Compensation to be discussed
MEMBERTOU - Possible
compensation for a loss of
fishing resulting from contamination
from Sydney's tar
ponds will be discussed next
week between Membertou
officials and the federal government.
Bernd Christmas, chief
executive officer of Membertou,
said both parties will
meet in Dartmouth on Oct. 24.
To be discussed is monetary
reimbursement for the
community, located about
three kilometres from the
Sydney tar ponds and coke
ovens sites.
Sludge from the tar ponds
has been seeping into the
Muggah Creek Watershed and
Sydney harbour from the
steelmaking process at the
Sydney steel plant since it
began operations in the early
1900s.
There was a native community
located along Sydney
harbour until the turn of the
century. That community was
forced to relocate to what is
now known as Membertou,
which has a population of just
under 1000.
It's also been
reported that
talks will centre
around remediation options
selected by residents
of the
Cape Breton
Regional
Municipality
via a workbook
exercise. About
1,800 residents
participated
and the majority
selected permanent
removal and
destruction as
the way of
remediating the
700,000 tonnes
of toxic sludge
and 60 hectares
of highly contaminated land.
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