Runoff damage at Cornwall bypass project minimal, says province

The province of Prince Edward Island says it is pleased with how its environmental measures worked at the Cornwall bypass project after a heavy rain storm on Saturday.

Provincial officials confirm water did run off the construction site, but they believe nearby waterways were as protected as possible. Officials inspected the site before the storm and staff was also there during the rains.

"The rain was certainly heavy — I think something like 70 millimetres of rain in Charlottetown," said Brian Thompson, a directorwith P.E.I.'s Transportation Department.

'Happy overall'

The department beefed up environmental controls around the project last week when the rain was forecast, he said — for instance, installing additional silt fencing and building a large sediment collection pond.

"Our environmental controls worked very well, however ... in places they were challenged," said Thompson. "And we were happy overall with the way they performed."

Officials, including the project manager and environmental co-ordinator, saw some areas where the project's silt fence was compromised during the storm Saturday, Thompson noted. He said the barriers will be improved.

An independent environmental consultant took samples of water leaving the site and going into the nearby Clyde River. Thompson said he expected those results by Tuesday.

"If we need to put in additional controls as a result of those numbers we will certainly do that," he added.

'Correct the situation now'

The local watershed group says runoff is common in such heavy rains and difficult to avoid.

Jamie Fox, the Opposition Critic for Transportation on P.E.I., said he is concerned about the runoff, especially to a nearby brook where glass washed up.

"We now have a stream that's completely full of glass," Fox said.

"What's to say we don't have another major rain in the next four or five days or the next week?" he added. "So we need to correct the situation now, what damage has been done to the stream."

Crushed recycled glass is used as a bedding material in road construction. "It's a benign product — it's not sharp glass, it's rounded," said Thompson. "It's not a big concern."

Thompson said if officials find any significant amount of glass they will remove it.

The bypass is scheduled to be completed next fall.

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