Sarnia chemical plant to continue fight against provincial orders in September hearing

CBC
·1 min read
INEOS Styrolution will appear before the Ontario Land Tribunal to argue its appeal of provincial orders. (Jacob Waters/CBC - image credit)
INEOS Styrolution will appear before the Ontario Land Tribunal to argue its appeal of provincial orders. (Jacob Waters/CBC - image credit)

An Ontario tribunal has set a hearing date that will allow a Sarnia, Ont., chemical plant to try to fight provincial orders that have kept the plant closed since May.

Lawyers with INEOS Styrolution will argue before the Ontario Land Tribunal on Sept. 30 in a hearing that's expected to take 12 days.

The company is fighting orders to reduce benzene emissions after members of Aamjiwnaang First Nation said they were treated for exposure at a Sarnia hospital on a day that air quality monitors noted high levels of the cancer causing chemical in the air earlier this year.

INEOS, which processes benzene into a product used to create plastics, announced plans to close its operations within two years blaming economic conditions and not the environmental orders.

Lawyers for the company urged the tribunal to hold a hearing as soon as possible.

"Delaying the hearing into and beyond the winter increases the risk of accidental benzene emissions," said INEOS lawyer Gabrielle Kramer.

Kramer said that the matter needs to be addressed "as efficiently as possible" in the interest of the environment.

The tribunal will also hear from Aamjiwnaang First Nation and three people who live in the area that have been approved for party status during the appeal hearing.

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