On Wednesday, Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil said talks were underway with Halifax to clean up a contaminated site, but the city says that’s not correct.
The defunct RDM Recycling plant in Harrietsfield is linked to higher levels of toxins in nearby well water. The site is the subject of two separate ministerial cleanup orders from the province, but the parties named have not followed through.
READ MORE: Complete Nova Scotia election coverage
Given the long-standing contamination, Global News asked each major party what they would do about the site if they are elected. On Wednesday, both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives said they would clean it up.
“We are talking to the municipality about options for cleaning up the site,” said Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil in a statement. “This remains a priority for the government, and we understand the challenges being faced by the local community.”
Halifax Atlantic Liberal candidate Brendan Maguire took the pledge one step further.
“As of today, the commitment has been made that the city and the province will be working together to clean up the RDM site,” he said in a Facebook video
However, in a statement sent on Friday, the city said no talks have happened.
“We have not had any conversations with respect to the municipality participating in a clean up of the site,” said spokesperson Brendan Elliott.
Late Friday the Liberals issued a clarification.
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“We have had an initial conversation with our municipal partners and we’ll be seeking to meet with them to discuss a partnership,” read an emailed statement from Liberal campaign spokesperson Brynn Langille.
‘Initial conversation’ on Harrietsfield
It appears the “initial conversation” was a phone call from Kevin Musgrave in the premier’s office to Shaune MacKinlay in Mayor Mike Savage’s Office on Wednesday.
Musgrave is the former assistant to Environment Minister Margaret Miller and was most recently in the premier’s office before the election writ was dropped. He has since been working on the Liberal’s re-election campaign.
MacKinlay told Global News Musgrave called to give the office a heads up that McNeil was going to take a “position” on the site and he would ask the municipality to partner with the province.
However, she said no formal requests were made by the province and nothing was initiated by the city. If a formal request is made by the province, it would follow the regular municipal process including a vote at council.
Progressive Conservatives question ‘truthfulness’ of Liberals
On Wednesday, Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie and Halifax Atlantic Candidate Bruce Holland both said “clean it up” in response to questions about what the Tories would do with the Harrietsfield site if they form the next government.
READ MORE: Harrietsfield resident calls for swift cleanup of contaminated site in Nova Scotia
“Enforcing the law as it is now, setting real standards on water quality and ensuring that those standards are met,” Baillie said.
Following the changing line from the Liberals on Friday, he issued a statement saying the issue raises questions “about the truthfulness of statements made by Stephen McNeil and the local Liberal candidate.”
NDP Leader Gary Burrill has not committed to cleaning up the Harrietsfield site, but he told Global News on Wednesday that there needs to be a “strengthening of environmental compliance” across the province.
On Friday he took the Liberals to task for playing politics with Harrietsfield residents.
“The people of Harrietsfield need action, not some more rhetoric.” Burrill said in a statement. “The NDP would sit down and listen to all partners to find a solution.”
‘Clear impacts on the water’
The level of toxins found in the wells varies, but advocate and resident Marlene Brown has previously told Global News that monitoring on her water has found unsafe levels of toxins including arsenic, uranium, lead and iron.
Some of the chemicals are naturally occurring in the ground water, but a government document obtained by Ecojustice shows that the heightened levels of some chemicals is linked to the RDM plant.
READ MORE: Minister says Harrietsfield well-water is safe, residents disagree
“There are clear impacts on the water on the site, and down gradient from the site, that generally don’t occur upgradient,” reads an email from 2015.
And in November, Miller confirmed that at least eight homes are “contaminated by the runoff, or leachate, from the site.”