Quebec assessment agency releases Lac-Megantic public consultations report
MONTREAL — The population of Lac-Megantic and its neighbouring towns are heavily divided on what to do with the railway that runs through the heart of the town, Quebec’s environmental review agency said Monday.
The agency, known as the BAPE, favoured one of three possible rail bypass options on the table in a 77-page report.
But the BAPE also said leaving the current rail track untouched merits a fuller treatment — a position Lac-Megantic has excluded.
The debate over a rail bypass has raged since a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in July 2013, killing 47 people and wiping out much of Lac-Megantic’s downtown core.