December 11, 1998
(Environment and Labour)

The following statement was issued today by Oliver Langdon, Minister of Environment and Labour. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Release of Judge Nathaniel Noel's report into the Makinsons Contaminated Site Remediation Project

I rise today to inform Honourable Members of the results of the independent review undertaken by now Retired Judge Nathaniel Noel, commissioned on behalf of the Department of Environment and Labour by the Department of Justice, into the clean-up of a former metal recycling site at Makinsons.

The review was undertaken to help resolve a difference of opinion between the consultant and the contractor involved in the Makinsons Environmental Site Remediation Project. The dispute involved allegations that the contractor, SCC Environmental/Tri-Waste, a joint venture between a local company and a Calgary based company, had been overpaid by government for the amount of contaminated soil treated at the site. The other company involved in the dispute, Fracflow/BEAK, a joint venture between a local company and a national firm, was contracted to manage the clean-up project on behalf of the federal and provincial governments.

Judge Noel was provided with all of the documentation relating to this project and was asked to conduct a comprehensive review into the allegations and report back to the Minister of Justice. I am pleased to report on my colleague's behalf that Judge Noel's investigation has concluded that there was no overpayment to the contractor, SCC Environmental/Tri Waste, and that the contractor was entitled to all payments. Furthermore, the investigation reveals that there is no basis for government to take action against any party involved in this project.

Judge Noel was also asked to determine whether or not there had been any improper or undue influence during the course of the project. I am pleased to report that after careful review of the documentation, Judge Noel has concluded that there is no evidence of improper or undue influence.

The clean-up of this former metal recycling site at Makinsons was undertaken between 1992 and 1995 as part of the National Contaminated Sites Remediation Program. The project was cost-shared on a 50:50 basis between the federal and provincial governments and a federal/provincial management committee was established to oversee the project.

Judge Noel recognized that these types of projects are new to the province and are often difficult to manage. He has provided some guidance to my department with respect to the management of remediation projects of this type and magnitude. Please be assured that Judge Noel's advice will be given full consideration by my department during the course of any further remediation projects of this type.

It is my intention to table Judge Noel's report and the attachments in the House of Assembly by Monday or Tuesday of next week. The reason I am not doing this today is because this documentation contains several references to various companies and may contain information which could be detrimental from a competitive perspective. Therefore, the report and attachments are under review for proprietary information.

In closing, I should note that government announced its intentions to initiate an independent review of the issue in December 1997. However, due to a number of circumstances beyond our control, the review could not begin until much later in the year. In addition, we did not place any timeframe on the review so as to ensure Judge Noel had adequate and appropriate time to give this issue his full attention. That said I wish to express my appreciation to my colleague, the Minister of Justice, for his assistance in helping bring this matter to a conclusion, and of course, my appreciation also extends to Judge Nathaniel Noel for his thorough and detailed review of this issue.

1998 12 11                                         10:00 a.m.