In their 1971 song, “Don’t Go Near the Water” the Beach Boys decided to get more political. This was nothing like their other offerings as it tackled the issue of water pollution. Water, clean water in particular is essential for every aspect of human existence. While we have advanced tremendously in environmental protection since 1971, we cannot rest on our accomplishments.
PFAS Found Near Canadian Military Base
PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance have been a little under the radar in Canada. My colleagues in Michigan have been involved in projects for several years as PFAS has been top of mind at several sites in Michigan and across the United States.
However in Canada, PFAS have not been as prominent of an environmental topic. This may be changing. Earlier this year, my colleague, Matt Schroeder spoke at the (Canadian) BMP Summit, What municipalities need to know about PFAS. And recently there was news about a Department of National Defence site impacting nearby properties.
Here is what we know about the site impacted by PFAS. Nine properties have been provided bottled water for cooking and drinking as the Department of National Defence addresses the presence PFAS substances near 22 Wing/Canadian Forces Base North Bay.
The PFAS have been found in soil, surface water, groundwater and fish on and near 22 Wing/CFB North Bay property, according to a media release issued by National Defence.
Aqueous Film Forming Foam
The source of PFAS is apparently Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF). AFFF use has been common on military bases and commercial airports because of the effectiveness of the firefighting foam.
The Department of National Defence says the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) is recommending water test results in North Bay now be assessed using its interim guidance level for PFAS chemicals, which is lower than Health Canada’s guidelines.
National Defence says water will be resampled at two other properties to obtain current results to compare to the ministry’s interim guidance.
“PFAS levels in North Bay’s municipal water supply and all other residential wells in our sampling program are currently below the ministry’s interim guidance level,” according to National Defence.
PFAS Resources
If you would like to learn more about PFAS, we have a lot of resources.
St. Catharines’ Company Fined in the US
A Canadian company (The Algoma Central Corporation) bought a ship (M/V Algoma Strongfield (Strongfield)) that was manufactured in China, delivered by a Netherlands’ based company (Redwise Maritime Services) that violated US Environmental laws. Pretty typical, right? Actually, this environmental release boils down to a communication issue.
The Strongfield (not pictured) was fined by the USDOJ for a release in to Lake Ontario . The company was fined $500,000 (Photo by Matt Gates on Unsplash)
Here is what the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) provided about the events that led up to the release from the Strongfield.
Equipment Malfunction
“During the Strongfield’s delivery voyage, while manned by a Redwise crew, the oily water separator and oil content monitor malfunctioned or failed on multiple occasions, which resulted in an accumulation of unprocessed oily bilge water. On May 5, 2017, an Algoma employee directed Redwise to transfer and store the unprocessed oily bilge water in the Strongfield’s used wash water tank to avoid an overboard discharge of unprocessed bilge water into the Pacific Ocean. The wash water tank was intended to store deck and cargo hold wash water and is not listed on the Strongfield’s International Oil Pollution Prevention certificate. Between May 5, 2017, and the Strongfield’s arrival in Canada, the Redwise crew made several additional transfers of unprocessed oily bilge waste into the wash water tank to avoid overboard discharges of untreated bilge water.”
Communication Breakdown
It was poor communication that resulted in the release. Again from the USDOJ, “On June 6, 2017, the Strongfield was transiting Lake Ontario. While in the waters of the United States within the Western District of New York, the 3rd officer on board the Strongfield requested permission to empty the contents of the wash water tank into Lake Ontario, and the captain approved the discharge. Because Algoma had negligently failed to inform the 3rd officer and the captain what the wash water tank contained, approximately 11,887 gallons of unprocessed oily bilge water were released into Lake Ontario. The discharge was stopped when another Algoma employee learned of the discharge and informed the 3rd officer and captain that the wash water tank contained unprocessed oily bilge water and instructed them to stop the discharge immediately. After the incident, Algoma contacted Canadian and U.S. authorities to report the discharge.”
In the end, the company paid a $500,000 fine. In addition to the fine, Algoma was put on probation for a period of three years during which it must implement an environmental compliance plan.
Our water is much cleaner today than in decades past, but we still have work to do keep our lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater clean.
If you need help with a groundwater or surface water issue, contact me at 519-948-7300 – we have decades of experience in water-related issues.
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