RemTech East Presentations Now Available
On behalf of ESAA and ONEIA, thank-you for your support of RemTechEast. From all accounts RemTech East was yet again an overwhelming success. Great presentations and great networking. This would not be possible without the great support from all of our sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and delegates. A big shout out of thanks to out Platinum Sponsor, Trace Associates.
RemTech (Banff) 2023
Early bird registration is now open for RemTech, October 11-13, 2023 at the Banff Springs. Early bird registration ends on August 11th. Register at: https://esaa.org/remtech/
The Call for Abstracts for RemTech closes on July 21st. Details at: https://esaa.org/remtech/
AER: Order issued to AlphaBow Energy Ltd.
The AER is escalating enforcement against AlphaBow Energy Ltd. (AlphaBow) and has issued a suspension order to the company after it failed to comply with our initial order issued on March 30, 2023, and because we have concerns about the company’s ability meet its regulatory and liability obligations throughout the energy life cycle.
Under the order, AlphaBow must:
- comply with the requirements outlined in the March 30 order;
- suspend its sites, including wells and facilities, and discontinue its pipelines, within 14 calendar days from the date of the order; and
- depressurize and empty all containment devices and equipment within 90 calendar days from the date of the order.
The AER may consider lifting the two orders if AlphaBow comes into compliance with the order issued on March 30, 2023, and can demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements, and maintain all reasonable care and measures over its assets.
A copy of the suspension order issued to AlphaBow can be found on the AER’s Compliance Dashboard.
April 3, 2023
On March 30, 2023, the AER issued a reasonable care and measures order to AlphaBow as the company has repeatedly failed to comply with regulatory requirements and address compliance issues in a timely manner. The AER is of the opinion that AlphaBow does not have the capability to meet its regulatory and liability obligations across the energy development lifecycle.
The AER’s order requires AlphaBow to take several actions, which includes:
- submitting a plan outlining the actions it will take to properly manage its sites, address outstanding compliance issues, ensure environmental monitoring requirements are met, and perform remedial work related to previous incidents;
- submitting an abandonment plan to abandon wells where the mineral lease has expired; and
- paying $15.3 million in security, representing 10 per cent of its estimated inactive liability, to offset the estimated costs of abandoning and reclaiming a well or facility and carrying out other activities necessary to ensure the protection of the public and the environment.
In addition, AlphaBow is required to submit financial information, such as interim quarterly financial statements and third-party audited annual financial statements.
The AER has issued this order to ensure the sites licensed to AlphaBow will not pose a risk to public safety or the environment, and to prevent impairment or damage to the sites.
AER: Invitation for Feedback on Revisions to Directive 020
We are seeking feedback on updates to Directive 020: Well Abandonment. The proposed changes in section 5.4 amend the requirements for the abandonment of cased-hole wells penetrating an oil sands zone.
The proposed changes will allow for routine abandonment of wells that penetrate an oil sands zone using the Directive 020requirements in section 5.3, “Wells Not Penetrating the Oil Sands Zones,” if the subject well meets the criteria and requirements for low thermal potential.
Wells penetrating an oil sands zone are eligible for routine abandonment if a professional geoscientist conducts a geological review or the subject well is within the boundary of an oil sands area that the AER has assessed as having a low potential for thermal development.
To provide feedback on the proposed revisions to Directive 020, complete the public comment form on our website. Comments can also be proved via email to [email protected] or mailed to Alberta Energy Regulator, Suite 1000, 250 – 5 Street SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 0R4. Feedback will be accepted through July 12, 2023.
All feedback received will be reviewed and may be used in finalizing Directive 020. The comments provided through this consultation will form part of the public record and may be attributed to the specific individuals who provided them. Personal information provided with comments will be collected, used, and disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. We may use the personal contact information you provide for follow-up communication related to your feedback.
