Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said Friday he will take quick action to clamp down on an asphalt plant northwest of Winnipeg that was spewing what residents said was toxic smoke.

A loophole in provincial conservation laws allows the plant at the corner of Highway 6 and the Perimeter Highway to operate without any pollution controls.

The plant is operated by a private company under contract to the provincial infrastructure department. Residents and commuters say they worry about the health and environmental effects of the smoke.

CBC News had reported that a loophole in provincial laws has exempted the plant from any pollution controls, since it does not run year-round and it is located outside the city. But Struthers said Friday that should not be an excuse.

"There was [an] unacceptable situation, as far as I'm concerned. We have to move forward to make sure that we have regulations in place," he said.

"We have people out at the site as we speak, working with the plant to make sure that they, in the short term, improve what they're doing. But there's no question, we need to put in place the regulatory framework that doesn't allow this situation to return."

Struthers says he will add new regulations to amend existing legislation later this fall to make sure what goes into the air is safe.

"The longer we let this go, the more damage we do to our air quality and to people living in the area," he said.

"I'm looking at a very tight time frame. I don't have a number of days or weeks in my head, but my direction has been clear that we're going to move quickly on this."

Residents want 'billowing' asphalt plant shut down

"There's this massive, dirty plume that's billowing out of this plant," said Lawrence Chester, who drives by the asphalt plant twice a day and can see the dark grey smoke from kilometres away.

Chester said he keeps a respirator handy for the times when the smoke is so thick it burns his lungs.

Kent Oatway, whose farm is about one kilometre south of the asphalt plant, said he's worried about what the smoke and pollution is doing to his family's health and his crops.

"It's been blowing in day after day for hours at a time," he said. "I don't think it's probably the right thing to be happening. I don't think it's good for our health."

Both Oatway and Chester want the province to force the plant to clean up its emissions, or have it shut down.

Chester has complained to the province's Conservation Department. He was told that since the asphalt plant was outside city limits and doesn't operate all year round, it does not have to meet any pollution guidelines.

But Chester said while the plant is operated by a private company, it is under contract with the provincial Infrastructure Department.

"So here you have one department operating outside the environmental laws," he said. "Because if it was about 300 feet south it would be against the law, it would be shut down immediately."

Chester said he wants the plant closed down until it can comply with the environmental guidelines that apply to other asphalt plants.

Complaints received

The provincial Conservation Department admitted it had received several complaints.

"I think we are obviously concerned because of potential impact on people," said Cliff Lee, an assistant regional director with Manitoba Conservation.

Lee said the province is planning to close the legislative loophole and force temporary asphalt plants to emit only clean smoke.

"Because of the concern … we actually have initiated steps to amend the regulations so that even temporary plants will have to apply for a licence and they have to meet operating conditions," he said.

In the meantime, officials are keeping an eye on the operation. Lee said they could shut the plant down for health reasons.

So far, the only action the government has taken is to erect temporary "reduced visibility" signs when the smoke cloaks the highway.