The construction site for the Mont Owl’s Head residential development project has been temporarily shut down after a minor rockslide last week swept down into Lake Memphremagog, carrying a small fishing shed along with it.
The incident occurred directly below the construction area between last Wednesday and Saturday. However, the exact date and cause of the rockslide is unknown, according to Potton Mayor Michael Laplume. An investigation is currently underway.
“Everything stopped [Monday], and my understanding is that it’ll be like that until we have answers, if answers can be provided, you know, this a first for us as well, so we’re addressing the situation and we’re trying to address it in the safest way possible,” said Laplume.
The municipality imposed a work stoppage immediately after learning about the rockslide. It was done to ensure that professional inspectors have enough time to evaluate the area and properly assess the situation without any construction crews in the way.
Laplume wouldn’t comment on the property damage or whether the shed’s owner would be compensated. He said that it is too early to make any assumptions regarding the rockslide, whether it was a natural occurrence or human error.
“It’s hard for me to comment on it further, you know, where did the rockslide come from, I mean is this something that happens just naturally as well,” Laplume asked. “It’s easy to make the correlation between the two and that’s what we’re trying to identify at this point.”
However, Memphremagog Conservation Inc. (MCI) President Robert Benoit said the answer is obvious, and it is being willfully ignored by everyone involved in the project. Last week, Benoit told The Record that he had warned Owl’s Head about the risk of erosion.
Rockslide temporarily shuts down Owl’s Head development project
By Michael Boriero
