One local resident is voicing concerns about the Lhtako Gas & Convenience Store gasoline leak.
Lori Storey lives on Jade Street, just outside the zone of study for contamination effects.
“As a resident just outside the perimeter, I feel very angry that all the residents outside the boundary were never notified,” Storey said. “I have smelled fumes in my water last fall. I never knew what it was. The natural drainage in this area runs south and I believe is much farther than the area they have marked off. If my well or any wells are contaminated or will become contaminated, this needs dealt with.”
Storey wonders why the leak was discovered in June of 2022, but for the 10 ensuing months, the incident was not made public, even to those in the vicinity.
“Many residents in this area are not even aware of this catastrophe, this a major problem and I feel it is being kept very hush hush,” Storey said. “This will affect our health, homes and property for many years. Why is the Cariboo Regional District not involved? A bulletin needs to go out to every home in the area and not just in the squared off zone. Who decided that was the only one affected? How did they come up with 110,000 litres? Why were we, the residents, not told about this as soon as it was discovered? It may take years to slowly seep into wells.”
Storey wants accountability for all steps in the chain of this prolonged incident that dripped away since 2020 when the Lhtako Gas & Convenience Store had new storage tanks installed that they now say were hooked up in a faulty way and inflicted the slow, steady leak. The investigation, in Storey’s view, should look into all those matters now affecting the environment and local residents.
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