Environmental Science & Engineering - www.esemag.com - June 2004
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$400 million committed for Nova Scotia tar ponds clean-up
Stephen Owen, Minister of
Public Works and Government
Services Canada, David
Anderson, Minister of the
Environment and John Hamm,
Premier of Nova Scotia, announced up
to $400 million in funding for the
clean-up of the Sydney Tar Ponds and
Coke Ovens. The province will provide
$120 million and the Government of
Canada will contribute up to $280 million. Minister Anderson lost the environmental Ministry in a July Cabinet reshuffle.
The minister and the premier signed
a memorandum of agreement in May
committing their governments to a
clean-up that will use proven, effective
technologies to safely destroy the
worst contaminants and treat the
remaining material before encapsulating
both sites with an engineered containment
system.
The sites will be restored and landscaped
in a manner consistent with
their natural surroundings and future
use. Upon completion of the clean-up,
the province will assume ownership of
the properties.
The project will proceed on several
fronts over the coming months. The
removal of the Domtar tank will conclude
this summer. Design work will
continue on a number of preventative
works including the removal of the
cooling pond, the construction of a
cofferdam at Battery Point closing off
the Tar Ponds from Sydney Harbour,
the relocation of the Victoria Road
water main, and the rerouting of Coke
Ovens brook through Mullins Bank.
Governments will work with contractors
to develop a detailed project
description that will be subject to a
joint environmental assessment. The
assessment will identify measures
needed to ensure the clean-up of the Sydney Tar Ponds is carried out in a
way that protects the environment and
human health.
The proposed clean-up will take 10
years to complete and will create an
estimated 2,700 person-years of
employment. PCB-contaminated sediments
in the Tar Ponds and the contents
of the tar cell on the Coke Ovens
will be removed and destroyed using a
safe, proven technology such as high
temperature incineration. The remaining
material will be treated with bioremediation
or solidification and stabilization,
and then encapsulated with an
engineered containment system.
Over the last seven years, governments
have been working closely with
the community to assess the sites and
understand them in sufficient detail for
governments to plan and implement an
effective clean-up effort. Significant
groundwork, including the removal of
derelict buildings, the capping of the
old municipal landfill, and the installation
of the interceptor sewer, has been
completed to prepare the site for remediation.
Contact: parker@kempthead.ca.
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