The ministry takes control

The Ministry of the Environment, formed in 1973, turned its attention to the Deloro Mine Site in the late 1970s. In 1978, the ministry issued an order under the Environmental Protection Act to force the property's owner, Erickson Construction Company Limited, to take steps to control the discharge of arsenic to the nearby Moira River. The company was operating a treatment plant that cut the acidity of wastewaters discharged off-site, but there was little action being taken to reduce the amount of arsenic going into the river. Erickson Construction failed to comply with the terms of the ministry order and, in 1979, declared a lack of operating funds. An order was issued against the company to cease operations that affected the environment. The company abandoned the site and the ministry took control of the property as remediator of last resort.

Addressing Immediate concerns