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Battle over contaminated soil not done yet

Opponents of the contaminated soil facility celebrated a couple of victories last week in their years-long struggle

Opponents of the contaminated soil facility in Shawnigan Lake celebrated a couple of victories last week in their years-long struggle, but it’s far from the end of the road.

First came the news from the B.C. Supreme Court that a judge was sending the matter of the permit back to the environmental appeal board for reconsideration.

This was due to the discovery of a potential profit-sharing deal that had been on the table between the soil site owners and their environmental experts — experts whose testimony at the original EAB hearings influenced the government’s decision to grant the soil permit.

Justice Robert Sewell went so far as to say that had the issue of setting aside the permit been in front of him, he would have yanked it.

Significantly, he also reinstated a stay that effectively stopped work at the site.

Thus it was a little underwhelming, but nonetheless welcome to those who have been relentlessly protesting the contaminated soil for years, when the provincial government announced last Friday that they were temporarily suspending the company’s permit.

While this isn’t a final victory for the soil site’s opponents, it has meant the shut down of importing more soil in the short term.

It remains to be seen what will happen in the long term, as the permit has not been rescinded, and the judge kicked the whole mess back to the EAB.

And what the residents want will also no doubt prove contentious, whatever happens with the permit.

The resistance to the importation of contaminated soil to the site has always primarily been about protecting the Shawnigan Lake watershed.

The fear is that the contaminated soil, which is placed on property directly above Shawnigan Lake, will leach contaminates into the lake, from which many draw drinking water. It is also a prime recreation spot.

The company maintains this will not happen. The opponents maintain this is inevitable.

So even though the soil has stopped coming for the moment, there’s already quite a lot of it there.

The protesters’ ultimate goal is to have it all removed, or the threat to the watershed remains.

But even if the permit is rescinded, the soil has been legitimately brought to the site, so who is on the hook to pay for any removal?

The only sure thing is that nobody is going to want that bill.

Another battle royale seems inevitable.