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When the discovery of an oil tank and human bones at East Plains United Church turned a one-day asphalt walkway job into a costly, months-long ordeal, Rev. Jan McCormick prayed for two things.
One was that the remains belonged to only one person. The other was that the tank didn't leak.
After weeks of environmental tests, the Burlington parish no longer has to worry about the latter, with soil samples from 375 Plains Rd. E. showing no signs of oil leakage or contamination.
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"A huge relief," said McCormick.
The favourable results will keep at least part of the church's six-figure bill -- spent on removing the 3,000-gallon oil tank and hiring an archeological firm to conduct a provincially mandated burial assessment -- from mounting any further.
East Plains' troubles began last summer as it looked to replace a cracking asphalt driveway that leads to a child-care centre in its back parking lot.
A one-day job turned into a rolling nightmare when workers unearthed a 1950s-era oil tank -- and later bones -- wedged deep in the soil.
Underground oil tanks 25 years or older have been illegal in Ontario since 2001, with provincial law mandating registered contractors to remove them and geoscientists to then conduct environmental assessments of the surrounding soil.
McCormick said the tank removal alone set the church back an estimated $30,000. If contamination was found, the province would've required East Plains to foot the bill for remediation.
With no more environmental concerns, the parish now awaits results of a burial assessment of the area where the bones were found -- which sits just on the edge of a graveyard next door.
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A forensic anthropologist previously determined the fragmented remains came from a non-Indigenous burial that was possibly disturbed decades ago when the church expanded its rear or when the tank was installed.
As required by law, the Bereavement Authority of Ontario directed East Plains to hire a licensed archeological firm to assess the property and search for additional bones or artifacts.
Michael McCready, division manager of Archaeological Research Associates Ltd., said his team has completed their initial field work and uncovered more fragments, coffin wood and metal hardware consistent with a single grave shaft.
"We determined there's probably only one unmarked interment in that area," said McCready, noting that next steps for the church -- such as reburying the remains -- will be decided by the BAO.
McCready said finding old human remains during construction projects isn't uncommon. His firm conducts between five to 10 burial assessments a year. They are detailed digs, he added, often spanning weeks and drawing from a pool of specialists.
The archaeologists look for things of cultural heritage value or interest -- but identifying remains is "extremely difficult."
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"It's entirely dependent on the quality of the records kept," McCready said.
A church has been -- in one form or another -- at 375 Plains Rd. E. for at least 183 years, with a graveyard, now East Plains Cemetery, on the south side of the property. Many of the parish's records were lost in the early 1900s after a fire.
"It's not uncommon for there to be interments done on the edges of religious cemeteries that weren't documented," McCready said. "That could be for a variety of reasons: maybe the individual wasn't in good standing or couldn't afford the burial rites."
McCormick, a minister at the nearly two-century-old church, said East Plains has noticed "an uptick in donations" since it asked the community for help. She added they also received a boost from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, who had a representative present during the dig as required by provincial regulations.
"They stated in a letter that they won't be sending us an invoice. This will save us several thousand dollars," McCormick said. "We are very grateful for this generous gift."
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