The former Goodyear plant on Mountain Road in Collingwood might be demolished soon.
According to the town's chief building official, Greg Miller, municipal staff met with the property owner’s consultants and contractors in September for a site meeting.
Goodyear shut down operations at the Collingwood plant in 2007.
The property has changed ownership since 2018, and a demolition permit was issued by the Town of Collingwood on Nov. 15, 2018.
According to Miller, a permit may be revoked by the chief building official after six months if demolition has not been seriously commenced or if the demolition has been suspended or discontinued after more than one year.
The existing demolition permit issued by the town requires additional hazardous materials testing as part of the demolition works, he added.
Previously, the former owner of the site, Collingwood Prime Realty Holdings Corp., was charged under the Canada Environmental Protection Act due to hazardous materials – specifically polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) – on site.
The charges stem from old electrical transformers and capacitors in use on the former Goodyear property at 101 Mountain Rd.
The transformers contain high concentrations of PCB, which has been prohibited for use in Canada since the 1980s.
In August 2018, David Rennie, operations manager of Environmental Enforcement for Environment and Climate Change Canada, told CollingwoodToday that PCB is a highly toxic substance to human life, animal life and the environment, and it is toxic in very small doses. It has been known to cause cancer in animals and is suspected of causing cancer in humans.
On Aug. 21, 2018, courts sentenced the director of the company at the time to a 45-day jail term, to be served on weekends, and a penalty of $420,000 payable to the Environmental Damages Fund.
An expert witness in the case against Collingwood Prime Realty suggested just a drop could cause significant damage and poses a threat to humans. If a transformer containing PCB catches fire, the burning PCB creates another toxic substance known to cause birth defects and impair cognitive function.
Rennie said the transformers and capacitors have since been safely removed from the Mountain Road site and disposed of according to safety guidelines.
The charges and court case were the result of an investigation by Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers, which was launched in April 2015.
Collingwood’s fire department also fined Collingwood Prime Realty Holdings Corp. on more than one occasion for fire-code violations related to failing to produce records showing sprinkler and life systems maintenance.
In 2018, the courts upheld charges issued by the fire department for 13 counts of fire-code violations, resulting in a $26,000 fine ($2,000 per count).
In 2015, a plea deal resulted in $115,000 in fines issued by the Collingwood Fire Department to the former owner.
Fire Chief Ross Parr said the new owners have been compliant and no fire-code violations have been charged against the property since its sale.
