It appears the long, drawn out legal battle between Picton Terminals and the County of Prince Edward has come to a close.
The County of Prince Edward released Minutes of the Settlement Thursday night.
First, a back story to understand what exactly Picton Terminals is and how we got here.
The company’s terminal is just north of the Picton Golf and Country Club, just off Highway 49, on White Chapel Road in Picton Bay. Picton Bay’s waters connect to Lake Ontario.
In the late 1950s, the port was used to transport iron ore from the Marmora Mine and was owned by Bethlehem Steel Mills in New York.
In 1978, the Marmora Mine was closed, taking dock workers and miners with it. The port continued operations under different owners to receive goods such as coal and road salt.
Picton Terminals by Doornekamp purchased the port and began redeveloping the site in 2014.
The deep water port can offload cargo/material/dry goods onto trucks, or load from vehicles onto ships. They can also store cargo/material/dry goods on site, in buildings or in some cases outdoors.
Picton Terminals is part of a group of ports (Highway H2o) that moves freight across the Great Lakes. Other port locations include New York State, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, and the St Lawrence Seaway out to the Atlantic Ocean.
In 2020, the company was seeking to expand storage on the site and allow for cruise ships to dock.
Since then, the municipality and Picton Terminals have been at odds.
Residents have voiced concern at past meetings. Deputations at council meetings shared common concerns. They included both air and water pollution, increased road traffic with large 18-wheeler trucks, potential tourism impacts, and a lack of transparency due to the settlement offer being done behind closed doors.
The issue that the municipality came across was that more of the oversight for the work Picton Terminals does, is through provincial and federal regulation.
The Ontario Government oversees anything involving the environment, while the feds regulate what can and cannot go on/off ships, and when/where ships can dock.
Regarding the full Minutes of Settlement, they can be viewed by CLICKING HERE
It appears there will be no docking of cruise ships (as yet announced) which was something proposed in years past.
The company is allowed to and will continue to ship cargo/dry materials/goods.
They also will continue to warehouse cargo/dry materials/goods in enclosed buildings, or in some cases open air storage.
Under regulations, they cannot ship garbage, nuclear waste, or items listed under the Toxic Substances List, the same for any shipping company.
No details are specified, however, the company intends to expand its operation on Picton Bay and directly across the road (White Chapel Road), which they also own. Picton Terminals owns about 70 acres. The land in the area is zoned industrial, however, there are about a half dozen homes on White Chapel Road.
The municipality will require that all permits will need to be obtained before construction or expansion can take place.
Both sides will bear their own legal costs in the matter. Picton Terminals agrees to regulate its operations to reasonably ensure they are compatible with neighbours.
Quinte News contacted both Picton Terminals and the County of Prince Edward, however, no response came by our deadline (12:00 p.m. Friday August 9, 2024). The online story will be updated if a response is received.
