North Cowichan council wants to see something done to clean up Crofton’s waterfront area, which has many sections covered in black slag left over from a copper-smelting operation in the area in the early 1900s.
Council voted unanimously at its meeting on May 21 to direct staff to prepare a report outlining the history of the smelting operations and recommend actions the municipality could take to begin building a case for advocating to senior levels of government to remediate the area.
Coun. Christopher Justice, who put the motion forward, said Crofton’s waterfront and bay is a contaminated site as a result of of the dumping of tens of thousands of tons of copper metal slag into the area in the early years of the 20th Century.
“What was once white sand beach with a thriving shellfish population is now a sort of black sand with metallic chunks that make it dangerous for bare feet and for pets’ paws,” he said to council.
“We don’t know whether the slag deposited in the bay is leaching things, and there are a lot of other things we don’t know for sure. This is not a problem the municipality will ever be able to solve. Any assessment or remediation work would certainly fall to other levels of government.”
In a report, Justice said that prior to European contact, the Crofton waterfront was home to thriving clam and oyster fisheries and bordered by a wide expanse of pristine white-sand beach.
He said that, today, the scene is markedly different, with much of the area unusable due to the black slag, which is impacting the quality of life of Crofton residents.
Justice said a news report dated to 1902 said the smelter operation had a capacity to process 360 tons of ore per day, and the article also confirmed that slag was being dumped into the sea.
He said there are many unanswered questions, including whether the smelting processes left behind slag containing residual metals and metallic compounds which could leach into the surrounding environment.
“North Cowichan's official community plan includes several policy statements addressing the Crofton waterfront,” Justice said.
“It states that the municipality will actively pursue opportunities to remediate ecological and contaminant damage caused by past smelter activities. A key objective is to restore Crofton Bay to a condition that is safe and inviting for aquatic and beach recreation. The plan also emphasizes the importance of involving federal and provincial governments in these remediation efforts.”
Coun. Bruce Findlay said that, as a resident of Crofton, the issue hits home for him and his family.
“We used to bring our kids down to the beach when they were little, so we’re very cognizant of these concerns,” he said.
