Trouble on the links

>>Local residents teed off over proposed east end golf course

by WAYNE HILTZ

In his brief speech at a Pointe-aux-Trembles press conference on Monday, Mayor Pierre Bourque praised the upcoming construction of a new mega golf course as a boon for the long-neglected eastern tip of Montreal.

To be built by real estate development company Sudenco at a cost of $125 million over 10 years, Bourque said that the two 18-hole golf courses would "unleash the magic of the eastern crescent."

But the project has also unleashed a lot of controversy. Two local eco-groups were invited to the launch party, but declined to attend. To be built on property that includes a former landfill site and part of a wildlife conservation park (the Parc regional de la Pointe-aux-Prairies), both groups contend that something smells about the project--not only the rotting garbage there.

"I will have nothing to do with Sudenco or the City until they make room for some public input," says an exasperated Vincent Marchione, president of the Comite de vigilance de l'environnement de l'est de Montreal.

Paul Mayer, president of the Societe des amis du Parc regional, has spent the past three years banging on doors trying to convince politicians of the project's potential dangers, to no avail.

"They say that there's no pollution there and that it's all under control," says Mayer. "But they contaminated the site to the max for almost 30 years and they've no expertise on how to treat this mound of garbage."

Nobody on site

Under the city's contract with Sudenco, the city agrees to lease the former landfill site, along with 17 hectares of the adjacent park, to Sudenco for 40 years. Work on the project actually began last spring, when Sudenco and the city began covering up the landfill with truckloads of soil. The Societe des amis is upset about the conversion of parkland; they're also concerned about the project's impact on an endangered species of sparrow hawk that lives there.

To make matters worse, the city has relinquished its role as the golf course's project manager effective November 1, which means there are no longer any city officials on the site to supervise the work. The city had also hired a consulting firm, Dessau-Soprin, to conduct environmental follow-up tests--but as of November 1, Dessau-Soprin is no longer on the site either.

"Sudenco now has total control of the site and can make any deals [with sub-contractors] that it wants," says opposition city councillor Richard Theoret. "They can bring whatever they want onto the site and if no city personnel are there, there's no quality control." Theoret says Sudenco is still trucking soil onto the site, and worries that it may not meet environmental norms.

And, he says, there's reason to be suspicious: earlier this year, two civil servants were displaced from their supervision of the project because they alerted their superiors to potential environmental problems. "Since the city still owns the property, it remains liable for any future environmental damage," Theoret adds.

Old appliances under the fairway

The area was an informal dump site for many years before becoming an official city landfill in 1967. It then took in regular garbage, old furniture, large appliances from around Montreal, and became the dump site for potentially toxic ash from Montreal's old garbage incinerator, before closing in 1993.

Sudenco president Denis Tancrede assured the Mirror that the company has strictly followed all environmental regulations. "I have no doubt that the site has been properly cared for... and that we have no problems."

But Theoret isn't so convinced. The groundwater from the former landfill is to be drained and sent to the nearby MUC sewage treatment plant, but he doubts the plant is properly equipped to treat the toxins before they're dumped into the river.

Meanwhile, Tancrede also announced on Monday that residents could ask questions at a public forum next month.

Local activist Marchione wasn't impressed. "The project is obviously a fait accompli," he said. "Why didn't they do that before?"

Now, Marchione plans to step up his efforts. His Comite de vigilance is teaming up with the eco-group Action RE-buts to demand an independent environmental impact study, followed by public consultations.

Asks Action RE-buts president Michel Seguin: "Why not conduct a study to assure that it will not pollute and affect public health? We shouldn't take any chances here."