The revised edition of Directive 020 is available on our website at aer.ca > Regulating Development > Rules and Directives > Directives under the tab “Draft / Open for Comments.”. If you have any questions, contact our Customer Contact Centre by phone at 1-855-297-8311 or by email at [email protected].
Husky held accountable to charge laid by the AER
CALGARY, AB, June 6, 2023 – Husky Oil Operations Limited, now amalgamated into Cenovus Energy Inc., has pled guilty in provincial court to a charge laid against them by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) in October 2022.
The charge relates to the discharge of produced water contrary to section 109(2) of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. All charges relate to incidents at or near Derwent, Alberta between October 18, 2020, and October 21, 2020.
The Court has ordered Husky to pay a $140 000 penalty. Of that amount, $138 000 will go to the AER creative sentencing project, and the remaining $2000 will go to the Alberta Court of Justice as a fine. The creative sentencing projects will occur within the Frog Lake sub-watershed, part of the larger North Saskatchewan River watershed, or the counties of Smoky Lake, Two Hills, Minburn, St. Paul, Vermillion River, and the southern part of the M.D. of Bonnyville. Projects must demonstrate benefits to wetlands and surrounding ecosystems. This includes improvement to wetland complexes increasing biodiversity, and benefitting wildlife classified as at risk, threatened or endangered.
The AER will publish one or more requests for proposals using established Government of Alberta practices and oversee the creative sentencing project on behalf of the Alberta Court of Justice. For more information on creative sentencing, please see the story, Laying Down the Law in the Oilpatch on aer.ca.
Husky was operating a four-inch produced water injection composite pipeline through a wetland near Derwent, Alberta on October 18, 2020. The produced water carried by the pipeline was injected into wells as part of the disposal process. Flow was stopped after the pipeline monitoring system detected a discrepancy. To troubleshoot the potential cause, Husky restarted the pipeline, causing approximately 206 cubic metres of produced water to flow through a break in the line, and into the surrounding wetland.
Visit the AER Compliance Dashboard to see the Agreed Statement of Facts. For more information on AER’s investigation enforcement processes please see the Investigations page on aer.ca.
Notes to editors
On March 31, 2021, Cenovus and Husky Energy Inc. (Husky) amalgamated under the provisions of the Canada Business Corporations Act (the “CBCA”), with the amalgamated company continuing to operate as Cenovus Energy Inc., and, as a result, Husky became a wholly owned subsidiary of Cenovus. On December 30, 2021, Cenovus and Husky amalgamated under the provisions of the CBCA, with the amalgamated company continuing to operate as Cenovus Energy Inc. (the “Husky Amalgamation”). The release from the pipeline occurred prior to the Combination Transaction and over one-year prior to the Husky Amalgamation. Husky owned, operated and was the licensee of the pipeline at all material times related to the release.
AER: Tailings Management Reports
Today the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is publishing the 2022 Annual Fluid Tailings Management Reports, submitted by oil sands operators. Under Directive 085 (D085), part of the regulations that govern fluid tailings from oil sands mining, operators have an obligation to report on the performance of their fluid tailings management annually. These reports are submitted to the AER by April 30, and published annually by May 31. The list of matters the reports must contain is comprehensive, and amongst other areas, covers approved new and legacy profiles with fluid tailings volumes and thresholds. Previous years’ operators’ reports can be found here: Tailings Management Reports for Oil Sands Mining Schemes
At this stage, the operators’ reports are published on our website without commentary or interpretation of the data they contain. Following submission by the operators of their fluid tailings reports, specialists at the AER conduct a comprehensive review of all submissions. The AER publishes an annual report on the state of fluid tailings management for mineable oil sands by October 30. This report will summarize the evaluation of operators’ performance reports, highlight any regulatory actions taken, evaluate regional performance against the tailings management framework outcomes and objectives, and identify operators that are performing well and those who need to make improvements. Last year’s report can be found here: State of Fluid Tailings Management for Mineable Oil Sands, 2021
Operators are required to hold annual forums with Indigenous communities and other stakeholders to enable discussion of tailings management. Details of these forums are also included in the operators’ reports to the AER.
