Long Lake Gold Mine remediation project hits stumbling block

The Long Lake Gold Mine Remediation Project is going to be delayed again.

It's been years since troubling levels of arsenic were found in the Sudbury area lake. Back in 2013, the province committed to cleaning up the old gold mine site, located near the popular recreational area that many people call their home year-round.

• Arsenic cleanup relieves residents on Sudbury lake

But the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines says the environmental assessment process still needs some tweaking — and residents are worried about increased truck traffic on the normally peaceful camp road.

The chair of the Long Lake Stewardship group says residents are aware of the notion "short term pain for long term gain" when it comes to the completion of the remediation project.

"But I think the concern I heard was the number of trucks that would be travelling on the road, day-in and day-out through the restoration phase," Scott Darling said.

"Primarily what I heard in terms of the concerns were the traffic, the increased traffic that's going to occur over the two-year period on Long Lake Road and Tilton Lake Road and South End Road -- the wavy trail."

The remediation project is expected to run between two and three years. Darling says it could be closer to 2019 before the project gets started.

The Long Lake Gold Mine operated in the early 1900s and again in the 1930s.

Read the Q&A from the Long Lake Gold Mine remediation project public meeting

Independent film produced about the abandoned Long Lake Gold Mine site