EnviroTech 2022 |
Expanding the world’s largest protected boreal forest
Alberta’s government has expanded Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park, nearly doubling the land area dedicated to conservation, recreation and supporting Indigenous People’s traditional activities.
The expansion adds more than 375,000 acres to the existing park in northeast Alberta, and to the largest contiguous area of protected boreal forest in the world. The total area of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park is now more than 775,000 acres, about six times the size of Waterton Lakes National Park.
Collaboration between the Alberta government, federal government, Indigenous communities and industry made the expansion possible. The Mikisew Cree First Nation led the discussions, which began in 2019, and several companies surrendered Crown mineral agreements.
“The lasting legacy of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park is an example of how Alberta’s energy companies and Indigenous communities, working together, can help achieve desired outcomes on Alberta’s Crown lands.” – Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks
Wildland provincial parks conserve wilderness while offering opportunities for backcountry recreation on lands that are relatively undisturbed. In addition to sustainable recreation opportunities, the expanded Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park will:
- support Indigenous People’s traditional activities, including the exercise of treaty rights
- protect the Peace-Athabasca watershed south of Wood Buffalo National Park
- conserve critical habitat for woodland caribou and bison
This expansion aligns with the Alberta Crown Land Vision, which guides Alberta’s management of the province’s rich, natural heritage of Crown lands.
Alberta’s government invested more than $300 million in 2020 and 2021 combined to enhance outdoor recreational opportunities, natural features and buildings in provincial parks and on public lands. All parks in Alberta’s parks system remain open and under the ownership of Environment and Parks, and will continue to retain their current designations and associated protections.
“Once again, we’ve proven that collaboration can produce results. Expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Park continues to become an achievement to be recognized for generations to follow. The Elders provided the vision for protecting the Peace-Athabasca Delta, North America’s largest inland river delta, and important resources like woodland caribou and wood bison, and together we are delivering. We respectfully acknowledge the community support for the wisdom they shared in helping us identify the need to protect key watersheds for current and future generations. Canada’s Nature Fund helped us chart the collaborative strategy that allowed us to achieve this significant outcome with the support of our neighbouring nations, the provincial and federal governments and many partners in industry. We’ve proven that collaboration is a key to success.” – Chief Peter Powder, Mikisew Cree First Nation
“This agreement is a watershed moment in understanding what happens when the provincial and federal governments, alongside First Nations and industry, work collaboratively for the benefit of all. This region has been a key component of the ecosystem that so much wildlife, including birds and caribou, rely on. The expansion of the Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park will provide even more enjoyment for those who like to immerse themselves in northern Alberta’s beautiful natural areas, and presents a good opportunity to develop touristic opportunities in the region.” – Tany Yao, MLA for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo
“After years of careful planning and collaboration with the Mikisew Cree First Nation and the Government of Alberta, Athabasca Oil is pleased to play a role in expanding the culturally and ecologically significant Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park by contributing over 230,000 acres of mineral rights to the largest contiguous area of protected boreal forest in the world. The finalization of the park expansion represents a successful partnership for Indigenous communities, industry and Albertans.” – Rob Broen, president and CEO, Athabasca Oil Corporation
“The successful conclusion of this collaborative conservation process leading to the expansion of the Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Park is a great example of what can be achieved when government, Indigenous communities and industry work together to enhance protection of the environment. The contribution of leased land in the area demonstrates our commitment to sustainability leadership as a core element of Cenovus’s strategy and further progresses two of our key sustainability priorities – engagement with Indigenous communities and land stewardship, including the protection of caribou.” – Rhona DelFrari, chief sustainability officer and senior vice-president, Stakeholder Engagement, Cenovus
“We are grateful that we could contribute to this important conservation effort. The Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Park is an important place for supporting the recovery of woodland caribou and will enhance Canada’s future generations’ connection with the land. This has been an excellent example of collaboration between Indigenous communities, industry, the Government of Alberta and Albertans.” – Chris R. Yellowega, chief operating officer, Burgess Canadian Resources
Quick facts
- Kitaskino means “our land” in Cree and Nuwenëné means “our land” in Dene.
