The supplier who supplied the illegal facility that exploded in Val-des-Sources last summer appeared before the Régie du Bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) this week to obtain an operating license.
This procedure made it possible to learn a little more about the circumstances of the accident Tuesday and the impressive amount of propane that flowed through an entire neighborhood.
The Régie du Bâtiment du Québec rejects the application for a gas storage and distribution license submitted by Idéale Énergie Gaz Propane because, in its view, the Westbury company should never have supplied propane to André Vachon, who illegally owns propane storage and – distribution was conducting business from his home, where in July 2022 an explosion injured one person and destroyed two homes.
During the hearing before an RBQ commissioner, investigator Hélène Maheux came to summarize the statements gathered during the investigation.
On the day of the explosion, a neighbor came to have André Vachon’s wife, Hélène, fill her propane tank.
The customer reportedly said that the propane transfer operation was carried out outside the garage, that Ms Vachon had difficulty connecting, that she used a screwdriver and that the explosion took place.
During his interrogation shortly after the events, André Vachon is said to have admitted running a propane gas business from his flat on rue Letendre since 2013 without having the required permit.
Propane engineer and expert Jacques Renaud testified Tuesday that he found on site two 420 lb tanks, 24 100 lb tanks, fifty 20 and 30 lb tanks and another 100 found pound bottles.
According to him, the place showed clear signs of violations, notably unsafe storage and bottles that had expired for years, all without respecting zoning.
André Vachon is also said to have admitted to investigators that his company has been supplying propane to the Festival des Gourmands for 40 years and that it has been refueling campers’ bottles at the l’Oiseau bleu campsite from its facility every Friday for the past two years has on his son’s land in the rue du Roy.
In the summer of 2022, customers paid $20 to fill a 20-pound carboy and $30 to fill a 30-pound bottle.
The owner of the campsite and mayor of Val-des-Sources, Hugues Grimard, who was reached by phone by TVA Nouvelles on Tuesday, claimed “not to have known at the time that André Vachon was operating without the necessary authorization” and allegedly “very surprised” when he learned about this information in the past few months.
André Vachon’s supplier, Idéale Énergie Gaz Propane, had had its operating license expired in 2019. Following a search of the company’s offices on September 8, documents seized by investigator Hélène Maheux led to a statement that Idéale would operate between December 2017 and July 2022. André Vachon was billed for 192,279 liters of propane gas.
Cross-examination of the investigator by Ideal Energy Gaz Propane’s attorney confirmed that the Westbury company had applied for a permit in January 2022, but documentation was missing. A new application was made on August 8, 2023 and that application will be considered by the Manager this week.
A second day of negotiations is scheduled for Wednesday.