TEMAGAMI — The Temagami Lakes Association (TLA) is concerned about the environmental impact from a front-end loader currently sitting in about 150 feet of water at the bottom of Lake Temagami off Chimo Island.
Nicole Brooker, president of the TLA, says the ten-ton loader slid into the lake in mid June and she doesn’t believe there is enough action being taken to remove the loader before its fuel, hydraulic fluids and oil seep into the lake.
Because Lake Temagami is a popular tourist destination with cottages and lodges operating on the lake, heavy equipment and building supplies are regularly moved around the lake on barges and are used on islands for repair work.
The retrieval of a piece of submerged heavy equipment like a front-end loader isn’t an easy task – it requires specialized heavy towing machinery anchored on shore.
It is a mandatory process when a piece of heavy equipment goes into a waterway that it is reported immediately to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and to the local municipality, in this case Temagami.
“The Municipality of Temagami is concerned with the status of this accident, however, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of the Environment are the provincial (departments) responsible for addressing environmental catastrophes,” said Temagami’s chief administrative officer/treasurer Laala Jahanshahloo in an email interview.
“We have reached out to both agencies and we have been advised they are working diligently to address the concerns,” she said.
MECP RESPONDS
The Speaker contacted the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) for comments and they said they received a report about a construction machine, a front-end loader, that went into the lake on June 9.
“At the time of the reporting there was no observations of a spill from the machine,” said MECP environmental compliance officer Anthony Boucher in an email interview.
“A hydrocarbon spill was reported to the Ministry on June 17, which prompted a visit to the site on June 18. At that time a hydrocarbon sheen was observed and confirmatory samples were collected.”
The MECP says it then ordered the owner of the machine to retain the services of a qualified individual to contain the spill and prepare a plan and timeline to remove the machine from the lake.
In a follow-up visit to the lake on June 26, the MECP noted there was no hydrocarbon sheens observed. The MECP says it will continue to monitor the situation and collect additional samples when deemed appropriate.
In addition, Boucher noted the owners are ultimately responsible for these incidents and for taking all measures to prevent and mitigate environmental impacts, including hiring professionals to contain and clean up spills, to monitor environmental conditions and removal of the contamination source. They must also comply with Ministry directions and orders.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Using heavy equipment, such as an excavator, in a lake below the high-water mark can result in sediment disturbances, possible destruction of habitat, lead to shoreline destabilization, and can impact other properties and the larger lake ecosystem.
Scot Paltrow, chairman of the TLA’s natural resources and environment committee, said in an email interview he felt the submerged loader was a “major pollution incident. To date no steps have been taken to remedy it. After it sank nearly a month ago the 20,500-pound front-end loader is still in water 43 metres deep. It is continuing to leak toxic diesel fuel and hydraulic fluid.”
He is concerned that nothing has been done to cordon off the location of the machine with containment booms to confine any toxic substances that have formed, and that no effort is being made to remove the loader.
“The slick is drifting southward and unless contained it will almost certainly wash up on island and mainland shorelines, threatening birds and wildlife,” said Paltrow.
He mentioned the TLA continues to press the MECP to “take immediate strong action to remedy the problem, including requiring the parties responsible for the sinking to act immediately to remove the loader.”
The TLA says it is working closely with the Teme Augama Anishinabek on Bear Island in the process of notifying government agencies and trying to remediate the problem.
By Sue Nielsen, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Jul 15, 2026 at 07:59
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