- There are 34 wildland provincial parks in Alberta.
- The Government of Alberta established the Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park – more than 400,000 acres of land just south of Wood Buffalo National Park – in 2019.
- The expansion area is located between the Birch River Wildland Provincial Park and the existing Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park, south of Wood Buffalo National Park.
- The Government of Alberta gathered input from Albertans on the proposed expansion in February and March 2021. During engagement, an additional area was identified for inclusion in the expanded wildland, making the final expanded area more than 19,000 acres larger than anticipated.
- Almost all of the expansion area (98 per cent) overlaps with caribou habitat.
- The expansion area overlaps a small portion of the Ronald Lake bison herd range.
- The expansion adds to contributions the original Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park made to increase watershed protection in support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Outstanding Universal Values of the Peace-Athabasca Delta, and creates a conservation buffer to support the UNESCO Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site.
Spotlight turns back on cleaning up orphan, idle wells as oil prices soar
(Source: Calgary Herald) As oil prices climb toward US$90 a barrel, it might seem like a curious time to talk about the problem of orphan and idle wells in Alberta
As oil prices climb toward US$90 a barrel, it might seem like a curious time to talk about the problem of orphan and idle wells in Alberta.
Yet, this is an opportune moment to restart the conversation, as producers have renewed financial might to tackle the issue, compared to the early days of the pandemic when oil prices tanked.
It estimates the total cost of cleaning up all onshore orphan wells, where no owner exists to pay for the work, at $361 million in 2020, climbing to $1.1 billion within three years.“This rising cost poses a risk to not only provincial but also federal fiscal balances,” it states.
The study says another 7,400 abandoned wells in the province (as of 2020) don’t have a solvent owner and will require cleanup work, although Alberta’s energy minister and those in the industry are puzzled by the findings.
The head of Alberta’s Orphan Well Association (OWA) said higher oil and gas prices have bolstered the ability of petroleum producers to look after such bills.
“We really haven’t seen any new insolvencies since prices reached even $50, so I’m not sure we are going to see anything (more) until prices come down,” said association executive director Lars De Pauw.
“We are in a better spot today than we’ve been for the last seven years.”
The issue fell under the PBO’s scrutiny after the federal government earmarked $1.7 billion in 2020 to clean up both orphan and inactive wells in Western Canada, creating jobs in the oilfield services sector.
Ottawa provided $1 billion to Alberta for a provincially operated program to tackle wells that haven’t produced oil or gas for many months or years.
A $200-million loan was also given to the OWA, a non-profit group responsible for taking care of a well in Alberta when there’s no operator left to pick up the tab.
The group is primarily funded by an annual levy on producers, which hit $70 million last year, although it has received loans from provincial and federal governments.
The report noted the inventory of orphaned wells in Alberta increased from 700 in 2010 to about 8,600 a decade later.
“We looked at the liabilities for orphan wells, or wells that are likely to become orphan over the next five years, and the funding provided by the feds seems to be sufficient,” Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said in an interview.
“Given that some of the money has already gone to profitable companies, or corporations that are financially viable, if that trend continues, there could be insufficient funds to clean up all the orphan wells.”
Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said the report appears to mix up two issues: federal loans to clean up orphaned wells and a separate program to address inactive ones, where an owner is still in place.
Under Alberta’s Site Rehabilitation Program, more than half of the $1 billion provided to the province has gone to pipeline, well-site abandonment and environmental work — bills that typically fall to the operator — with grants paid to oilfield services firms.
“They seem to bounce all over the place and not really know what they’re talking about,” Savage said in an interview.
“The report gets so many things conflated and confused that it’s really not of much value at all.”
The program has created more than 2,400 jobs, according to the province.
De Pauw is puzzled by suggestions the orphan well problem is growing and total liabilities will increase to $1.1 billion, as the association’s own estimate sits around $650 million and is falling.
The PBO said it estimated the number of wells it expects will become orphans by using models that forecast the risk of corporate defaults.
