df ars] oo , Contaminated soil _ local gas station proprietor By SARAH A. ‘ZIMMERMAN PEOPLE in Terrace are | rallying around - Giannino Pretto after he had to stop selling gas at his Kalum . St. Shell ‘station _ last . month because of. financial ‘ ' difficulties stemming. from contaminated soil on his property, _ Pretto, who bought. the station and property from Shell .in 1982, discovered contaminated “hot spots” on the property in November 2001 while work was under way to install new gas tanks on the property. ~The discovery led: to a lengthy closure that forced: Pretto ‘to lay off six employ- ees until expensive environ-. mental testing and clean up | could be completed. > He reizioved the contami- _ _ nated soil around those new tanks, but other parts of the - ‘property still: remain con- taminated.. And because of that, financial institutions ‘don't want:to extend credit — to a client who’s only colla- toral is contaminated. | Pretto has been asking for Shell’s assistance to clean up . ’ the site for nearly four years : “but to no avail. . “It’s .a little guy getting stuck .with a big bill when somebody else poilutes the land and leaves ‘and then the law changes and he gets saddled with it,” says local . social worker Rob Hart. » | Pretto and his wife Sheila - . have always maintained the contaminated °soil existed . - on the property before he gid FEATURE HOME bought it —a gas station had been at the same location in. the 1950s and ‘60s. Pretto has never had leakage prob- ‘lems from the underground tanks since he bought the station more than 20° year ago. — Petto’s gas tanks have been dry since Nov..26 and customers have been. given _ letters explaining his posi- tion. il plagues — “Shell Canada does not **] accept any responsibility for ‘this contamination and has refused to assist me in any way to remedy the situa- tion,” it reads. _ The letter also provides ‘contact information for con- cernced citizens to write to Shell. . tacted Shell. He’s a longtime customer of Pretto’s and, works across the street from the Shell station. _ ’ “I’m sure in the world of business Shell has no liabil- ity,” Hart says. _ -“But in- my world. of thinking .of doing, what’s. right, I believe you help this ‘guy out because he’s spent his life working for you.” «.He’s written Shell Cana- . da a letter supporting Pretto telling them that Pretto’s. “been a fixture in. the com- munity for many years. and they should. reconsider their position. ° a “Shell can make a very good story out of helping Giannino continue to work hard,” Hart wrote. “You can also create an ugly sto- _ ry by standing on whatever Cell: Bus: (877) 635-2404 ‘Res: (380 798-9565 ; 250) 631-3100 3 Email: vance@royallepage.ca ‘market today! | Royal LePage Terrace #102-4644 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C. cumammmmmmmm itiniiintitit a RNR 11000111 nn tect ROYAL LEPAGE Rob Hart has already con- eer” sents a Litre Cora -GIANNINO PRETTO can't afford to buy bulk gas right " now — so his tanks are dry. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO - ground yoti coristruct that al- _ lows you to watch him lose his business.” ‘ to write to Shell but he also wants people to support the only part of Pretto’s business «tha® is operating right now — his car wash and specialty import foods in the station’s grocery store. “If the big company screws ya then hopefully _ your fellow citizens can buy He’s asking other people. -eration. Local businessman Bob -Park says large corpora- ‘tions need to recognize that certain situations are unique -and deserve special consid- - He believes Giannion Pretto’s case is one of those. “] just feel that these big- ger companies have to. sit and look at the whole picture | sometimes,” Park says. “In the big picture it’s like Da- vid taking on Goliath with Outdoor Power Equipment Technician “JANUARY 3 - JULY 29 Northwest Community College is now offering the Outdoor Power Equipment Technician Program (OPET) at Terrace campus. 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