By Sean Meyer/London Community News

A pair of heritage properties on Waterloo Street may be sitting on contaminated soil, but after the cleanup is finished they will likely go back on the market, according to the owner.

The buildings, formerly owned by Murphy and Murphy Architects, were sold to Shell Canada last year, however, it was discovered nearly seven years ago that oil and gas had leached into the ground from the neighbouring gas station at 316 Oxford St. E.

Shell Canada is in the process of cleaning up the properties and a company spokesperson said the plan is to ultimately selling the buildings intact.

Jeff Gabert said the contamination was discovered when the company did a complete rebuild of its gas bar and retail outlet. They also found the contamination had spread to the ground beneath the properties at 775 and 777 Waterloo St.

“At some point, we likely had a leak from some of our infrastructure or some of our tanks. It is not uncommon, most sites contain these liquids, but in this case we have contamination,” Gabert said. “So when that happens, we notify the property owner and go about the cleanup the best we can. The process moving forward is very well established. The Ministry of the Environment has regulations that all oil and gas companies with retail locations must follow.”

The full cleanup involves a process where multiple holes are drilled across each location. Groundwater is then extracted from beneath the three properties, drawing up the contamination at the same time. The water is then either cleaned and returned to the sanitary sewer system or is properly disposed of. The process goes on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until the samples come back at a level in compliance with the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) standards.

Jason Lehouillie, an environmental officer with the MOE office in London, said the situation at Waterloo Street isn’t an unusual one and that it can often take years for the cleanup to take place. Lehouillie also said the ministry hasn’t needed to issue any orders to Shell, as the company has “taken the bull by the horns” with this cleanup.

The ministry gets reports every six months on the cleanup. Lehouillie said the results have been encouraging and residents shouldn’t be concerned about groundwater.

“The numbers have been decreasing pretty consistently over time. I believe they began monitoring wells in 2005 and remediation either late 2005 or early 2006,” Lehouillie said. “We haven’t issued any orders to Shell, they have taken total responsibility on this and are addressing the situation appropriately.”

The level of contamination, Gabert said, is difficult to pin down. When the discovery was made, however, Shell went in and did testing both inside and outside the buildings on each property. The testing, Gabert said, showed the buildings safe for ongoing use.

Eventually, Gabert said, the property owner at 775 and 777 Waterloo St. decided to sell the properties to Shell, which as a standard practice told the owners that should they ever be interested in selling, to give company officials a call. When that eventually happened last year, Gabert said Shell made the deal.

The City of London doesn’t typically have a role to play when it comes to contamination on private property — unless the owner was to make an application for something like a demolition permit or a zoning change, which has not taken place at this time.

Ron Standish, the city’s director wastewater and treatment, said he is encouraged no application for demolition has been filed, an indication to him Shell plans on leaving the heritage buildings intact.

“Not hearing an application for demolition has been made is good news. That suggests to me what Shell is trying to do is do the remediation first,” Standish said. “I don’t see why the buildings should be affected. Good for them for taking on the responsibility of cleaning up the site; that is the first and foremost thing.”

The commercial building at 775 Waterloo St. has architecturally significant features while the residential building at 777 Waterloo St. has been designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. The properties are also located within the Bishop Hellmuth Heritage Conservation District.

Lehouillie said there has been no indication from Shell that demolition is something they are considering.

“In my experience with these groundwater remediation projects there is no reason to be concerned for the structural integrity of the buildings,” Lehouillie said. “This pump and treat system is very common and is used all over the province.”

Commercial tenants in 775 Waterloo St., Gabert said, will be gone by the end of February while the tenant of the residential building, which has since been boarded up, left at the end of their lease.

“For us to market the properties appropriately, it is easier for them to be empty. It is easier for us to maintain the buildings and market them without tenants,” Gabert said. “We don’t run properties, especially historic buildings. I think we are getting to a point where we will have to consider what we have to do to market them and that will probably take place within the year.”