“If oil prices keep on rising . . . it’s very likely this issue will be less acute than it otherwise would be,” said Giroux. “But oil prices are very volatile.”
The report triggered skepticism in several corners.
“It starts to give a picture of the scale of the challenge, but is leaving out some big costs,” said Sara Hastings-Simon, director of the University of Calgary’s masters in sustainable energy development program. She noted the study doesn’t include remediation expenses.
Data from the Alberta Energy Regulator shows total oil and gas industry liability, excluding costs tied to the oilsands, sits at $30 billion.
Regan Boychuk of the Alberta Liabilities Disclosure Project, which has previously pegged the cost of cleaning up 300,000 unreclaimed wells in the province at between $40 billion and $70 billion, said the PBO’s “headline number is ridiculously small.”
Today, 2,326 orphan wells across Alberta need to be decommissioned and another 5,421 sites require reclamation, according to the OWA. De Pauw anticipates the number of wells will fall to about 1,100 by the beginning of April.
As for inactive wells, the Alberta Energy Regulator says the number has increased from 76,000 eight years ago to 93,000 last month.
The regulator has adopted mandatory industry-wide spending targets for well closure work by producers, beginning this year at $422 million and rising by five per cent annually through 2026.
Tristan Goodman, head of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said companies that struggled financially during the oil-price collapse in early 2020 are “starting to right that ship” and are planning to spend more on well closures.
“We are actually going in distinctly the right direction here,” he said.
With the energy transition ongoing and oilpatch cash flow levels headed to $100 billion this year, Hastings-Simon believes the AER needs to boost its spending targets and implement firm timelines for when companies must deal with idle wells.
She wonders why Alberta’s Site Rehabilitation Program is providing public money to clean up wells when many producers are now profitable.
“The risk is that we keep kicking this can down the road,” she said. “Now is a chance to address that.”
Government of Canada seeks feedback on new measures to reduce pollution from Canada’s landfills
Municipal solid waste landfills are responsible for almost one quarter of Canada’s methane emissions. Methane—formed when organic material decomposes—is a greenhouse gas that contributes eighty-six times more to global warming over a twenty-year period than carbon dioxide. Methane is also a significant air pollutant and contributes to the creation of smog, which is estimated to be responsible for half a million premature deaths globally each year.
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, today announced the launch of consultations on two important measures to reduce methane emissions from landfills. Reducing these emissions will help the Government of Canada achieve its 2030 targets to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels and to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent as part of its commitment to the Global Methane Pledge.
The Government is seeking public and stakeholder input on the draft Landfill Methane Recovery and Destruction protocol developed for use under the Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations (Canada). The latest element of the proposed federal greenhouse gas (GHG) offset system will provide financial incentives in the form of credits to landfill operators to use technologies that reduce methane emissions. Landfill operators will be able to generate offset credits for capturing methane from their operations and destroying it or repurposing it into energy with technologies such as flares, boilers, turbines, and engines. The deadline for comments is February 18, 2022.
The Government is also inviting Canadians to provide feedback on a discussion paper entitled Reducing methane emissions from Canada’s municipal solid waste landfills. New regulations are being proposed to increase the number of landfills that take action to reduce methane emissions and ensure that landfills maximize methane recovery. In addition, the Government is seeking input on whether the regulations could achieve long-term emission reductions through increased diversion of biodegradable waste and increased use of landfill methane as a source of low-carbon energy. The regulations could reduce emissions by as much as twelve megatonnes by 2030. The deadline for comments is April 13, 2022.
The Government of Canada recognizes leadership demonstrated by provinces and territories, which have implemented various measures to control methane emissions from some landfills. However, to achieve emission reduction goals by 2030, landfills across Canada must capture more methane than they generate. In a circular economy, organic waste and methane generated from waste should be repurposed into raw materials for products such as fertilizers, soil supplements, and renewable energy.
