As have been reported to LJNA members, an oil spill occurred into Hamer Bay sometime between February and April 3, 2018 when it was discovered. The spill originated from 9A Appledale Road, sometime after a fire that occurred in February. Upon discovery of the spill the appropriate agencies were contacted and cleanup was immediately initiated. Adams Brothers Construction, a Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) approved company, was retained and quickly cleaned up any obvious oil and installed floating booms to absorb any additional oil that seeped into the bay. Subsequently, an official clean up order was issued by the MECP and Stantec, an engineering consulting firm with experience in oil spill clean up, was retained by the insurer to design and oversee the balance of the remediation efforts. The clean up, remediation and assessment of impacts have been ongoing.
On February 4th, 2019, the LJNA received the following update from Stantec:
Stantec Consulting Ltd. (Stantec) has completed onsite remedial and restoration activities for the property located at 9A Appledale Road.
Upon completion of the remedial program, liquid phase hydrocarbons (LPH) were no longer observed on the surface water of the Creek/Hamer Bay and surface water results met the applicable Provincial Water Quality Objectives (PWQO) and Ontario Drinking Water Standards. In addition, onsite soil results for the Site also met the applicable Ontario 153/04 Site Condition standards. At this time, Stantec is currently in the process of preparing a final report for the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) summarizing our remedial efforts and recommendations moving forward.
At this time, Stantec will be returning to the site in the early Spring 2019 to recover another round of sediment samples to confirm sediment quality in the area of the point of loss and will provide an update following the completion of this program. At the completion of the follow-up sediment sampling program, a follow-up report detailing the results and any further recommendations will be provided to the MECP for review/consideration.
On September 28th, 2018 Stantec reported:
Stantec Consulting Ltd. (Stantec) has completed the drinking water sampling program at 37 cottage properties within Hamer Bay. Copies of the analytical drinking water results have been provided in letter format to each property owner, as well as to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP). The analytical results report concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) and petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) below the provincial water quality objectives (PWQOs) and the Ontario Drinking Water Standards (ODWS).
All of the surface water samples collected within Hamer Bay have also been tabulated and provided to the MECP and report concentrations of BTEX and PHC (F1 to F4 Fractions) below the applicable standards (PWQO and OWDS).
Work in Hamer Bay continues at 9A Appledale Road, in the area of the former boathouse that was recently demolished. Work in this area remains boomed with absorbent booms for a planned dredging program that is being completed to remove residual PHCs in the boathouse cribbing structure and sediment along the shoreline. This work is scheduled to be completed in the next couple of days, with sediment sampling scheduled for next week and analytical results to be reported the following week. Surface water samples will also be collected following the dredging program and analytical results for the sediment and surface water sampling programs will be provided to the MECP. A dredging permit has been obtained from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF).
