Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about a site for contaminated soil. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Can the Minister advise this House who has the responsibility for cleaning up spills such as fuel spills? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It would depend on where the fuel spill occurs, in municipal boundaries, outside municipal boundaries, private property. There is a significant responsibility as we heard from the Member for Great Slave when he talked about leaky fuel tanks when it goes on your own property. Chances are you are going to be charged with that responsibility. There are a number of questions that we would have to figure out the answer to, to clearly answer that question. Thank you.
Can the Minister advise me if he is aware of who has the financial responsibility for fuel spills that are not necessarily within people’s properties or maybe within the areas outside people’s properties and more on the municipality roadways or ditches and so on? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
If it is on GNWT property, then the GNWT would be responsible. If it is on federal property, the federal government would be responsible. I think back to the major spill at the college in Fort Smith where they had tanks that leaked for a number of years. It was a massive clean-up. I would suggest that the owner of the property would have a primary responsibility. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise us if there are any deterrents to creating a contaminated soil site in Fort Resolution? Thank you.
Without knowing the specifics, I could just indicate to the Member, I know that when they had the major fuel spill at the college in Fort Smith, out at the landfill site they fenced off a fairly large area and they dug it out. They put in a big membrane and they did all the things necessary under that particular policy to set up a contaminated site area and they put all the dirt out there and they turned it over the years. It is possible. It has been done just down the road in Fort Smith. It is an issue of finding some assistance to get it done and identifying the land where it would occur. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister commit to having the environmental protection staff of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources work with the community of Fort Resolution to work towards creating a contaminated soil remediation site? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My first commitment would be to work and talk to the Member to get a bit more information. The contaminated site area in Fort Smith was done to help remediate a very specific major spill. If there are issues in the community that would justify that kind of investment, what the Member has in mind in terms of a plan going forward, those are all the types of things that we need to talk about first and then we can involve the appropriate staff, instead of a meeting with myself and a deputy, to further discuss this issue. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
