The site of a former retail gas station in Crossfield contains contaminated soil and groundwater that exceed the provincial limits, according to Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD).
This contamination has lead the ESRD to issue an Environmental Protection Order to Steel Design & Fabricators Ltd., the owners of the site of the former gas station.
“We’re entering into this given the situation to look out for the safety of Albertans,” said Jamie Hanlon, who does communications for ESRD.
The order was issued for 1316 and 1318 Railway Street, which now sits as an empty, overgrown field in the heart of the town.
The order came about when on June 18, Grant Thornton Ltd., the court-appointed receiver of Steel Design and Fabricators Ltd., indicated they intended to make an application to abandon the properties due to the discovery that there was contamination on site.
ESRD requested a copy of the environmental site assessment and it was determined the site exceeded the provincial limits for contaminated soil and groundwater, resulting in the issuing of the protection order on July 4.
Under the terms of the order, Steel Design & Fabricators Ltd. and Grant Thornton Limited must complete and submit an investigation plan of the site’s contamination. Following the investigation they must submit a remedial plan based on the findings of the investigation; and undertake remedial activities to address the contamination.
Calls to Grant Thornton Ltd. were not returned before press time.
