Restoration work on a sand pit in Mercier, on the South Shore of Montreal, continues to cause dissatisfaction in the sector, while illicit activities are allegedly taking place despite an order.
• Read also: The municipality of Mercier orders the cessation of restoration work on a sand pit
The peace and quiet of residents of Sainte-Marguerite Boulevard has been disrupted for several months.
The comings and goings of trucks, the noise, the dirt and the dust caused by the work, which takes place six days a week, exasperate them.
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The most recent results of soil analyzes sent to the City by the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks also demonstrate “exceedings of the criteria for some parameters, particularly for certain metals and for certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
In addition to the notice of non-compliance, the order to end the work issued Wednesday by the Commission for the Protection of Agricultural Land (CPTAQ) would not have been respected.
A citizen of Mercier met by TVA Nouvelles details how the activities disrupt her daily life.
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“It’s incessant, it doesn’t let up. It starts at 6 a.m. in the morning. We, our room, which is in front, we forget that when we sleep in,” says Sonia Charbonneau.
The work, which aims to backfill a sand pit to return the lots to cultivation, is causing great concern within the municipal administration.
“We started making complaints at that time to the Ministry of the Environment and the Commission for the Protection of Agricultural Land. Our inspectors went. An injunction was issued to stop the work. It prohibits our inspectors from entering the site to carry out checks. It’s unlivable,” says the mayor of Mercier, Lise Michaud.
The latter refers to one of the shareholders of one of the companies working on the site, Stéphane Laberge, who sent a formal notice to the City.
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The manager defends himself
The manager sends the ball back to the provincial level to intervene in the matter.
Reached by telephone on Saturday, Ms. Laberge’s lawyer, Mr. Roger Paiement, told TVA Nouvelles that he was going to contest the CPTAQ’s order, which is only administrative. He claims that the Commission has no jurisdiction over the site’s restoration activities, which arise from acquired rights over the 10.1 hectares targeted by the work.
Me Paiement also affirms that the soils received on the site comply with the requirements of the Regulations on quarries and sand pits.
*See the report in the video above*