Mountains of mystery dirt sit above ground at Waterdown Garden Supplies. Is there pollution buried below?
Drone photos of a shipping container buried in asphalt shingle waste have spurred new resident demands for a cleanup at a Waterdown Garden Supplies property already infamous for mountains of allegedly contaminated soil.
The rural Highway 5 property east of Troy is best-known for the 24,000 truckloads of mystery dirt illegally dumped in 10-metre-high piles between 2018 and 2019.
The Spectator exclusively reported a $75-million lawsuit launched this year by the principals of Waterdown Garden Supplies that alleges two city employees conspired with slain mobster Pat Musitano to dump thousands of loads of soil allegedly laced with pollutants like cadmium, mercury and hydrocarbons.
Those allegations have not been tested in court. The city says it has been provided with no evidence" to support the claims, but has asked its auditor to look into them.
Residents remain worried those above-ground piles will pollute their drinking water wells - but they also want to know what's hiding under the ground," said neighbour Jim Whelan.
Overhead photos taken in March and April 2019 show a large red shipping container being buried on the Flamborough property. Only part of one end of the container remains above ground in the most recent photo.
If there's nothing in it, why would you bury a steel shipping container?" said Whelan. We just want to know if there's anything toxic in there, anything that could end up in the air or our drinking water ... Given the allegations about this property, I think it's a reasonable concern."
The provincial Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks checked on the buried shipping container in 2019 but was unable to get inside, said spokesperson Jennifer Hall.
On the upside, areas visible through holes in unburied portions of the container appeared to be empty." The downside, however, is that the container itself is buried in asphalt shingle waste."
The ministry will conduct a full inspection of the container when the asphalt shingle waste is removed, as is required by provincial officer's order," she said in an email.
Gary McHale, president of Waterdown Garden Supplies, said the container was previously used to store fans and duct work for a building on the property. He said he believes the container was relocated and partially buried by a different company, Havana Group Supplies.
He said Waterdown Garden Supplies lost control of the property and was evicted in late 2018 through a court order, leaving the company unable to access the property to comply with provincial cleanup orders. The company and its principals filed the $75-million lawsuit in part to address liability issues related to the soil dumped at the property.
Havana Group Supplies, a construction and excavation firm the province says imported soil to the site, also faces a provincial cleanup order. Two individuals once linked to the company - Musitano and Grant Norton - were murdered last year.
The Spectator was unable to reach a lawyer for Havana last week.
No matter what is inside the mystery shipping container, residents are incredulous that two years have passed without anyone inspecting the interior - or cleaning up the shingle waste surrounding the box.
How long are they going to wait for someone else to dig it up? It's just upsetting that no one is taking responsibility for this mess," Whelan said. It's like everyone is playing hot potato with this property."
The province has issued three separate cleanup orders to landowners and alleged soil dumpers since 2018 based on visible piles of construction waste as well as test samples of soil that showed unacceptable levels of lead, cyanide and oil-based contaminants in isolated" locations.
The latest order in 2019 called for groundwater testing, more soil sampling and removal of any contaminated dirt. So far, the order remains unfulfilled.
Right now, the ministry says mortgage holder Sukhinder Sandhu is the controller" of the property, but he does not face any provincial cleanup orders.
Court documents show Sandhu has previously been involved with Havana Group Supplies and he is listed along with that company as a plaintiff in a $9.9 million lawsuit against McHale alleging defamation and breach of contract.
The Spectator was unable to reach Sandhu last week.
Sandhu was also a mortgage holder and eventual owner of an infamous property on Wentworth Avenue North where 800 barrels of toxic waste were discovered behind a false wall. He participated in a cleanup of that property alongside other past and current owners in 2017.
Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com