Preston Mulligan has been a reporter in the Maritimes for more than 20 years.
Court documents show 13 plaintiffs claim the town was negligent in its management of the site "in a matter that has caused pollution and environmental damage to ground and surface water, soil and aquatic life."
Was a sawmill tank drained properly?
In the court documents, the plaintiffs say the source of the contamination comes from the old 246,000-litre dip tank on the sawmill site.
Councillor Clifford Hood, chair of the town’s water utility, said while there may be contamination on the old sawmill site, he doesn’t believe it’s spreading to neighbouring properties "Our position is that we have not caused any of the allegations that are being made by those plaintiffs," said Hood.
Contamination ‘not moving’: councillor The community’s fear of contamination began to grow last year when the town spread garbage-filled compost over the former sawmill site.
But residents saw trash in the compost in early 2016 and complained.
They determined the compost wasn’t a source of contamination.
They also allege the contamination on the sawmill site made its way into the well water of three of the plaintiffs listed.
According to the court documents, several of the plaintiffs received a notice from the town in June of 2016 indicating that "contamination is known or suspected to directly impact surface water or sediment on the plaintiffs properties."