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APPENDIX IX
MOE LETTERS TO PROPERTY OWNERS

November 1999

Dear Property Owner:

As you may know, the Ministry of the Environment has taken several actions to reduce contamination from the abandoned of Deloro Mine Site. Since 1983, annual arsenic loading to the Moira River has been reduced by more than 80 per cent. The ministry is currently working on final cleanup plans for the site which will reduce contamination levels further. The cleanup work, which is being planned to in the year 2000 construction season, will take about three years to complete at an estimated cost of $18 million. The objective of the remediation work is to deal with the source of contamination, and thereby protect the environment and the health of those living downstream of the mine site.

In addition to the site remediation, and at the request of property owners' associations in Moira and Stoco Lakes, the ministry is conducting a detailed study of the Moira River system. The purpose of the Moira River study to assess the environmental impact of contaminants such as arsenic, cobalt, and copper on the river system and to determine whether there is any potential risk to the health living downstream. The study area spans from upstream of the Deloro Mine Site to Belleville, and includes Young's Creek, Moira Lake and Stoco Lake.

Extensive sampling of water, sediments, fish and bottom-dwelling organisms is being used to asses the health of the river system. To understand how people are using the river and lakes in the Moira River system, (whether for drinking, bathing, gardening, swimming or cooking), a survey was sent to 625 households in the study area in july 1999. Two hundred and thirty-one households responded. Of those, a few indicated that they take drinking water directly from the Moira River or one of lakes.

The ministry and the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit have contacted these individuals to advise them not to use untreated drinking water from the river system. We would like to lake this opportunity to remind property owners that all surface water (lakes, rivers and streams) can contain harmful bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms. It should therefore not be used as a source of drinking water. If you do use surface water, it should first be treated to destroy disease-causing bacteria. A Health Unit information sheet on water treatment is enclosed for your information.

For those living on the Moira River from downstream of Deloro to the outlet of Moira Lake, an additional precaution is recommended. Water sampling to date indicated that levels of arsenic in this area can occasionally exceed the Ontario Drinking Water Objective, particularly during the summer months when water levels are lower. In light of this information, and the fact that some people are drinking water directly from the river system, residents taking water from this stretch of the Moira River system are advised, as a measure of prudence, to use another drinking water supply. If you choose to use the river or the lake as your drinking water supply, you should treat the water to remove bacteria and arsenic. Distillation and reverse osmosis are the treatment methods generally recommended for arsenic removal.

The final report of the Moira River Study is targeted for completion in the spring of 2000. Not only will this report provide a snapshot of the state of the environment in the river system, it will also provide information on the significance of the contaminants and recommendations as to further in the study area.

If you have any questions regarding drinking water from the Moira River systems, please contact Dave Dodgson, the water Quality Coordinator at the Hastings and prince Edward Counties Health Unit (613) 966-551 extension 248. For more information in the Moira River Study, contact Wayne Herrick at the ministry of the environment 1-800-267-0974 ext. 2678.

Yours truly,

Jim Ritter
Regional Project Manager
Ministry of the Environment
Kingston

Glen Hudgin
Director of Public Health Inspection
Hastings and Prince Edward Counties
Health Unit
Belleville

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November 1999

Dear Property Owner:

As you may know, the Ministry of the Environment has taken several actions to reduce contamination from the abandoned Deloro Mine Site. Since 1983, annual loading to the Moira River has been reduced by more than 80 per cent. The ministry is currently working on final cleanup plans for the site which will reduce contamination levels further. The cleanup work, which is being planned to begin in the year 2000 construction season, will take about three years to complete at an estimates cost of $18 million. The objective of the remediation work is to deal with the source of contamination, and thereby protect the environment and the health of those living downstream of the mine site.

In addition to the site remediation, and at the request of property owners' associations on Moira and Stoco Lakes, the ministry is conducting a detailed study of the Moira Rivers systems. The purpose of the Moira River Study is to assess the environmental impact of contaminants such as arsenic, cobalt, and copper on the systems and to determine whether there is any potential risk to the health of those living downstream. The study area spans from upstream of the Deloro Mine Site to Belleville, and includes Young's Creek, Moira Lake and Stoco Lake.

Extensive sampling of water, sediments, fish and bottom-dwelling organism is being used to assess the health of the river system. To understand how people are using the river and lakes in the Moira River systems, (whether for drinking, bathing, gardening, swimming or cooking), a survey was sent to 625 households in the study area in july 1999. Two hundred and thirty-one households responded. Of those, a few indicated that they take drinking water directly from the Moira River or one of the lakes.

The ministry and the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit have contacted these individuals to advice them not to use untreated drinking water from the river system. We would like to take this opportunity to remind property owners that all surface water (lakes, rivers and streams) can contain harmful bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms. It should therefore not be used as a source of drinking water. It you do use surface water, it should first be treated to destroy disease-causing bacteria. A Health Unit information sheet on water treatment is enclosed for your information.

The final report of the Moira River is targeted for completion in the spring of 2000. Not only will this report provide a snapshot of the state of the environment in the river systems, it will also provide information in the significance of the contaminants, and recommendations as to further actions which may be required. Findings and recommendations will be communicated to people in the study area.

If you have any questions regarding drinking water from the Moira River systems, please contact Dave Dodgson, the water Quality Coordinator at the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit (613) 966-5513 extension 248. For more information on the Moira River Study, contact Wayne Herrick at the Ministry of the Environment 1-800-267-0974 ext. 2678.

Yours truly,

Jim Ritter
Regional Project Management
Ministry of the Environment
Kingston

Glen Hudgin
Director of Public Health Inspection
Hastings and Prince Edward Counties
Health Unit
Belleville