It looks like Ottawa won’t be stepping in to help with the MV Miner cleanup. Earlier this week, Transport Minister and Whitney Pier native Lisa Raitt said her Department won’t be getting involved because the work on Scaterie Island is not an impediment to navigation. Raitt suggested that the Department of Fisheries and the Coast Guard could get involved after the discovery of contaminants on the derelict vessel. Cleanup crews say they found nearly five times the amount of asbestos as expected and 30-thousand litres of diesel fuel. However, the Department of Fisheries says a surveillance flight didn’t spot any pollution in the water around the Miner so there is no threat to lobster stocks. The federal Department of Environment says it won’t be getting involved because there’s no environmental emergency connected to the cleanup. The province is paying nearly 12 million dollars for the cleanup but that cost is expected to rise after the discovery of more contaminants on the Miner.
