Owner ignores orders to clean up spill

By PAULA LEVY

 NEW GERMANY - The stench of oil is evident outside of Terry Sanford's house on Fire Hall Road.

 Mr. Sanford drives by his house and motions for a meeting on a nearby street.

 "I shouldn't even be here. I should be in a clean air environment. But nobody will help me," he says.

 The New Germany resident has been diagnosed with occupationally induced irritant asthma and he says the smell from a leaking oil tank worsens his symptoms.

 Mr. Sanford has only been out of hospital for a few days. He says the stench from the dilapidated property aggravated his asthma and put him in hospital for nearly a week.

 Since his release on April 30, he's slept in his car in a nearby parking lot, in a hotel and with family for fear the oil smell would aggravate his condition again.

 Although Mr. Sanford is now staying at home, he says he leaves only when he has to and not without being masked for fear the smell will affect his ability to breathe.

 "This is my home," he says, shaking his head in disbelief that he can't go outside to work in the garden when the smell is at its worst during the day.

 "I'm not one to be trapped in a house," he says. "But I can't go outdoors."

 Mr. Sanford is under treatment by the Nova Scotia Environmental Health Centre. He had to give up working because exposure to strong odours causes an increasing shortness of breath, chest tightness and nasal congestion.

 His environmental medicine physician, Dr. Jonathan Fox, reported that his prognosis is fair "if he can maintain an appropriate environment by avoidance of chemical triggers."

 But the oil from across the street at 26 Fire Hall Road has gone beyond the confines of the property. It has been carried by water from the property through a culvert and has run down a ditch which abuts Mr. Sanford's property.

 The smell is evident at about 75 feet from Mr. Sanford's well. The ditch runs into a swampy area beyond Mr. Sanford's property line.

 The property and dilapidated building are owned by a defunct company called Douglas Projects International Inc. According to the Registry of Joint Stocks, the company's status was revoked in August of 2006 for non-payment. Robert W.B. Douglas of Mahone Bay is listed as the company's president, recognized agent, director and secretary.

New Germany resident Terry Sanford can't go in his backyard without being masked. The smell of oil from a neighbouring property aggravates his asthma. Paula Levy Photo

 Mr. Douglas was contacted for comment but refused to disclose why he hasn't cleaned up the property despite two orders by the Department of Environment (DOE) to do so. He would not even admit to owning the New Germany commercial property which is assessed at $19,600.

 But according to provincial court documents, DOE has laid six charges against Mr. Douglas and six charges against his company.

 The charges include releasing a substance into the environment which causes or may cause significant adverse effects; failing to take reasonable measures to prevent, reduce and remedy the adverse effects; failing to take reasonable measures to remove or otherwise dispose of the substance to minimize the adverse effects; failing to take measures required by an inspector on March 30 and April 27 and failing to rehabilitate the environment. He is expected to enter pleas on the charges on May 23.

 "Our role there is to ensure that the person responsible cleans it up," says DOE district manager Adrian Fuller, noting they do not know how much furnace oil has spilled into the environment. He continued to reiterate that DOE staff are monitoring the situation.

 Mr. Fuller says the spill was first reported to DOE following a fire at the building at the end of March.

 But DOE isn't the first government body to insist that Mr. Douglas clean up the property that he purchased for $3,200 in a municipal tax sale in 2005.

 The Municipality of Lunenburg has also been attempting to get Mr. Douglas to clean up the property under the Dangerous and Unsightly Premises Bylaw. Councillor Cathy Moore says a demolition order was issued but that order, too, was ignored. Before the order expired on March 31, Councillor Moore says a fire started.

 "When the fire department got there, they realized the oil tank had been leaking in the basement," she says, noting there was oil in the catch basin and oil had been carried off the property to the ditch which abuts Mr. Sanford's property.

 Council, however, doesn't want to go in and clean up the property because of environmental concerns.

 "Council would not agree to go in and have the building demolished with the oil spill not being taken care of by the property owner," says Councillor Moore.

 She says demolition of the property is expected to cost taxpayers up to $60,000. Incidentally, the property has an outstanding tax bill of $2,830.14. Recouping those costs does not include cleaning up the environment.

 In short, Mr. Douglas is not cleaning up the oil spill, DOE is attempting to hold him accountable and municipal council is waiting until the spill is cleaned up before they attempt to demolish the property themselves at the taxpayers' expense, the oil remains and Mr. Sanford continues to ail from the odour.

 "I'm going to get sicker if they don't get this out of here," says Mr. Sanford. "Where am I supposed to go? And what am I supposed to do?"