May 22, 2008 - Estimates Debates:  Ministry of Environment and Minister Responsible for Water Stewardship and Sustainable Communities
On Vote 29: ministry operations, $216,815,000 (continued).

           J. Horgan: ...The other issue that I want to raise.... I know that I have other members who want to raise issues here. I've been in contact with senior officials in the ministry - they've been very helpful - about what is characterized in my constituency as orange goo, which is emanating from what used to be a pristine spring at the base of Skirt Mountain, just outside of Florence Lake.

           This goo has been emanating from the ground since 2007. There has been correspondence with the minister. My constituents advise me that they haven't had a satisfactory response. I'll leave that as an open question, but....

           Hon. B. Penner: It's not from a Chinese restaurant at a food court?

           J. Horgan: No, no. I know that I'm colour-blind and don't appreciate the colours involved in this, but it's quite something.

           Hon. B. Penner: You have a tie that looks just like it.

           J. Horgan: Yeah, I have a tie or a shirt that looks just like that.

           These apparently are not colours normally found in this part of nature, and my constituents are quite concerned. They've brought forward these issues to the ministry.

           There has been an analysis of the water in the area - high levels of arsenic, high levels of mercury. Ministry staff assured me - and I want to have it on record today - that the public safety is not in jeopardy at this time.

           I open it for the minister. I see that his staff is now joining him. Can the minister assure me and my constituents that the orange goo emanating from the base of Bear Mountain, or Skirt Mountain, right at the mouth of a creek that goes into Florence Lake is not harming any species or humans?

           Hon. B. Penner: I understand the ministry had some staff attend the site yesterday. The stuff, whatever it is, was not running. It's essentially dried up and is hardened. There was some visible red stain left behind, not inconsistent, potentially, with iron oxide, which is naturally occurring. That's not to say that this stuff is, but iron oxide does occur naturally, and the colours we saw yesterday would not be inconsistent with that.

           I do understand that the member's constituents have provided some samples for analysis some time ago. It's the ministry's intention that when it gets wet again and if this thing starts to run again, we'll endeavour to go back to the site and take some additional samples and do some additional monitoring to try and determine the source and exactly what is there.

           It is true that some level of arsenic and mercury is naturally occurring in nature - that's where it comes from - but just exactly whether or not this is occurring naturally, is of a native source or has been deposited there by some other endeavour is not clear.

           J. Horgan: I appreciate that arsenic, mercury, phosphorus, iron and the various other substances that were found in the analysis are naturally occurring, but certainly, the levels were quite high. I know, in discussions with staff, that they obviously want to know where the samples were taken. Was there sediment in the samples? These are all valid questions.

           I appreciate that staff are working on this diligently, but residents in the area have concern - the minister can look at the photos; he doesn't really need to see them - that this was a pristine valley. They used to drink.... On treks they would fill their bottles out of this creek, and now it doesn't even look like water or anything resembling water. It dries up faster than it has in the past, since the development at Bear Mountain began some five years ago, but it's only in the past two years that this goo has appeared.

           There were some significant frog species that were eradicated as a result of this. There was a biologist in Nanaimo who was given a bagful of the dead frogs. She has since retired. Laura Friis, I believe, was her name. I don't know, as I look over, if that's familiar to staff.

           There is genuine concern in my community. I'm confident that the ministry staff are working on this. I just wanted to ensure for the record that when my constituents tune into these riveting discussions on your estimates, they have every confidence that the minister and the ministry are doing everything they can to ensure that public health is being protected.

           Species in the area, particularly deer.... We've had one family that has been on a bit of a deer watch over the past number of years, seeing a huge reduction in the number of healthy animals and taking many with tumours to the ARC SPCA site in Metchosin, also in my constituency.

           That data has not been passed on to the ministry, that I'm aware of, but I'm certainly.... When we've finished with these discussions, I'll be taking up more detailed discussions with staff, if that meets with the deputy and the minister's approval...