Saskatoon woman wants to find new use for contaminated site
A Saskatoon woman wants answers after discovering a contaminated abandoned lot in the Riversdale area.
Karen Farmer learned of the Imperial Oil lot, between 19th and 20th Street and Avenue J and K, while working on a location search for the city centre school project.
The lot borders Optimist Park, older homes and some new multi family dwellings.
“It’s a contaminated site that has been sitting here for 25 years, close to the downtown of Saskatoon,” Farmer told CTV News.
Farmer wants to raise awareness about lots like these in the hopes that they can be put to more productive use for the neighbourhoods.
“I think they want to pretend its not there. It’s a large area and we need housing. We need affordable housing,” she said.
Imperial Oil said in an email to CTV News that it started operating the site in 1911 as a bulk fuel plant and service station.
It was decommissioned in 1996 which involved the removal of structures and underground tanks.
Since 2010, the company says more than 760 sites have been put back into use.
Spokesperson Keri Scobie said “there are no near term plans for this site.”
The province has a list of hazardous waste sites online. More than 200 are in the Saskatoon area alone, including the Riversdale site.
Part of the original lot it is now used by CHEP Good Food.
“We run an internship and education program every summer for youth aged 15-30, bringing them together around growing good food,” Zoe Arnold, CHEP urban agriculture coordinator said.
The CHEP group grows mostly vegetables there, but they are grown in either plastic bins or have a plastic barrier underneath.
“There is potential contamination of the soil, so hydrocarbons could be released in the soil for instance so we wouldn’t be able to grow in the ground here,” Arnold said.
Farmer wants the city increase taxes on lots like this to make it less appealing to leave it sit as is.
According to the city, such commercial lots had a property tax bill of about $106,000 this year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.