PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) - A Charlottetown man living next to APM's new headquarters in West Royalty is worried the removal of trees for a new parking lot could ruin Ellen's Creek.
Darragh Mogan has enjoyed the view of Ellen's Creek from his house for 27 years, but during the past month that view has changed dramatically. APM has been bulldozing the land around its new headquarters to put up a parking lot. Mogan told CBC News Wednesday almost all of the hundreds of trees are gone.
"They'd be 20 to 30 feet tall. It was a buffer and it'd been there since we moved in," he said.
The removal has Mogan worried about road salt from the new parking lot ending up in the creek.
"I'd like a remediation plan," he said.
"At least to put some of the forest back that's been taken away, and get some confidence that all the stuff that's going to drain off that parking lot isn't going to drain directly into the creek, which as you look at the slope of it now, certainly appears it's going to be."
Jennifer Kearney, the Environment Department's watercourse alteration supervisor, said APM did get the needed permits before work began, and so far, has met all the requirements, adding the company does have a plan to deal with runoff from the parking lot.
"A lot of the storm water from the parking lots, they will be piped into like a rock basin, so it slows down the water," said Kearney.
"It's far enough away from the wetland that it will filter out."
APM CEO Tim Banks said trees will be replanted to replace the old growth that was cut down, and a boardwalk will be built near Ellen's Creek.
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