Debris from two building demolitions in St. Paul has been excavated from private property in the County of St. Paul where it was improperly dumped, and taken it to Evergreen Regional Landfill following a directive from Alberta Environment and Parks.
Town of St. Paul council found itself in the uncomfortable position of having to address the issue soon after last year's municipal election, when it was informed that material from the demolition of two town-owned properties had been disposed of by a contractor on private property, as opposed to being take to the regional landfill.
Town CAO Kim Heyman said the Town received the go-ahead from Alberta Environment to remove the debris last month, following core testing at the disposal site to determine if there are any contaminants of any concern that would effect how the material was handled.
"It easily fell within the limits of a class 3 landfill, which Evergreen is," Heyman said of the test results.
With Environment's approval, Heyman estimates 46 truckloads of debris were then hauled to Evergreen. While she said she can't put price tag on the work quite yet, with reclamation of the site still needing to be done when it's dry enough, Heyman did say the whole process is going to cost the town more than "if it had been done right in the first place."
In September of last year, the former town administration hired a contractor to demolish the former animal shelter (old transportation building next to the museum) and a house located directly north of the Town office. For reasons that remain unclear, the debris was then dumped on land owned by Dale Stark in the County of St. Paul with his agreement. However, shortly thereafter, he was informed by Alberta Environment that should never have occurred.
In a letter to former CAO Hollie Habiak, Stark explained he had agreed to accept the debris with the understanding, "all checks had been done regarding the material to be dumped on my property and that it had all been looked after and was good to go."
However, with hazardous materials assessment reports commissioned by the Town on the two structures prior to demolition, indicating asbestos and lead paint as being present, specific regulations around the handling and disposal of the materials came into play. While the asbestos was removed prior to demolition, the leachable analysis specific to the lead paint exceeded waste guidelines, making it necessary for the material to be hauled to an appropriately regulated landfill.
