The Rural Voice, 1998-08, Page 30Toxic nightmare in
Egremont Township
Thousands of illegally dumped tires
are ruining the lives of residents. Karl
Braeker and his family are tired of
fighting the government to clean up its
mistake.
Story by Roberta Avery & photos by
Ted Shaw
Karl Braeker's father back in
his native Germany always
told him that tall trees were a
sign of good water.
So when the former Toronto
police officer was ready to fulfill his
life-long dream retiring to a farm in
rural Ontario he chose a well -wooded
lot near Mount Forest.
But that dream turned into a "toxic
nightmare" in 1991 when the
Ministry of Environment and Energy
(MOEE) supervised the burial of
33,000 illegally dumped tires in a
trench on the neighbouring farm, he
says.
"We're being forced to live next to
that witch's brew, it's ruining our
lives," says Braeker.
The east fence of the 40 -hectare
farm where Braeker, 70, lives with
his wife Vicky, their son Paul,
daughter-in-law Elaine and their three
children, is about 200 metres from
the trench.
After years of battling with the
MOEE, Bracker was delighted when
the ministry began to remove the tires
on June 15. But he says he was
shocked to hear the plan was to leave
behind the contaminated water and
the sludge in the trench on site which
broke Environment Minister Norm
Sterling's promise the site would be
cleaned up properly.
"I'm extremely happy to see the
tires being removed, but his promise
is not being fulfilled in its entirety,
there are all kinds of toxins in the
water," said Bracker.
Bill Hutchinson, ministry
engineer, admits tests show the
presence of contaminants in the
trench water, in quantities toxic to
fish.
26 THE RURAL VOICE
Ffloyd Doran washes off tires az the tire dump disposal in Egremont Township.
"We believe that once the water is
exposed to air and sunlight, it will
become benign. Mother Nature will
look after it," said Hutchison.
MPP Bill Murdoch (Progressive
Conservative Grey -Owen Sound)
who has pressured his government to
take action on the tires, said the
clean-up plan fulfills the promise
Sterling made to Braeker.
"The ministry is going to make
sure the water isn't polluted, they're
the experts," said Murdoch.
The heavy soil around the trench
will contain the water and "it won't
migrate more than a few inches," said
Hutchison.
Tests will be performed
throughout the summer and
neighbouring wells, which to date
have tested negatively for
contaminants, will be monitored. If a
problem develops, the water will be
pumped out and trucked away to a
Contaminated water and sludge is
left behind after the tires in
Egremont Township are removed.
toxic waste disposal site, he said.
"By then it will be too late, it will
be in the aquifer", says Braeker who
has launched a civil suit against the
province for damages. "We've had
seven years of uncertainty and we're
still so worried that we don't even
shower in our well water, our
property still has this cloud hanging
over it."
Braeker used his life savings to
purchase the well -wooded farm in
Egremont Township in 1978.
"We did our homework. After a
long search we found a farm where I
could apply all the things I had
learned about organic farming at
agriculture college in Germany," says
Braeker.
The nightmare began shortly after
the massive tire fire at Hagersville.