In addition to reporting under D08
Canada: Bill S-5: Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act
Introduced in February 2022, Bill S-5, Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, received Royal Assent on June 13. The Bill modernizes the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) and represents the first set of comprehensive amendments to CEPA since it was enacted over 20 years ago.
With this Bill, the Government of Canada is delivering on its commitment to strengthen CEPA and recognize, for the first time in federal law, that every individual in Canada has a right to a healthy environment.
A summary of the amendments included in Bill S-5 are outlined below.
A right to a healthy environment
Bill S-5 requires that decisions made under CEPA respect the right to a healthy environment.
Over the next two years, the Government will develop an implementation framework to set out how that right will be considered in administering the Act. That framework will explain how the right will account for principles such as environmental justice, intergenerational equity, and non-regression. It will also describe any other relevant factors to consider in interpreting and applying the right and determining its reasonable limits.
- Environmental justice includes the avoidance of adverse effects that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
- Non-regression includes the continuous improvement in environmental protection.
- Intergenerational equity includes the importance to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The framework will be developed in consultation with interested Canadians. The ministers of Environment and Climate Change and of Health will report on the implementation framework annually. The framework will also enable continuous improvement in light of experience and as views evolve.
The amendments also require that research, studies, or monitoring activities be conducted to support the Government in protecting the right.
The amendments also confirm the Government’s commitment to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and incent action on reconciliation through a requirement to report annually on consultations, findings, recommendations, or measures taken in that regard.
Protecting vulnerable populations
Implementation of the right to a healthy environment under CEPA will include work to identify populations that may be disproportionately impacted due to greater susceptibility or higher exposure to environmental and health risks, leading to more informed and protective environmental and health standards.
The amendments also expressly require the Government to administer the Act in ways that minimize risks to the health of vulnerable populations.
In subsection 3(1) of the Act, the amendments define a vulnerable population as “a group of individuals within the Canadian population who, due to greater susceptibility or greater exposure, may be at an increased risk of experiencing adverse health effects from exposure to substances.” These populations may include pregnant people, children, people in poor health, workers, and those living in areas where levels of pollution are particularly high.
To better protect people who are more susceptible or highly exposed to harmful substances, changes to CEPA provide that the Government has a duty under the Act to protect the environment and the health of all Canadians, including vulnerable populations. The changes also require the ministers of Environment and Climate Change and of Health to consider available information regarding vulnerable populations and vulnerable environments in risk assessments. To maximize the availability of that information, the amendments require the Government to conduct research and studies, including biomonitoring surveys, specifically in relation to the role of substances in illnesses or in health problems, which may relate to vulnerable populations. The amendments also enable geographically targeted regulations to better support the protection of communities at risk from local sources of pollution.
Assessing real-life exposures
In Canada and elsewhere, the general approach has been to assess substances for risks in isolation. However, Canadians and the environment are exposed to multiple substances from many different sources often at the same time and over a lifetime.
Recognizing that the science of assessing cumulative effects is still evolving, amendments to CEPA require that the Ministers of Environment and Climate Change and of Health consider available information about the cumulative effects on the environment and health that may result from exposure to a substance in combination with exposure to other substances when conducting and interpreting the results of risk assessments.
A new Plan of Chemicals Management Priorities
The Government will develop a new Plan of Chemicals Management Priorities to assess and better understand and protect Canadians and the environment from chemicals of concern.
In 1999, CEPA required prioritization of the 23,000 substances already in commerce in Canada based on specific criteria related to their bioaccumulation, persistence, inherent toxicity, and the greatest potential for exposure. This process identified approximately 4,300 chemicals as priorities that met one or more of these criteria. The resulting process to assess these substances has largely been completed.
