Court Action and Formal Hearings

Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Canada Inc.

Objectives:

WI's objective in this case was to force the other involved parties to respect the principle of zero discharge in the Great Lakes Basin.

Description:

In 1986, ICI shut down its fertilizer plant, located upriver from Walpole Island, but contaminated cooling water held in large ponds continued to accumulate following the closure. In 1987, some of the water was released into the St. Clair River as a result of the ponds reaching capacity. More ponds were constructed following an outcry from the town of Wallaceburg.

In 1991, Walpole Island was invited to participate in a Phosphates Planning Committee intended to focus on solutions not involving discharge. Following a failed experiment with the process of reverse osmosis, ICI decided to turn once again to the discharge option. In February, 1995, ICI applied to the Ministry of Environment and Energy for a new piping/pumping system to discharge 3.4 million cubic metres of treated phosphate process water into the St. Clair River. From August to December, 1995, ICI and Walpole Island consultants negotiated an agreement to provide Walpole Island with $1 million towards the establishment of an environmental monitoring facility. After a public meeting, Chief and Council rejected this agreement in December, 1995 because it was not consistent with the goal of zero discharge.

Board hearings held in May and June, 1996 led to a decision that a controlled discharge would take place over a 4.5 year period in order to prevent an uncontrolled discharge from ICI's wastewater storage lagoons. The Board ruled that the discharge conformed with Ministry water quality policies and guidelines, and would not pose a risk to ecosystem integrity or human health.

In November, 1996, ICI was directed to undertake a controlled discharge of 24.6 million gallons of its treated pond water. In December, 1996, WIFN sought a judicial review of the order, which was dismissed by the Ontario Court. Between December, 1996 and March, 1997, ICI undertook a series of emergency discharges, and WIFN provided bottled water to community members during these discharges. The discharge of the remaining 750 million gallons of treated pond water is pending a WIFN court appeal.

Outcome:

Though WIFN's efforts to stop the discharge and respect the zero discharge principle have not succeeded to date, recognition of the First Nation's rights to be consulted was gained. The First Nation was forced to make a tradeoff between badly needed cash and environmental principles, and it chose the latter.

Support:

Intervenor funding for Board hearings; subsequent involvement at WIFN's expense, including water monitoring station.