spent the day at the site and watched the crane placed back on the road. At no time, was anyone from the town around.
On Monday, October 28, 2013, I talked with the Ministry of Environment. The article in the newspaper stated that Mr. Martin of the McLean’s Mountain Wind Farm project, general manager, said he was unaware of any spills. How do you stop the diesel and hydraulic oil from being discharged from an upset crane? The people on site are doing a tremendous job and White Corporation, All Cranes, Lacroix Construction and Canadian Shield should be complemented on the good job they are doing.
My fence was damaged and they are replacing it. They pumped oil and water on Saturday, October 26, as well as have erected barriers to hold back any contamination. They have also removed a lot of the contaminated soil.
The farm is and has been used as a research site by Laurentian University, School of Biology for a number of years. Unfortunately, I found indications on October 29, that some soil from the time of the accident went downstream prior to the barriers being put in place. It should be noted, that this water flows through my property and into the North Channel. I will take it upon myself to monitor this. How much oil was spilt?
Fred Delabbio, P.Eng. Green Bush Road Resident
