Where's the Environmental Assessment For The East End Arena Site

I was on the City's website the other day trying to find out information about the environmental assessment that was or is to be done on the Lear site where the arena is to be built. As you will notice from the image on the left, an EA is not even indicated.

I know that Don Sadler, the city's director of parks, said "There are no environmental issues." But then I remembered about the Farhi lands and the Peace Beacon site where his X-ray eyes were clouded up it seems.

It is such a big project. I found it very strange that there was nothing mentioned. I knew that the there were exemptions from the Environmental Assesment Act for such projects as:

1) The activity of constructing, owning, operating, maintaining, altering and retiring facilities and works to be located at the Windsor Casino for the production, supply and delivery of heat energy, chilled water and related services to any person, corporation or commission in the City of Windsor, Ontario be exempt from the application of the Act

2) The activity of developing a waterfront park, covering approximately 35 acres, bounded by Riverside Drive, Viale Udine, Devonshire Road and the Detroit River, providing for a range of recreational and tourism uses.

If you can believe it, there was an EA undertaken to confirm the need for any required modifications to McDougall Street and to identify the preferred solution for the Casino expansion but nothing for the East End arena that I could find.

In passing, I note that the costs of the Vollmer arena in Lasalle are $28.8M. "the building’s price is capped at a guaranteed maximum of $20 million. The remaining $8.8 million is the cost of installing access roads and other amenities necessary for the centre to operate." That extra $8.8M for roads and amenities is something that needs consideration when looking at arena cost. We do not know that figure for Windsor yet.

You know that I already have questions about the use of the Purchasing By-law for this project and how financing is being undertaken. And we just found out that another $3.7 million more plus interest has been added on to the arena cost. Think of what we could have done with that money! But it's ok since Councillor Budget said "We want a premier facility in this city"

I figured that I may as well ask the Ministry of the Environment about the EA too. Here is the letter I wrote:

To: Ministry of the Environment

I am rather disturbed that there has not been an environmental assessment proposed with respect to the massive Windsor East End arena project, one that will cover at least 23 acres of land with almost two thousand parking spaces. That project is located at the industrial Lear Plant site near Tecumseh Road and Lauzon in Windsor

Under the Environmental Assessment Act, it states:

• 2. The purpose of this Act is the betterment of the people of the whole or any part of Ontario by providing for the protection, conservation and wise management in Ontario of the environment.
  
  3. This Act applies to,
  (a) enterprises or activities or proposals, plans or programs in respect of enterprises or activities by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Ontario or by a public body or public bodies or by a municipality or municipalities;
  
  5.(1) Every proponent who wishes to proceed with an undertaking shall apply to the Minister for approval to do so.
  
  5.(3) No person shall proceed with an undertaking unless the Minister gives his or her approval to proceed under section 9 or the Tribunal gives its approval under section 9.1

You told me that Regulation 334 applies to this project and in particular:

• 5. (1.1) For the purposes of clause 5 (2) (a),
  "estimated cost" means the most current estimate of the cost of an undertaking prepared by an engineer, architect, official, planner or construction contractor, which estimate has been submitted to the council or other governing body of a municipality or a committee thereof and has been accepted by it as the basis upon which the undertaking is to be proceeded with, and where an undertaking is being constructed in phases includes the cost of all phases, but does not include any costs for,
  (a) the acquisition of land,
  (b) feasibility studies and design carried out for the undertaking,
  (c) the operation of the undertaking,
  (d) a building, the construction of which is regulated by the Building Code Act,
  (e) any furnishings, equipment, facilities or machinery ancillary to a building described in clause (d), whether contained in it or not, or
  (f) any facilities or machinery contained in a building described in clause (d), whether ancillary to it or not. O. Reg. 456/93, s. 2 (1).
  (2) An undertaking by a municipality is exempt from subsection 5 (1) of the Act where,
  (a) subject to subsection (3), it has an estimated cost of not more than $3,500,000;

It is very clear that the cost of the project will exceed $3,500,000 and it thus subject to the Act. The City’s general manager of parks, Don Sadler, stated that “about seven acres will be required for the four-pad arena complex and another 16 acres for parking.”

The Windsor Star reported on January 13, 2007 that:

• “The full cost of Windsor's new arena is expected to be $61.2 million, and the city says it will be fully paid for in only three years.
  
  In addition to the base cost of $47.9 million, a fixed price guaranteed by PCR Contractors Inc., the company that will build the arena, the city will pay $5 million to service the site and add a parking lot, $4.4 million for changes and finishes to the design called fit-outs, $4.2 million in interest on interim financing, $1.5 million as part of the land swap with a London developer, $900,000 for building permits -- which goes back to the city --$750,000 for a contingency fund for servicing and fit-outs and $300,000 for bonding…”
  
  City treasurer Onorio Colucci will also recommend an $800,000 contingency fund for the interest costs.

In addition, it now appears that as part of the land swap for the arena, an extra $100,000 will have to be paid to clean up the exchanged land.

As you can see above, taking into account the definitions under the regulation, the estimated costs outlined in bold above greatly exceeds the $3,500,000 amount. The servicing costs alone or in combination with the interim financing are over twice the statutory figure. Add in anti-pollution costs (see below) and this is a very costly project.