Quotes
“Canada is taking action to reduce methane pollution from landfills. By capturing methane at its source, we will significantly reduce methane levels by 2030. This is an essential part of reaching our emission reduction targets and the Global Methane pledge to fight climate change and keep our air clean.” – – The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Quick facts
Methane is responsible for around 30 percent of the global rise in temperatures to date and accounts for about 13 percent of Canada’s total GHG emissions.
Municipal solid waste landfills account for about 23 percent of Canada’s methane emissions.
In October 2021, Canada announced its support for the Global Methane Pledge.
Reducing methane emissions in Canada will decrease smog formation and could prevent over 200,000 premature deaths each year and hundreds of thousands of asthma‑related emergency room visits by 2030.
An offset credit is a tradeable unit that represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) reduced or removed from the atmosphere compared with what would have happened without the project.
The ability to generate offset credits under the Federal GHG Offset System will create a financial incentive for landfill operators to carry out projects that reduce methane emissions. Any facility covered by the Output-Based Pricing System can use offset credits to pay for emissions that exceed its limit. An offset credit is a substitute for direct emission reductions, and ultimately helps lessen a facility’s compliance costs so it can remain competitive.
Once the regulations on reducing methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills come into effect, methane reduction projects in landfills that are covered by the regulations will no longer be able to generate offset credits. As the regulations are being developed, the federal offset system will encourage early action by landfill managers and make future compliance with the regulations easier.
Newmont helps protect environmentally sensitive area in Yukon
“We are working together with First Nations to implement the regional land use plan for the Peel watershed that reflects our shared values,” said John Streicker, Yukon’s Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. “We are pleased to see this next step taking place. I’d like to thank Newmont for making this land concession and contributing towards the protection of the Peel.”
“Newmont’s purpose is to create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining. We are pleased to honor that purpose by surrendering these mining claims in support of broader environmental objectives,” said Tom Palmer, president and chief executive officer of Newmont. “We are supportive of the Peel watershed plan and are doing our part to maintain this sensitive area. I congratulate all parties in their shared effort to protect the Peel River Watershed.”
In 2019, the Peel Plan was approved by the Yukon Government and Yukon First Nations including the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, and the Gwich’in Tribal Council. The plan provides direction on the management of land and resources in the Peel Watershed.
Historical exploration on the claims by Newmont indicated that there is potential for copper and gold mineralization. However, the company has not been actively exploring the area given the Peel watershed plan and is now surrendering these claims in support of broader community objectives.
Newmont continues to work cooperatively with the Yukon Government, the Government of Canada and First Nations to progress development of the Coffee Mine Project. Newmont’s Coffee Mine Project is a proposed open-pit and heap leach gold development project located in west-central Yukon, and it is currently going through the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board’s screening process.
Newmont is the world’s leading gold company and a producer of copper, silver, zinc and lead. The company’s portfolio of assets, prospects, and talent is anchored in favorable mining jurisdictions in North America, South America, Australia and Africa. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and is widely recognized for its principled environmental, social and governance practices for sustainable and responsible mining.
First Nation wants Ottawa to help clean up plastic waste left behind by 27-year boil water advisory
(Source: CBC News)A remote northern Ontario First Nation wants Ottawa to help it find an environmentally responsible way to dispose of the thousands of empty water bottles that have piled up over 27 years under a long-term drinking water advisory.
Neskantaga, a fly-in Oji-Cree community with approximately 300 members located about 450 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., marked a grim milestone on Tuesday — the longest drinking water advisory of any First Nation.
“It shouldn’t be like that in a country like Canada,” Chief Wayne Moonias said.
Like many other First Nations, Neskantaga does not have waste pickup or recycling. Most of its garbage, including plastic, is incinerated or ends up in a dump.
Ottawa sends weekly water shipments to the community but doesn’t bring back all the used plastic bottles.
Moonias said that with its lack of potable water, crumbling infrastructure and high rate of suicide, Neskantaga has too much on its plate right now to deal with plastic waste.
“It’s a concern for our community because we all know that we need to do something to protect the environment,” he said.
“The community cannot do it alone because the community is spending their efforts and energies on trying to address the well-being of our community.”
