Blast reports from Trail Bay Estates (TBE) have told residents living near the Sechelt development exactly what they didn't want to hear: that construction blasting is not responsible for the damage to their homes.
"It's quite comical," said Louise Parker, co-owner of the Catch of the Day bed and breakfast, which lies across Highway 101 from the development. "They're in total denial of everything."
Parker is one of five residents living near the phase one area of the development (by Barnacle Street) who say they've dealt with noise and damage to their properties from more than 1,100 blasts over the past two years. She still has a hole in her driveway and the piece of flying debris that left the crater in January 2007. But it's minor damage compared to the $70,000 she and partner Bob Mackie have spent repairing a concrete landing on their property - damage the report says is not caused by blasting.
The report was delivered to the District of Sechelt on April 23, and sections relevant to individual homeowners were sent via email shortly afterwards. They arrived more than 10 weeks after the last of the affected residents had their homes inspected for damages by personnel from Explosives Rockwork and Technology. The company's owner, Scott Parker, authored the six-inch-thick report. He couldn't be reached for comment by Coast Reporter's press deadline Thursday afternoon.
Though it contains record of 988 seismograph readings covering 544 individual blasts, the blasting record database only goes as far back as Jan. 12, 2007 and shows gaps in blast monitoring during March 2007. The records suggest blast monitoring didn't always adhere to the standard of three seismographs being set up in a triangle around the affected homes. While resident Kim King calls the report "gibberish based on incomplete data," TBE president Bruce Morris said it shows, for the most part, blasts stayed well within the 50 millimetres per second vibration limit stipulated by the District's blasting bylaw.
"A lot of this comes down to credibility," said Morris, who also sent letters to each of the five residents. "Parker's independent of us - he follows a professional engineer's code of ethics."
The report referenced nearly 50 sources from engineering journals. One source noted the vibration caused by jumping off a chair onto the floor is 25 millimetres per second. Seismograph records show 95 per cent of the vibrations felt by King's home were less than 12 millimetres per second, Parker noted in the report. But interim inspections carried out by TBE prove the damage did not exist prior to the blasting, King said. Seen in this light, Parker's report "depicts the residents have lied about their damages," King added.
The report does acknowledge damage caused by two flyrock incidents: one through the roof of Plunkett Mallon's home and another through the deck of King's home. TBE has ensured their subcontractors - those directly responsible for the rogue blasts - cover the cost of those repairs.
Blasting is now concluded for the entire TBE property, Morris said. King said she and her neighbours will meet soon to discuss their options, including the possibility of taking their case to civil court.
