Ministry of Environment staff held a public meeting for Shawnigan Lake residents last night to discuss the latest test results taken from the Cobble Hill Holdings (also known as South Island Aggregates) site on Stebbings Road.

Results from groundwater, surface water, sediment and soil sampling conducted on May 13, 2015, from both the Ministry of Energy and Mines permitted area and the Ministry of Environment permitted area and the adjacent receiving environment, found no exceedances of concern for provincial drinking water guidelines and aquatic life guidelines.

Some of the groundwater results showed elevated levels of some parameters which are known to be naturally elevated on Vancouver Island, such as arsenic. Some soil sampling results showed isolated and infrequent locations marginally exceeding provincial contaminated sites regulations for lead and zinc. All surface water results met BC water quality guidelines. Additional soil monitoring will occur if soil currently on the site is to be relocated to a non-permitted location. The ministry will continue to monitor water quality of Shawnigan Lake through the completion of the updated Shawnigan watershed Water Quality Objectives.

Along with the sampling results, ministry staff presented a report on site compliance and a historical records review. Of 45 permit conditions assessed, the compliance findings identified:

• 19 conditions were in compliance;
• 21 were not applicable at the time of the inspection (as there was no discharge occurring at the time of the inspection); and
• five conditions were in non-compliance.

To address these non-compliances, the company was required to install a groundwater well, conduct additional sampling and implement the use of a tracking ID for soil.

The ministry conducted a followup inspection on July 10, 2015, and found that all of the non-compliances had either been remedied or initiated.

Ministry staff are aware of other testing and where results are provided, will incorporate into analysis and take appropriate actions.

The sampling results, the compliance and monitoring report and the historical records review, along with summary information sheets, can all be found online at:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/regions/vanc_island/env-mgt/

Media Contacts:

Media Relations
Ministry of Environment
250 953-3834