Contaminated soil at BMX track site will have to be removed

PENTICTON – The nearby residents were worried about contaminates in the soil and it turns out their concerns were justified.

The Penticton mayor says testing shows dirt being dumped for use in building a BMX bike track near Munson Mountain does not meet the standard for such material in agriculturally-zoned property.

READ MORE: Penticton residents worry environmental hazard being dumped in their neighbourhood

“It meets the standard for park land zoning but agricultural is 10 times more stringent,” says Andrew Jakubeit. “So staff is now working on an action plan to remove the soil.”

The soil is coming from downtown Penticton where a block of main street is being excavated for a revitalization project.

“Even though the BMX track is on poor agricultural soil in the first place, we certainly don’t want to add to it and have soil that is below the agricultural standards,” says Jakubeit.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Even though the BMX track is on poor agricultural soil in the first place, we certainly don't want to add to it and have soil that is below the agricultural standards," says Jakubeit.

The soil removal may delay the planned opening of the BMX track in the spring.

~ With files from Neetu Garcha