By Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Tyler Waugh
St. Mary’s residents will have plenty to celebrate this coming weekend for the annual Gulch Days festivities after a pair of events that shone a positive light on the community.
Mayor Steve Ryan had a busy start to the week, hosting Deputy Premier Barry Petten, Avalon MP Paul Connors and others on July 27 for the announcement of more than $9 million in funding across the province, including the second phase of a stormwater mitigation project in St. Mary’s.
Ryan followed that up the next day by hosting VIPs and media for a tour of work being done to empty the noxious contents from vats of a long-abandoned fish sauce plant, the threat of its leaking having haunted the community for more than two decades.
The July 27 announcement focused on $656,686 to replace some 34 culverts in town, representing the second phase of a culvert replacement plan. The project also includes replacement of asphalt once the culverts are in place.
“It’s a big part of our infrastructure, but that’s a lot of money, especially for us as a small town,” Ryan said, adding that after the culverts are done the focus will turn to roads.
“Safe drinking water, reliable wastewater systems, and modern municipal services are fundamental to healthy, vibrant communities,” said Deputy Premier Petten. “Through this funding, we are helping municipalities undertake important projects that improve essential infrastructure, enhance the quality of life for residents, and support long-term
community sustainability.”
The funding, part of a package spread across the province, also included St. Shott's, which will see $802,316 spent on the second phase of a groundwater supply project that includes a new well, pump house, chlorination system and related infrastructure.
"Every community has unique infrastructure needs, but each of them depend on safe, reliable services,” said MP Connors. “This funding will help municipalities, like St. Mary's and St. Shott's, move forward with important local projects that improve daily life for residents and help
keep communities strong and resilient for years to come.”
Dealing with the stinky contents of The Atlantic Seafood Sauce Company location, abandoned since the early 2000s, began in earnest earlier in 2026 after years of lobbying the provincial and federal governments for help. St. Mary’s announced in June that the contract to remove the contents was awarded at a cost of just over $1.7 million.
The contents of the vats are being mixed with peat moss and transported to a disposal site in Sunnyside. The work is expected to be complete sometime this fall.
“This means a lot to me, to the town,” Ryan said. “We’ve had to advocate so hard and so long to get it done, it’s almost strange to see it happening. We’ve had some false hope over the years, a lot of residents didn’t believe it was actually going to happen… even when the equipment moved in. They doubted it. There’s been a lot of interest, so having a day like this to give access and see what’s being done, it’s big, it means so much after so long.”
Ryan said it was a hard process getting to this point. “It should have been easier with different levels of government, especially federal… (they) should have stepped in before this,” he said. “It was left on us as a small town to keep fighting and we got some people who finally listened, and we thank them, because without them we never would have gotten to where we were yesterday.”
Ryan said his community is in the mood to celebrate with the Town of St. Mary’s 60th anniversary of incorporation on Aug. 2, and the annual Gulch Beach Festival taking place Aug. 1.
“It was time for us to get some good news stories here out of our town,” Ryan said. “All that and 60 years, that’s no small feat either, even with these announcements. It’s still important.”