In the last federal budget, Ottawa set aside $560 million over seven years for solid waste management projects in First Nations. But there is still no federal plan to address plastic waste in communities.
Some First Nations, including Neskantaga, are calling for that to change.
They say they want Ottawa to work with them to curb plastic waste in First Nations, especially plastic waste generated by drinking water advisories.
“We are hurting our land by dumping all this plastic when we could be doing something about it,” said Charla Moonias, a 24-year-old Neskantaga member who grew up on bottled water.
“We need to do better for our future generations.”
She said she would like to see workers hired to sort out recycling and ship plastic waste out on aircraft or winter ice roads.
Bearskin Lake First Nation, a fly-in community of roughly 400 people located 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, also wants to change the way it handles plastic waste created by more than two decades of a drinking water advisory.
“There’s no such thing as recycling up here in the community,” Chief Lefty Kamenawatamin said.
Indigenous Services Canada has a First Nations Waste Management Initiative to help develop sustainable waste management systems. The department told CBC News it has spent $384,000 since 2019 to support a community-led solid waste management planning project for Neskantaga for storing and handling plastics.
In 2021, it also gave $137,000 to Matawa Tribal Council to fund a full-time solid waste coordinator position to help all Matawa First Nations, including Neskantaga and Bearskin Lake, with waste management strategies.
But plastic recycling doesn’t have a good track record, said associate professor Shirley Thompson of the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
“We have to see alternatives and prevention,” Thompson said.
Thompson said the burden of reducing plastic waste should fall on retail stores operating in northern and remote communities, including Neskantaga.
They could start deposit-return programs for people to return water bottles for a small refund, she said.
“Having a federal regulation that requires it will result in better follow-up,” Thompson said.
For far too long, Thompson said, Ottawa has pushed waste management in First Nations down the priority list.
She researched waste management in more than a dozen First Nations and found that many have landfills that are not at a safe distance from roads or rivers, which can put them at risk of contamination.
She also said First Nations communities, including Neskantaga, often burn their garbage, generating toxic chemical waste.
“This is a necessary evil in the fact that they don’t have money for covering up the landfill on a regular basis,” she said.
“This is a result of policy. There is not sufficient funding for waste.”
Environmental Defence Canada is also calling on Ottawa to end the long-term boil water advisories that cause mounting plastic waste.
“The federal government needs to throw in all of their efforts and resources that they can behind addressing this issue,” said Michelle Woodhouse, program manager for freshwater protection and the Great Lakes at Environmental Defence Canada.
The ultimate solution for Neskantaga would be to lift its boil water advisory. Chief Moonias said he can’t offer a timeline for ending it.
Indigenous Services Canada spent $20.9 million to update the community’s water treatment plant and another $4.1 million for related wastewater system upgrades. The water treatment system upgrade is complete.
But there is still some work to do to address problems such as leaks, and to make sure the upgrade works with the aging distribution system.
A 14-day performance test was scheduled for Jan. 10 but was pushed back due to the pandemic.
Moonias said he hopes it will begin in the next month or so.
“The faith and trust in the system is very low right now,” Moonias said. “Our community has suffered far too long.”
Charities Across Canada in Dire Need of Computers
The Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) is calling out to all businesses and individuals to donate their unwanted computers and laptops to help them fill requests from charitable organizations and individuals in need.
The Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2004 to address the growing problem of e-waste and the increasing ‘digital divide’. For over seventeen years, ERA has offered simple solutions to help individuals and organizations prevent operational equipment from premature destruction. With a focus on recovery, refurbishment and reuse, ERA continuously supplies charitable groups with donated IT equipment while securely managing the retiring IT assets of organizations and individuals across Canada.
“We are proud to provide charities, non-profits, schools and care facilities all across Canada with the computers they require for their programs. This gives them access to reliable technology while allowing them to apply their resources to what they’re good at, developing programs to help Canadians struggling with poverty, health concerns or are otherwise experiencing misfortune,” said Bojan Paduh Founder and CEO of ERA.
