His reminders were swords in the water.
The city of Quebec announced in June 2022 that it had acquired 115, boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest in anticipation of the tram. Occupied by a Shell service station for several years, the land was the subject of an analysis that year. The results revealed that soil and groundwater were contaminated.
At the Ministry of the Environment, it is confirmed that a “approach to characterize the field was carried out in 2022 in the context of a cessation of the activities of the service station. Following this study, a rehabilitation plan was approved on April 18, 2023 by the ministry. The calendar provided that the work would be completed in October 2023, “said the regional spokesperson by email Frédéric Fournier.
Since then, no news. “The ministry is awaiting the rehabilitation report required under the Environment quality law In order to confirm the completion of the work and the carrying out of these in accordance with the regulations. Actions have been undertaken by the ministry in order to obtain this report. ”
He is still waiting.
“Once the report has been received and validated, the ministry will be able to update the data recorded in the contaminated field directory.” This repertoire, which collected all the contaminated sites in Quebec, reports on the procedures taken. Still for the old shell, we can see that a decontamination took place in 1992, with the “completed” status.
On the other hand, dated March 7, 2023, the decontamination status which appears there is “not completed”.
“We don’t know”
In Quebec City, I was made to make sure that decontamination did take place as planned in the summer of 2023, that the work was carried out by a firm which has offices in the capital. I asked to see the report, at least the conclusions, we pleaded a lawyer on vacation. I contacted the said firm, without success.
And why does the Ministry of the Environment still not have this famous report almost two years later? “We do not know,” admits the city spokesman, François Moisan on the phone.
Even in the repertoire of the contaminated land that the city holds, there is no mention of a decontamination.
“To do this, we have to make the request (and it must be notarial). But before, the decontamination report must be sent to the Ministry of the Environment, ”explains Mr. Moisan by email.
When will we have the right hour?
The list of contaminants appearing in the provincial repertoire is long. In bulk: benzene, chrysene, zinc, ethylbenzene, monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – also known as hap – metyl naphthene, toluène and xylenes. We also discovered in the underground water samples of benzene and xylenes.
Few uses are allowed for land that would also be contaminated. We are talking about parking lots, certainly not a mini-golf like the one set up this summer by the city on the site, an attraction that is very popular.
A clearer portrait on the other side of Cartier
The portrait is much clearer on the other side of rue Cartier, at 75 boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest formerly occupied by imperial oil. What was then called the Esso is also extremely contaminated, but it was the subject of a rehabilitation corresponding to the standards of the Ministry of the Environment, as indicated in the directory.
We see that decontamination was made in two stages. First in 2005, when the site belonged to imperial oil, then in 2014, after the real estate company Miradas bought the land to develop it.
Curious fact, we indicate only three contaminants in 2005 (benzene, xylenes and oil hydrocarbons C10 to C50), while the list is much longer in 2014. We then indicate the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons C10 to C50, but also arsenic, manganese, barium, nickel, chrysene, barium, benzo and Benzo (B+J+K) Fluoranthene.
The ministry confirms that rehabilitation is “completed”.
The development of this site had also led to a citizen protest, even to a referendum in 2013, where a first version which provided six floors had been rejected. The promoter had reduced the height to four floors and accepted that the twenty condos are for rental rather than sale.
In 2015, the city announced the development of the small public square at the corner of Cartier and René-Lévesque.
The land of the old shell was acquired by the city at a cost of 2.4 million dollars under an out -of -courted agreement, SDLP real estate properties having disputed the expropriation notice. When the transaction was announced in 2022, Quebec indicated that this site was intended to become the Cartier station of the future tram.
This should leave in mass to shed light on what is below.
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