The Ministry of Environment,…

The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (“MECP”) contacted The Corporation of the City of Burlington (“City”) last summer to advise the City that it was contemplating an order to require numerous property owners to undertake investigations on their respective properties. The MECP acknowledged that none of the parties being required to undertake investigations had caused or contributed to any contamination. They are simply property owners whose lands may have been impacted by contamination from the source property.

At the time, the City asked for copies of the environmental reports so that it could better understand and assess the contamination of concern to the MECP. The MECP declined to provide any reports other than a site map showing the locations of sampling. During subsequent discussions with the MECP and other property owners in August of 2024, the MECP agreed that the parties should have the underlying reports and committed to provide them. Those reports were never provided to the City (or any other property owners, to the City’s knowledge) and the City heard nothing further about the matter for almost a year, until posting of the draft order (“Draft Order”) on May 2, 2025.

The City again asked for copies of all environmental data available to assess the Draft Order and was most recently informed that a request through Freedom of Information would need to be made by the City to obtain that information. As a matter of procedural fairness, all information respecting the contamination and all underlying reports must be provided to any party being ordered to undertake work. The MECP cannot both insist that the investigations being ordered are so important that innocent parties should be required to fund those investigations and yet withhold relevant information and data and refuse to provide missing information to those parties.

With respect to the specific requirements being imposed on the City in the Draft Order, it requires the City to delineate Perchloroethylene (PCE) Contamination at three locations:

• Guelph Line Right of Way (between 480 Guelph Line and 390 Guelph Line);
• New Street Right of Way (between Beverley Drive and Guelph Line); and
• Waterfront Trail (between Ward Road and Guelph Line)

Based on the current land use of the surrounding properties, risk pathways, receptors and routes of exposure, the primary transport pathway is movement of dissolved contaminants in groundwater, and movement of vapours in subsurface gas that could potentially migrate to indoor air. The most sensitive receptors are residential properties. There are no receptors of concern in the municipal roadways.

Undertaking investigations within the road right of way itself will not provide meaningful delineation of the PCE Contamination in groundwater as the roadway is narrow, and there are no buildings or sensitive receptors within the right of way. As PCE contaminated groundwater is found in the overburden and bedrock on both sides of the right of way (e.g., New Street), it is unlikely that the utilities within the roadway are preferential migration pathways. Furthermore, logistically, site access would be safer and easier on properties adjacent to the right of way than accessing a busy roadway.

Guelph Line Right of Way - (between 480 Guelph Line and 390 Guelph Line)

Groundwater quality investigations have been undertaken immediately west of the Guelph Line Right of Way on the 480, 470, 466, 458, 418-422 Guelph Line properties and the City’s Waterfront Trail. The extent of PCE Contamination immediately west of the Guelph Right of Way is well-defined and further investigations within the west portion of the Guelph Right of Way will not provide meaningful data with respect to PCE extent and are not required.

The extent of PCE Contamination in the overburden groundwater south of the Waterfront Trail will be determined by investigations on the 406 Guelph Line property. Since this is a residential home and a sensitive receptor, information on the City Right of Way is not necessary and will not address the potential for impacts on 406 Guelph Line. With respect to the extent of PCE Contamination to the east of the Guelph Line Right of Way, groundwater flow north of New Street is to the southwest and Guelph Line is hydraulicly upgradient of the PCE Contamination. Groundwater flow south of New Street is to the southeast (based on the investigations completed at 418-422 Guelph Line) and groundwater quality can be confirmed on the adjacent properties at 433, 421 and 407 Guelph Line where potential receptors to the PCE Contamination are located.

PCE Contamination located at BH/MW1 (PCE concentrations ranging from 17 to 6400 µg/L) on the 418-422 Guelph Line property is likely from another source based on the following:
• Groundwater concentrations upgradient of this location are considerably lower ranging from 140 to 550 µg/L (at the 458 Guelph Line property)
• Groundwater contamination is present in the overburden and there is no evidence of PCE impacts in the bedrock – this indicates that the source is nearby; and
• Elevated concentrations indicate that product is potentially present suggesting a nearby source.

The investigations undertaken at 2436, 2440, 2442 and 2450 New Street may provide further data on a potential source, but investigations in the roadway will not.

New Street Right of Way ((between Beverley Drive and Guelph Line)

Several investigations have been undertaken along the north and south sides of the New Street Right of Way. Based on the review of available information, PCE Contamination in bedrock groundwater at the southwest corner of 2431-2421 New Street can be addressed with installation of monitoring wells at 2411 New Street. The extent of VOCs south of the right of way at 2436, 2440, 2442 and 2450 New Street will be addressed with the investigations that will be undertaken on the 2436, 2440, 2442 and 2450 New Street. There is no need for or beneficial information to be obtained from investigations in the right of way.

Waterfront Trail (between Ward Road and Guelph Line)

Investigations have been undertaken along the Waterfront Trail east of Guelph Line and low level PCE Contamination is present on the Waterfront Trail south of 418-422 Guelph Line. Further investigations in this area of the Waterfront Trail will not provide any meaningful information on the extent of PCE Contamination, nor will it determine if impacts are present on 406 Guelph Line, which is a residential property that is a potential sensitive receptor.

For all the above reasons, it is the position of the City that the investigations set out in the Draft Order are not required on City rights of way or roads.