AB: Boys and Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters needs 100 laptops & 40 desktop computers
BC: More Than A Roof Housing Society needs 30 laptops & 15 printers
ON: Goodwill Industries needs 95 laptops
QC: Sarker Hope Foundation needs 50 laptops & 10 desktop computers
SK: Blaine Lake Composite School needs 50 laptops
MB: Altered Minds Inc needs 50 laptops & 65 desktop computers
Help ERA by booking a pickup of your unwanted devices through our online form HERE
Have only a few items and want us to get them next day? ERA offers shipping labels for free pickup from anywhere in Canada. Click HERE
Remediation Technology News and Resource
(The following are selected items from the US EPA’s Tech Direct – http://clu-in.org/techdirect/)
Upcoming Live Internet Seminars
ITRC Connecting the Science to Managing LNAPL Sites, a 3 Part Series – February 8, 15 and March 1, 2022. The newly updated LNAPLs (Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids) 3-part training course series is based on the ITRC guidance: LNAPL Site Management: LCSM Evolution, Decision Process, and Remedial Technologies (LNAPL-3, 2018) and focuses on connecting the science to managing LNAPL sites and helping you: build upon your understanding of LNAPL behavior in the subsurface (Part 1), develop your LNAPL conceptual site model and LNAPL remedial goals (Part 2), and select/implement LNAPL technologies (Part 3). After this training series, the expectation is that you will have the skills and understanding to use ITRC science-based resources to improve decision making at your LNAPL sites. For regulators and other government agency staff, this improved understanding can hopefully be incorporated into your own LNAPL programs. It is expected that participants will attend this 3-part training series in sequence. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org
ITRC Characterization and Remediation of Fractured Rock – February 10, 2022, 1:00PM-3:15PM EST (18:00-20:15 GMT). The basis for this training course is the ITRC guidance: Characterization and Remediation of Fractured Rock. The purpose of this guidance is to dispel the belief that fractured rock sites are too complex to characterize and remediate. The physical, chemical and contaminant transport concepts in fractured rock have similarities to unconsolidated porous media, yet there are important differences. By participating in this training class, you should learn to use ITRC’s Fractured Rock Document to guide your decision making so you can: develop quality Conceptual Site Models (CSMs) for fractured rock sites, set realistic remedial objectives, select the best remedial options, monitor remedial progress and assess results, and value an interdisciplinary site team approach to bring collective expertise to improve decision making and to have confidence when going beyond containment and monitoring — to actually remediating fractured rock sites. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org
Introduction to Groundwater High-Resolution Site Characterization – February 14 and 17, 2022, 1:00PM-3:30PM EST (18:00-20:30 GMT). This live two-part webinar series is an introduction to HRSC. The introductory sessions address the following technical content: defining HRSC and how it is implemented, explaining the need for and benefits of HRSC, reviewing the eight components of the CSM and how HRSC informs the CSM, refresher of basic hydrologic properties and how these properties vary within geologic systems, refresher of the principles of contaminant fate and transport and how these characteristics affect the distribution of contaminants in the aquifer, conceptual site models of fate and transport in unconsolidated and fractured rock, and introduction to the challenges of characterizing contaminant distribution in fractured rock. After taking this webinar series, participants will be prepared to dig deeper into the uncertainties created by traditional sampling approaches and learn how HRSC can address these challenges in the in-person HRSC course. Each webinar will be 2.5 hours long. The recommended audience includes EPA, federal, state, tribal and private industry technical project managers, practitioners and other stakeholders involved in groundwater investigation and remediation. To learn more and register, please visit https://clu-in.org/live/