It appears as well that a Request for Proposal has been issued as part of this to

• “qualified consulting firms for engineering services related to design, construction drawings, specifications, contract administration and inspection, of the McHugh St Extension from Lauzon Road to eastern entrance of arena and secondly over Little River on to Florence Avenue.”

An estimated cost of that project is around $4 million for roadway, bridge, contingency, typical engineering fees and construction administration/inspection costs which would have to be added in as well as part of the costs.

In addition, what is very troubling is a report broadcast on radio station, CKLW, that there may be rainwater run-off problems into Little River from the arena parking lot. [I have a copy of that news broadcast which I can forward to you]

Apparently, the Little River Environmental Group has asked for a change in the design and size of the parking lot. The issue is the quantity and quality of the water coming off the parking lot after it rains since it can increase pollution. After every rainfall, there would be run-off down the drain or off the parking lot into the drainage ditch that leads into the storm water retention pond.

For a parking lot of 1,800 spots, there would be 16 acres of "hard surface" parking lot according to the City. Water cannot penetrate and soak into the ground and has to be drained off by means of catchbasins, sewers and ultimately get dumped somewhere. That is a lot of water in a big storm which is enough to literally destroy the Little River ecosystem in one shot (run-off water has very poor oxygen content, and at certain times of year very high salt content, both of which can damage aquatic life). Obviously, parking lot run-off is notorious for being dirty (oil, salt, grime etc.)

Mr.Sadler appreciates their concerns as he states in the radio broadcast so it is clear that there is a real issue that needs to be dealt with. He claims that “hopefully” they have a grading plan that works by collecting and distributing the water so that very little enters Little River.

Clearly grading will not be enough and the Ministry will probably require a storm water retention system to be developed, at an additional cost of several million dollars not to mention, Oil-Grit Separator (OGS) structures for quality control of the water. Again, that increases the cost of the project.

I am shocked that there will be a meeting with the Ministry this week “to see if the plan can be approved.”

I am unaware of what authority the Ministry can grant such approval. The Act does not allow for “informal” environmental assessments not open to the public and not subject to the strict terms of the Act.

Moreover, I am unaware that the Ministry will accept “hopefully” as the basis for solving a problem and granting an approval in such a serious matter!

One other matter needs addressing urgently: soil contamination. According to the City, the Lear site is free from contaminants. On January 11, 2007, the Star reported:

“There are no environmental issues," said Don Sadler, the city's director of parks.

The area, which sits behind the Lear plant on Lauzon Road, was inspected for metals and other contaminants, Sadler said.

An environmental assessment was also completed on land next to the Art Gallery of Windsor, which will be given to a London developer in exchange for the east-end site. The downtown property has also been cleared for environmental contaminants.”

Yet only a few days later, on January 16, 2007, we found out that the land near the Art Gallery had a major problem. Again the Star reported

• “The city will have to pay up to $200,000 to remove a foundation left behind from an old brewery on the Riverside Drive site that is part of a land swap for the new arena development.
  
  Mayor Eddie Francis said the old foundation was located on part of the site where the current Art Gallery of Windsor sits and next to an empty parcel of land the city will give to a London developer in exchange for land on the east end of the city for a new arena. "What happened was they just dumped dirt on top of it to close the hole."

On January 26, 2007, Mr.Sadler stated with respect to another site near the Art Gallery lands, the Peace Beacon site

• “Every shovel full was another nightmare," said parks director Don Sadler. "There was no way of knowing without x-ray eyes the extent of everything that was in there."

Council will be asked to approve the unexpected hike in costs, as well as an additional $303,000 that had been taken out of the original budget, for a total increase of $603,000 in the project this year.

The soil conditions encountered when digging began included wood, woodpiles, large concrete foundations and organic fill. The materials had to be removed and shipped to the landfill, causing unforeseen costs of $104,000. The fill that was removed had to be replaced with engineered fill in order to hold the footings to support the new structure, Sadler said.

• "Soon as we got digging down a little bit deeper to place the footings, then we ran into a tremendous" problem.
  
  Sadler doesn't blame the firm hired to conduct the test because the problems could be missed when digging so deep. "At 50- foot intervals, you don't always hit every pocket…"
  
  "I don't think we can ever contemplate what's underground," Francis said.

Frankly, I cannot argue with the Mayor respecting what is underground especially at the arena site which is an industrial property. Given the two recent incidents respecting soil contamination where none was expected, I have a great concern with what may be found at Lear since I assume that no one had “x-ray eyes” there either. I wonder as well if 50 foot interval soil testing is inappropriate and therefore, the soil testing should be redone completely.

Given the size of this project being in excess of the amount set out in the Regulations, the road work needed for the arena, the Little River contamination and the question re soil contamination, it is my opinion that a full environmental assessment of the project is required forthwith.

Please confirm immediately that the Ministry shall require the City of Windsor to undertake an environmental assessment under the Act forthwith and that all work must stop at the site until such EA is satisfactorily completed.

Yours truly,