More forgotten Montreal dump sites identified

The City of Montreal has released the locations of 94 former quarries, many of which had been used as dump sites before the land was redeveloped into parks and residential lots.

That's 15 more sites than were identified in a 1994 list of old dumping grounds and filled quarriesobtained by Radio-Canada last fall through an access-to-information request.

• Contaminated dumps could be beneath 100s of Montreal homes and parks

According to that list of 62 locations, 24 were certified former landfills, while38 were possible landfills and dumps.Montreal's current administration said it never knew about the list,and itpromisedto publish updated information.

The new sites were revealed on 16 maps published on the city's website today.

The quarries were used to extract stone for constructionover the course of the last century.

They were then backfilled and largely forgotten.At the time, there was nolegislation dictating how that process was to be carried out.

Several boroughs, including Saint-Lonard, Montreal North, Anjou and LaSalle, are absent from the city maps.The city says it has not found any information about dump sites in those parts of its territory.

Residents around Rosemont Park, one of the areas identified as a dump site in the data released last fall, have repeatedly asked the city to test the soil around their homes to determine if it's contaminated.

The city has refused.

"The city has the duty, the responsibility to inform us about the composition of the soil," said Martin Lavalle, whose home is adjacent to the park.

Other area residents are asking Mayor Denis Coderre to intervene.

'No active biogas'

Three weeks ago, Coderre promised "transparency on this file" and saidhe wanted to "answer all ofthese questions." However, some city-held information has yet to be released.

The city has an internal system, called SISTEC, which contains a large number of soilstudies conducted inthese areas. The studies haven't been made public.

RalMnard, the executive committee member responsible for the environment, said the city isn't proceeding withsoil testing, but it did drill down, scopethe sites with radar andtestfor methanein affectedresidentialareas.

"In no way is there a public health problem posed,' he told Radio-Canada. "There is no activebiogasthat could present a public health issue."

The city sayslawns, sidewalks, asphaltand other development of the propertiespreventresidents from coming in contact with any contaminatedmaterials that still may be buried beneath.

The city is still doing tests and will post the results of methane levels at the sites as they becomeavailable, Mnard said.

See the maps here:

• Ahuntsic-Cartierville
• Anjou
• Cte-des-NeigesNotre-Dame-de-Grce
• Lachine
• MercierHochelaga-Maisonneuve
• Outremont
• PierrefondsRoxboro
• PlateauMont-Royal
• Rivire-des-PrairiesPointe-aux-Trembles 1
• Rivire-des-PrairiesPointe-aux-Trembles 2
• RosemontLa Petite-Patrie
• Saint-Laurent
• South-West
• Verdun
• Ville-Marie
• VilleraySaint-MichelParc-Extension