Nine years after the first intervention in Quebec on agricultural land that environmental offenders Daniel and Yves Lalande transformed into a dumping ground, the Ministry of the Environment ultimately prohibited access for 90 days.
The Ministry of the Environment has just obtained a prescription which “aims to stop […] The deposit of residual materials and contaminated soils ”on this agricultural land bordering the long-Sault route in Saint-André-d’Argenteuil.
Last week, The press revealed that the owners of the site, Daniel and Yves Lalande, ignored the prohibitions of the Quebec authorities by always allowing the unloading of waste on this site.
As demonstrated the images of drone of The pressthe terrain has been transformed over the years into an open -air dumping ground where a multitude of piles is piled up of waste: old tires, demolition debris, industrial bricks and crushed materials, wooden crosspieces used for railroad tracks, heaps of earth.
The ordinance obtained by the ministry also prohibits access to the site, arguing fear that “serious or irreparable damage is made to the environment”.
The ordinance relates the multiple unsuccessful attempts of Quebec to stop the embankments and the burials which have taken place there since 2016 as well as the numerous sampling sessions which have made it possible to note the presence of contaminants such as hydrocarbons, zinc, copper.
These activities also contravene Quebec agricultural laws. Admittedly, the Commission for the protection of agricultural territory which, in 2019, authorized management Terrasol – which belongs to Daniel Lalande (not to be confused with the company Terrasol de Belœil, specialized in landscape) – to backfill part of its land, but specifying that this had to be done with “unused and inert” earthy materials.
Eight unsuccessful attempts in nine years
November 2016: The Ministry of the Environment notes the illegal exploitation of a shrine for commercial purposes as well as the presence of heaps of residual materials. Accompanied by a sanction of $ 1000, a first notice of non-compliance is issued.
May 2017: With the return of spring, the discharges of residual materials resume. The Ministry of the Environment transmits a second opinion of non-compliance after having noted “new deposits” and “piles of various mineral composition soils”.
September 2019: The activities continue on the land of the Lalande. The Ministry of the Environment then takes samples to better understand the substances there. We then detect the presence of contaminants, including copper, zinc and hydrocarbons. A third notice of non-compliance is issued and Quebec requests the withdrawal of waste.
October 2021: A fourth notice of non-compliance is transmitted to land owners because of the back and forth of trucks who unload residues on the site. The samples taken from the bucket of a truck reveal the presence of hydrocarbons.
November 2022: A first criminal prescription is transmitted to Daniel Lalande. The document obliges the owners of the site “to withdraw all clusters from contaminated floors and residual materials” to transport them to an authorized landfill site.
June 2023: An inspection makes it possible to note that not only was the order not respected, but that the soils and materials were partially buried and sown. The samples reveal the presence of contaminants and the ministry considers that “the total volume of the residual materials illegally stored” borders on the 5800 m3.
August 2024: The order has still not been respected and the Ministry of the Environment notes the presence of new deposits: “The contaminated soils were not transported outside the site and some were even buried. Again, the samples reveal the presence of contaminants and the ministry issues a new notice of non-compliance.
June 2025: Nine years after the first notice of non-compliance, the Ministry of the Environment noted in May and June that the owners of the land always allow trucks to unload waste on their agricultural land. This time, the order prohibits access to the site.
Read the article “Depoter in Saint-André-d’Argenteuil: an illegal open-air practice”