Toward Sustainability of Passive Treatment in Legacy Mining Watersheds: Operational Performance and System Maintenance – February 16, 2022, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST (18:00-20:00 GMT). For 40 years, passive treatment systems (PTS) have been the preferred option at many abandoned mining sites, in part due to presumptions of continuous water quality improvement performance and limited operation and maintenance commitments. However, documentation to support these presumptions is typically lacking. Long-term regular performance evaluation (12 years) was conducted for a large, multi-process unit PTS receiving artesian-flowing lead-zinc mine waters (≈1000 m3/day) at the Tar Creek Superfund site, Tri-State Mining District, USA. Since 2008, the Mayer Ranch PTS has consistently retained >95% of targeted metal mass. The webinar will share how PTS life can be extended if the system is properly designed, sized and preserved with regular, periodic and rehabilitative maintenance and monitoring. The webinar will also highlight how the project was managed by Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, and how project administration and building partnerships has been essential to the success of the PTS on the site. To learn more and register, please visit https://clu-in.org/live/
ITRC Optimizing Injection Strategies and In situ Remediation Performance – March 3, 2022, 1:00PM-3:15PM EST (18:00-20:15 GMT). ITRC developed the guidance: Optimizing Injection Strategies and In Situ Remediation Performance (OIS-ISRP-1) and this associated training course to identify challenges that may impede or limit remedy effectiveness and discuss the potential optimization strategies, and specific actions that can be pursued, to improve the performance of in situ remediation by: refining and evaluating remedial design site characterization data; selecting the correct amendment; choosing delivery methods for site-specific conditions; creating design specifications; conducting performance evaluations, and optimizing underperforming in situ remedies. The target audience for this guidance and training course is: environmental consultants, responsible parties, federal and state regulators, as well as community and tribal stakeholders. This training will support users in efficiently and confidently applying the guidance at their remediation sites. An optimization case study is shared to illustrate the use of the associated guidance document. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org
New Documents and Web Resources
Research Brief 325: Biosensor Helps Characterize Contaminants and Health Risks Following Disasters. A sophisticated biosensor may provide information about contaminant distribution in the aftermath of natural disasters, according to an NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded study. Led by former Texas A&M University (TAMU) SRP Center trainee Krisa Camargo and Michael Unger, Ph.D., from the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, the team demonstrated this type of tool is useful for quickly characterizing and prioritizing environmental samples for further analysis, particularly in the context of disaster research response. For more information, please visit https://tools.niehs.nih.gov//srp/researchbriefs/view.cfm?Brief_ID=325
ITRC Soil Background and Risk Assessment Guidance. While some state and federal agencies and other entities have guidance documents regarding soil background, there is not one comprehensive and widely accepted guidance document that summarizes the state of the science on this topic. This ITRC guidance document is intended to fill the gap by providing a comprehensive defensible framework for establishing and using soil background in risk assessments. It focuses on the process of establishing defensible background concentrations of naturally occurring or anthropogenic ambient chemicals to be used for risk assessment at contaminated sites. View and use at https://sbr-1.itrcweb.org.
Update on the Benefits of PCB Congener-Specific Analyses (EPA-600-R-21-237). Results of analyses for PCB contamination on environmental matrices may be expressed in terms of PCB congener-specific, total PCB, and Aroclor equivalent concentrations. Given the cost ramifications and potential overlap in results from each analysis, questions exist if results shoudl be expressed in terms of all three types of analyses as a standard approach. The U.S. EPA Ecological Risk Assessment Support Center (ERASC) reviewed and updated its prior ERASC Memorandum: Response to Ecological Risk Assessment Forum Request for Information on The Benefits of PCB Congener-Specific Analyses NCEA-C-1315, ERASC-002F. This document is designed to assist risk assessment practitioners to choose, in a cost-efficient manner, analyses that meet the objectives of the assessment. View or download at https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/erasc/recordisplay.cfm?deid=351282.
