New Brunswick has over 1,000 contaminated sites needing cleanup: auditor general

FREDERICTON -

New Brunswick's auditor general says the province has a backlog of more than 1,000 contaminated sites dating back 35 years.

In a report released Tuesday, Paul Martin says 75 per cent of the sites haven't been addressed for 10 years or longer.

Martin's report also says the province has no program to deal with orphan sites and the government has not designated an entity to co-ordinate remediation of the sites it owns.

The report says the lack of oversight has potential negative impacts on future liability and the costs of remediation.

As of March 31, Martin says the province has a liability of $50.8 million for contaminated sites.

The audit also found the current process used by the Environment Department does not require a specific timeline for remediation, and the remediation program is not referred to in legislation or regulations.

"Without a clear definition of legislative authority, the department may not be able to enforce the contaminated sites management process in a timely manner," the report states. "This, in turn, may lead to remediation delays resulting in adverse impacts on the environment and human health."

Martin said New Brunswick is the only province in Atlantic Canada with no law or regulation applying to its program for environmental cleanup of contamination.

The audit also found that the province's Environmental Trust Fund, which funds projects focused on protecting, preserving and enhancing the natural environment, had a surplus of almost $41 million as of March 31.

"We were surprised to find that projects are being turned down for funding while a surplus continued to accumulate," the report says.

Martin said the Environment Department has no standardized approach to evaluating funding requests for projects and no clear plan for the surplus, which doubled over the last decade. There's also been no evaluation of the fund's performance or outcomes since it was established in 1990.

"The department needs to clarify its position and develop a transparent plan outlining how and in which circumstances it will use the accumulated surplus," Martin said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2022.