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Local environmentalists are expressing frustration that an asphalt dumping ground remains next to a Windsor river and city park, nearly a year after local authorities were first alerted and a cleanup order issued.
“This is a bad thing for the ecosystem health of the river, especially for the fish and other wildlife that try to survive,” said Ian Naisbitt, chair of the Little River Enhancement Group.
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“I was disgusted to see that,” said Naisbitt, who has led efforts to clean up the river for decades, including the planting of thousands of trees.
“It shouldn’t be that way.”
The piles of asphalt chunks mixed with dirt were deposited on an industrial property in Twin Oaks Business Park that is located near the banks of Little River in Dragonfly Park.
Naisbitt and Tom Henderson, chairman of the public advisory council for the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup, have been pushing for the dumped material to be removed. They point out it has encroached on the river’s riparian zone — the area between a body of water and upland vegetation.
“This park may not be well-known, but it is very dear to me,” said Naisbitt. “This site has been abused for years, so we’re very sensitive to a dumping issue and this is a new one.
“We’ve been dedicated to making this area more natural and this is a big issue for us.”
The land is located on Munich Court and sits along the west side of the river, which runs through the business park, between E.C. Row Expressway and the CP Rail tracks. It is home to songbirds, butterflies, and endangered species like the eastern fox snake.
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An order to clean up the site was issued to the property owner in October, said James Chacko, the city’s executive director of parks and facilities.
He told the Star that the land is owned by a numbered company but declined to specify the owner’s name.
“We have been following all of the appropriate channels and working through our various departments to ensure that the property owner will clean up these lands,” Chacko said.
“The process is playing out to have the owner clean up the property — not only just the city’s portion but within the lands of concern.”
Henderson told the Star it’s been seven months since he and Naisbitt were told the site would be cleaned.
Chacko said work was scheduled to take place and be completed by the end of this spring.
“This is something very simple that could easily be done in a week or so,” said Henderson. “All there has to be is the will to do it and so far we haven’t seen it.”
The property has until the end of June to remove the asphalt and dirt that has been pushed and piled along the river.
“The property owner has committed to and has provided the appropriate paperwork to have this cleaned up,” said Chacko. “When property owners are given orders to comply, and then they don’t, the city would hire somebody to go in, have the area cleaned up. It’s then billed to the property owner through their tax assessment.
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“Our concern from the parks department is the impact to Dragonfly Park and the greater concern to Little River itself.”
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After nearly a year of waiting to see the dumped material removed from the banks of Little River in Dragonfly Park, both Henderson and Naisbitt remain optimistic the dumpsite will soon be cleaned.
“Tom and I will give them until the end of June,” said Naisbitt. “Our only goal is to get the illegally dumped material removed.”
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