Technology Innovation News Survey Corner. The Technology Innovation News Survey contains market/commercialization information; reports on demonstrations, feasibility studies and research; and other news relevant to the hazardous waste community interested in technology development. Recent issues, complete archives, and subscription information is available at https://clu-in.org/products/tins/. The following resources were included in recent issues:
- Electrokinetic-Enhanced Phytoremediation of Uranium-Contaminated Soil Using Sunflower and Indian Mustard
- Review of Peer-Reviewed Documents on Treatment Technologies Used at Mining Waste Sites
- Guidelines for the Design of Abandoned Mine Land Remediation and Water Treatment
- Development of Toxicity Reference Values (TRVS) for Birds Exposed to PFOS, PFOA and Associated Mixtures of Fluorinated Compounds
- PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA’s Commitments to Action 2021-2024
- Validation of Streamlined Mobile Lab-Based Real Time PFAS Analytical Methods
Soil Screening Values for Assessing Ecological Risk (Report – ShARE id26, January 2022). The United Kingdom’s Environment Agency has updated its guidelines for screening the risks to soils from chemicals released through the landspreading of waste-derived materials. A spreadsheet tool allows the screening values to be adjusted for site-specific soil properties. View or download at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/soil-screening-values-for-assessing-ecological-risk.
Upcoming Events
New ESAA Member Benefit: Add Your Event to the ESAA Calendar
ESAA is pleased to announce a new feature of our website. ESAA Members and non-profit environment related organizations and associations can now add their upcoming webinars, workshops and conferences to our website.
To add an event, visit: https://esaa.org/events/ and click the Add Community Event link.
Once you click the link, there will be a short form to complete with your event details. Once you submit the link, it will go through a manual review process and should appear in the calendar during the same day.
There is no charge for members or non-profit organizations to submit events.
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Bettering Environmental Stewardship & Technology (BEST) ConferenceMay 25, 2022 – May 27, 2022 Whistler, BC The British Columbia Environment Industry Association’s BEST Conference attracts environmental professionals to Whistler, BC every May for two days of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and a sponsor trade show. The 2022 Conference will be the 8th time BEST has taken place To Register: http://bceia.com/best/
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ESAA Job Board
Check out the new improved ESAA Job Board. Members can post ads for free.
Current Listings:
- Spill Response Supervisors and Reclamation Supervisors – SWAT Consulting Inc
- Principal Risk Assessor – Advisian (Worley Group)
- Intermediate Report Reviewer – North Shore Environmental Consultants Inc.
- Intermediate Environmental Consultant – North Shore Environmental Consultants Inc.
- Project Technologist – Pinchin Ltd.
- Intermediate Environmental Scientist / Project Manager – Ecoventure Inc.
- Intermediate/Senior Reclamation Project Manager – Ecoventure Inc.
- Hydrogeologist – ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd.
- Environmental Analyst-#22-01-0499 – Summit, An Earth Services Company
- Intermediate Environmental Scientist or Technologist – Matrix Solutions Inc.
- INTERMEDIATE REGULATORY ADVISOR – Matrix Solutions Inc.
- SENIOR WETLANDS SPECIALIST – Matrix Solutions Inc.
- SENIOR WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST – Matrix Solutions Inc.
- INTERMEDIATE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST (SALT SPECIALIST) – Matrix Solutions Inc.
- INTERMEDIATE AQUATIC SCIENTIST – Matrix Solutions Inc.
- Senior Environmental Professional – Ecoventure Inc
- Environmental Scientist – Bowron Environmental Group Ltd.
- Field Services Inspector (Paint & Household Hazardous Waste) -Alberta Recycling Management Authority
- Occupational Hygienist – Nichols Environmental (Canada) Ltd.
- Approval Officer – Natural Resources Conservation Board
- Reclamation Coordinator – Arletta Environmental Consulting Corp.
- Senior Technical & Reporting Lead – Arletta Environmental Consulting Corp.
- Intermediate Environmental Scientist – 360 Energy Liability Management Ltd.
- Project Administrator – Summit, An Earth Services Company
- Labourer – Summit, An Earth Services Company
- Field Level Supervisor – Summit, An Earth Services Company
- Emergency Responder/Environmental Consultant – Ridgeline Canada Inc.
- Emergency Responder/Intermediate or Senior Environmental Consultant – Ridgeline Canada Inc.
- Labourer – Summit, An Earth Services Company
- Environmental Engineer – Montrose Environmental Group, Inc