Photo: Save Picton Bay Facebook.
The ongoing legal battle between Save Picton Bay, Picton Terminals and Prince Edward County took another turn at Picton court on Wednesday.
The matter was adjourned until April 16 in Belleville, following a motion to introduce a third party report just recently discovered.
The report, from Kingston-based company XCG Environmental Engineering, was discovered on the weekend according to Save Picton Bay attorney Eric Gillespie.
He told Quinte News the report is a proposed remediation plan for the Picton Terminals site that has not yet been accepted by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
He wanted Justice Wolf Tausenfreund at the Picton Supreme Court of Justice to allow for the report to be entered in front of the court.
Gillespie says road salt leaching into the water is the primary concern and is a serious one, as the Ontario government has said it could pose as much of a threat as mercury, lead and PCBs.
Other concerns include dealing with a larger operation at the terminal, petroleum coke and the sinking of barges.
Picton Terminals attorney Tony Fleming told the court he would need sufficient time to not only provide context but to also allow for a cross-examination in regards to the new report.
He says his client has the onus to prove they have a legal non-conforming use, the rest is up to the applicant.
He says the applicant has to address if there has been any impact related to any alleged increase in intensity of use at Picton Terminals.
Tausenfreund agreed and stated Picton Terminals and the County should both have the opportunity to respond to the report.
Gillespie also says the government has now issued two sets of orders against Picton Terminals to comply and the federal government is now involved as the salt run off is affecting fish and fish habitat which falls into their jurisdiction.
He says the County has been “asleep at the wheel” in regards to this issue.
