Two townships on the North Shore Corridor have received assurances that remediation work will be carried out at the Agnew Lake Tailings Management Area.
Baldwin and Nairn & Hyman townships both get their water from Lake Agnew, but there are concerns that the closed tailings site has been leaching into the water table, according to Nairn CAO Clerk Belinda Ketchabaw.
She says the province has provided written confirmation on Wednesday that niobium rock tailings from the former Beaucage Mine near Nipissing First Nation will not be transported or deposited at the Agnew Lake Tailings Management Area.
Instead, she says the ministry has reassured them that it will proceed with an alternative remediation plan that utilizes clean materials to repair and mitigate the Agnew Lake site.
She adds that remediations are already underway, with major work scheduled to begin next summer.
Ketchabaw says plans include repairs with clean rockfill, dam safety reviews, engineering design work, and additional monitoring and maintenance measures, adding that this is a significant decision that will protect our environment and drinking water.
