Dear editor,
I read your recent article on the mystery slick. I was there at the Home Hardware on Monday, Dec. 12 (around 10 a.m.) and watched at least six dump trucks unload snow into the river in a 30-minute period. Who knows how many actual loads were dumped over the course of the day?
At first I thought, ‘That is a novel way to get rid of the snow,’ so I wandered over to watch. Then I was shocked to see how much of a petroleum sheen was produced with each load, and thought, ‘That can’t be good.’ I’m now sure this is the same sheen that was published by your paper. No mystery.
I realize the City had multiple investigations under way, and it’s really good they know that it’s not an acceptable practice, but my hopes are you will publish this letter to better educate whomever was responsible. I live in a newer subdivision which is totally dedicated to draining storm runoff, including snow, through engineered rain gardens. With the recent salmon spawning it’s not acceptable to introduce deleterious substances into our rivers. Not to mention the other estuary critters.
Steve Wilson,
Courtenay
