The preliminary hearing, by the Independent Environmental Review Tribunal, regarding the contaminated coal tar site at Belleville’s harbour gets underway at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre today.
The city of Belleville, and other owners and former owners involved, have been ordered by the Ministry of Environment to cleanup the site.
Belleville’s Environmental Project Manager Cameron Smith says the order states the city is responsible for the lands adjacent to the actual site of the former coal gasification plant which operated in the1800s.
The adjacent land would have contamination which had migrated from the original site.
Cameron says the city’s appeal is that the other current owners , who have had the property for 40 years or more, should also be named as parties to the investigation and addressing those adjacent areas.
The provincial order includes Belleville, 105 Pinnacle Limited, Kent D. Hawkins, Darlene Hawkins, Anthony J. McGarvey, 835267 Ontario Inc. Naomi Spiegel and Sidney Spiegel.
