Montreal-Trudeau Airport | Dorval was irritated by a new leak

New chemicals spilled from the ground at Montreal-Trudeau airport into a stream flowing into the St. Lawrence River anger Dorval’s mayor, who is calling on the federal government to intervene.

Concerned about the unusual color of the water in Bouchard Creek, a citizen alerted municipal and airport officials on Dec. 6 that glycol, a chemical in the alcohol family, is used as an airplane deicer because of its antifreeze properties. .

Fifteen minutes after the citizen’s call, the creek’s water returned to its normal color Pres Dorval’s mayor, Mark Dorrett, said he regretted the recurrence of similar incidents.

His administration reported the situation to the Environment Department of the City of Montreal, which is responsible for these issues for all municipalities on the island.

“After investigation, the service concluded that it was the presence of hydrocarbons and not glycol,” it said. Pres Kim Nantois, spokeswoman for the City of Montreal.

“At the request of the City of Montreal’s Department of the Environment, the airport has actively set up infrastructure to control and collect pollution in the areas concerned,” added Ms.^me Nantes.

Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) says it “reported an oil spill of less than one liter” on land it owns outside the restricted area and leased it to a “partner” that day.

“Because it was raining, a liter of hydrocarbons got mixed with the rainwater, so they ended up in the storm drain through the drains, so maybe there was a spill from the airport site to a portion of the water,” he explained. Pres Eric Forrest, a spokesman for ADM.

“No glycol was involved in this incident,” he said.

ADM’s Environmental and Grounds Maintenance Managers” [aider] tenant” to contain the spill and increased surveillance of the waterway was carried out in the following days as a precautionary measure, Mr. Vanathurai said.

The mayor is impatient

AIADMK’s explanations did not satisfy Mayor Dorat.

“We’re not discouraged because there’s always an excuse,” he says.

“The airport is trying to sell itself as a company Commercial Too environmental, it really isn’t; It’s one of the biggest polluters west of Montreal,” Meyer continues.

“It’s time for the central government to put some pressure on the airport, they should think a little more [approfondie] on the environment,” he said.

According to him, events like Dec. 6 undermine years of efforts to restore the health of Bouchard Creek — a small stream that has its source north of the airport before resurfacing southeast in a buried pipe. paths, and passes through the town of Dorval and finally throws itself into the river at the height of the Parc du Millenaire.

Dorval also plans to steer the site toward aquatic activities that could allow for improvements in water quality, but fears ongoing spills will be an obstacle, Meyer explains.

Filtration station requested

The city of Dorval and the Montreal borough of Lachine demanded that ADM build “a small filtration plant” to prevent the airport from releasing pollutants into Bouchard Creek, Mayor Marc Doret recalled.

ADM points out that the underground drainage network at Montreal-Trudeau airport is equipped with hydrocarbon sensors, and that its de-icing center, which opened in 2014, recovers glycol through a system of underground pipes.

A monitoring program for stormwater, sanitation and groundwater quality is in place to ensure the safety of waterways that cross the site, says spokesman Eric Forrest.

“More than 500 analyzes are performed annually on rainwater samples taken from various outlets at the Montreal-Trudeau and Montreal-Mirabell airports,” he notes, and compliance with municipal water quality standards is verified through routine inspections.