9:38 p.m. update:
"Algoma Public Health (APH) has approved the one month extension of the compliance deadline to close the park," says a supplied statement from the health unit.
"The order to the owner is still in effect with compliance expected by Oct. 1, 2017."
Original story: 11 a.m.
River Valley Park is not closing today, said owner Harjeet Dusanjh.
“It’s not closing, we’re going to get an extension,” said Dusanjh, whose park was under threat of closure by Algoma Public Health (APH) for having a broken sewage system.
Roughly 75 people would have been affected by the park closure, by the owner's estimation.
Earlier this month, trailer park residents received letters from APH informing them that the park must close "as of August 31" — failure to comply and the owner would be met with $25,000 per day in fines.
River Valley Park is a trailer park situated just north of Sault Ste. Marie. Kenneth Armstrong/SooTodayAlthough that date has been reached, APH will not be issuing a fine for today, said public health inspector Kara Flannigan over the phone to SooToday.
Dusanjh had publicly called for a meeting between APH, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, and the MPP. He finally got that meeting yesterday, he said.
At that meeting, he said he was told that an extension would be granted in order for him and his engineers to complete studies and work on the park’s septic system.
Flannigan confirmed there was a meeting and said that they were examining a one-month request to extend the time in order to comply.
Flannigan said that the application needs to be looked at by the medical officer of health before being accepted.
Although the park is still open and although the order was to close by today, Flannagan said that the park is not going against their order to close and that "there’s still a few more hours to the day for compliance."
SooToday will update this story when more information becomes available.