Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has approved an extension to allow for the completion of in-water work at Chedoke Creek.
A spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that the City of Hamilton’s request was granted and the compliance date for completing dredging activities has been amended to Nov. 30.
“All other activities required by the order, including dredged material dewatering, sediment management, and disposal activities, must still be completed by the city by the original deadline of December 31,” the MECP’s Gary Wheeler said.
The city’s director of watershed management revealed the ask last week after contractors and equipment deployed at Kay Drage Park revealed they would not be able to finish ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline.
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“We have consumed pretty much our entire scheduled buffer, what we call contingency, with the unseasonably wet summer,” Cari Vanderperk said.
The dredging work was part of an MECP order to undertake some sort of remediation of the waterway following the release of 24 billion litres of untreated wastewater between 2014 and 2018.
The work, originally set to happen for six months in 2022, has experienced delays amid negotiations with a group representing the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council – who insisted on participating in monitoring of the remediation as per their treaty rights.
Vanderperk says it’s not likely they will need the entire extra month requested since a recent update from contractors suggested they only need about two weeks to go.
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