$15M fund created to clean up contaminated Harrietsfield salvage site

Harrietsfield, N.S., residents who have not been able to drink their contaminated well water for years maysee some relief down the road with a $15-million cleanup fund announced Thursday.

Residents of the Halifax-area community have been pleading for something to be done with thesite of the former RDM Recycling salvage yard, while the company'sowners have been fighting ministerial orders to begin remediation work in court since 2016.

The province will put $8.3 million into the fund, with the remaining $6.7 million chipped in from the federal government. Halifax MP Andy Fillmore and Halifax AtlanticMLA Brendan Maguiremade the announcement on Thursday.

"Our investment means residents will be able to raise their families in a cleaner environment and preserve public health for generations to come,"said Fillmore.

What the project will consist of

The project will restore 10 hectares of contaminated soil at the site to improve groundwater, the Department of Infrastructure said in a news release.

The department also plans to remove buildings and recycling debris buried outside the landfill area.

Last year, the province committed $250,000 for an assessment of the site.

Maguire said many people and organizations have worked to secure a cleanup fund.

"I'm pleased that there is now funding from the province and the federal governments for this important project that will result in a cleaner and healthier, local environment," he said.

'Big breakthrough,' says resident

Marlene Brown, aHarrietsfield resident who launched a private prosecution case against the facility's ownersin 2017, said she was pleased to hear a cleanup will happen.

"I was pleasantly surprised. I consider this a really big breakthrough for the residents," said Brown. "It's hard to believe, but in the end we should have a park there."

Lawyer Lisa Mitchell, who has been helping Brown and other residents in their fight for clean water, welcomed the funding decision.

"I'm very happy for the community to see this step take place and perhaps bring some resolution around that site and the impacts that it's been having on the community over the last number of years," said Mitchell, the executive director of East Coast Environmental Law.