THUNDER BAY – More than five years after more than 100 millimetres of rain overwhelmed the city’s sewage treatment plant and caused widespread flooding, the declared state of emergency remains in effect.
The city of Thunder Bay initially issued the emergency declaration on May 28, 2012, hours after heavy water flow flooded thousands of basements, washed out roads and knocked out the Atlantic Avenue plant, resulting in sewage backup throughout East End neighbourhoods.
A deluge of 108 millimetres hit the city over the course of 36 hours, with 50 millimetres falling in a one-hour span prior to the sewage plant failing early that morning.
Mark Smith, the city’s general manager of development and emergency services, confirmed in an email to tbnewswatch.com the declaration has not been terminated as the city is in the process of reviewing reports and documentation relating to the repairs to the plant and related infrastructure.
“I understand that following this review it is expected that the city will be lifting the declaration,” Smith said.
The total cost to repair damage to the sewage treatment plant from the flood has been pegged at $58 million.
The aftermath from that storm is the subject of two separate legal battles, which also remain ongoing.
A class action lawsuit – seeking as much as $375 million – was filed against the city, alleging the plant’s failure was the result of operating negligence.
Earlier this year the city filed a $31 million claim against the Ontario Municipal Insurance Exchange, alleging repair costs to the plant are owed through insurance claims.
None of the claims in either lawsuit have been proven in court.
A request for the city and Fort William First Nation to declare a state of emergency was issued by Nishnawbe Aski Nation chiefs over the safety of Indigenous youth following the deaths of 17-year-old Tammy Keeash and 14-year-old Josiah Begg in May.
The ongoing flood state of emergency would not affect whether that request could be granted.
“The fact that the declared state of emergency in relation to the 2012 flood continues to exist has no bearing on the city’s ability to declare states of emergency in relation to other issues,” Smith said.
“For example, the city had declared states of emergency on several occasions when it has provided assistance and accommodation to hundreds of people forced to leave northern communities as a result of floods and fires.”
