Image Credit: Contributed / Paul Poirier

By James Peters

Notch Hill Rail Ties

Notch Hill resident raises alarm over CP Rail creosote tie stockpiles

Oct 4, 2019 | 8:52 AM

SORRENTO, B.C. — A Notch Hill resident says he’s concerned that stacks of creosote-treated rail ties along the CP Rail line near his property are leaching into the community’s water supply.

Paul Poirier says CP has stockpiled creosote-soaked ties along the line near his property for years. Some ties have been left lying in drainage ditches near his farm.

Ditches in the area eventually drain into Newsome Creek, which runs into Shuswap Lake. Poirier says there is potential that material from the creosote-soaked rail ties is finding its way to the intake for the community of Sorrento.

Image Credit: Contributed / Paul Poirier

“That water, where it goes into the lake, it’s right by the water intake for Sorrento,” said Poirier. “So in the spring, when that water runoff happens, we get a boil water advisory in Sorrento. Well, now that the ties are piled there, now we have this leaching thing happening into our water system. It’s going right into our Sorrento water.”

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“People are drinking out of that water. And if you look at the side of the railroad, you see all those ties laying in the ditch and they’re leaching.”

Poirier says he has contacted the B.C. Ministry of Environment about the issue, but has not heard a response.

In an email to CFJC Today, Columbia-Shuswap Regional District Area C Director Paul Demenok said he is aware of the concerns. Demenok says he has contacted CP Rail and is awaiting the company’s response.

“I am concerned about the potential for creosote to get into the Newsome Creek watershed,” wrote Demenok.

There are several varieties of creosote used in industrial applications. One of the most common, coal tar creosote, has been found to be carcinogenic.

Image Credit: Contributed / Paul Poirier

In an emailed statement, a CP Rail spokesperson defended the company’s use of creosote.

“Creosote treated wooden railway ties provide a long-lasting alternative to untreated wood, providing protection from fungi and pests,” wrote spokesperson Salem Woodrow. “If untreated, these pests will break down the structural integrity of the wood in a short period of time.”

“The use of creosote in this application has been approved for use by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency,” Woodrow continued.

The Health Canada approval provides little comfort for Poirier, who says a large stack of old ties has been sitting near his property for many years.

“It grew this year, and then there’s another stack of new ties that they didn’t use when they changed the old ties that were bad. That stack of ties is still sitting there; it’s been sitting there for six or seven years now,” said Poirier. “And they’re new ties, so they’re totally covered in creosote. I don’t know if they’re 100 feet from the well that’s there.”

“They’re proven (to be) cancer-causing, right? So why are they still using them when everywhere else in the world is using concrete ones? Why is it that they’re allowed to do these things?”

Image Credit: Contributed / Paul Poirier