With new chemicals being developed, new uses for existing chemicals, increasingly complex supply chains, and emerging science about risks including cumulative effects, the CEPA amendments require the Government to establish a new plan to prioritize the ongoing assessment of risks from chemicals. This plan will include timelines, a strategy to reduce reliance on vertebrate animal testing, consider class-based assessment approaches as a means of avoiding regrettable substitutions, as well as labelling and other means to provide meaningful information to the public. The amendments also require that this plan be reviewed at least every eight years.
Supporting the shift to safer chemicals
To support the shift to safer chemicals, the Government recognizes that it is important to encourage the use of product designs, processes, and chemicals that are safe for the environment and human health.
In addition to changes to risk assessment and risk management activities, CEPA amendments require the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to maintain a Watch List—a list of substances that can pose a risk and thereby meet the criteria in Section 64 of CEPA if, for example, uses change or exposure increases. The Watch List will help importers, manufacturers, and Canadian consumers to select safer alternatives and avoid regrettable substitutions—replacing one problem chemical with another that, in turn, becomes a problem.
Increased transparency in decision-making
The amendments to CEPA allow Canadians to request that a chemical be assessed and require the Ministers of Environment and Climate Change and of Health to consider and respond to any such requests.
The amendments also require that the Government communicate anticipated timelines for completing risk assessments and for proposing subsequent risk management actions when a substance is found to meet the criteria to require risk management.
Industry will also be required to provide a rationale to support requests for the confidentiality of business information, and the Ministers will be required to review and validate a statistically representative sample of these requests and report on the results. In addition, the amendments establish the circumstances under which the Ministers may disclose the explicit names of masked substances or living organisms.
A stronger regime for toxic substances that pose the highest risk
Amendments to CEPA create a stronger regime for controlling the subset of toxic substances that pose the highest risk to human health or the environment.
For substances that are determined to be toxic under CEPA and that meet the new additional criteria of posing the highest risk, the amendments to CEPA require that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Minister of Health give priority to prohibiting activities involving these substances. The criteria for these substances will be set out in regulations and will include persistence, bioaccumulation, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and reproductive toxicity. These regulations will be developed in consultation with stakeholders.
Giving priority to prohibition can lead to different scenarios: the substances can be phased out entirely; activities or releases of concern can be prohibited; or all new uses can be prohibited, unless it can be demonstrated that there are no safer alternatives, and the use can be undertaken safely.
To reflect this new approach, Schedule 1 is divided into two parts. Part 1 contains toxic substances that pose the highest risk, for which CEPA will prioritize the prohibition of activities and releases of concern. Part 2 contains all other CEPA-toxic substances.
These amendments maintain the fundamental risk-based approach under CEPA, which ensures that the Government focuses on the risks posed by substances based on their inherent characteristics and their actual or potential releases and exposures.
Risk assessments of new living organisms under Part 6 of the Act
Amendments to CEPA require the Ministers of Environment and Climate Change and of Health to consult interested persons when assessing new living organisms that are vertebrate animals or otherwise prescribed by regulation.
Reducing reliance on animal testing
Amendments to CEPA recognize the global effort to reduce reliance on the use of vertebrate animal testing when assessing the risks from substances. These amendments require the Government to support the development and use of scientifically justified alternative methods and strategies to replace, reduce, or refine the use of vertebrate animals in toxicity testing.
Changes to the Food and Drugs Act to strengthen the environmental risk assessment and risk management of drugs
Amendments to the Food and Drugs Act expand the Minister of Health’s ability to manage environmental risks resulting from drugs, and also provides the Minister the ability to develop modernized environmental risk assessment and risk management regulations for drugs under the Food and Drugs Act.
Moving forward
The Government of Canada will get to work on implementing the modernized Act. Implementation work will include engaging Canadians in developing an implementation framework on the right to a healthy environment under CEPA and a Plan of Chemicals Management Priorities.
Industry knew about risks of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ for decades before push to restrict them, study says
Makers of PFAS, a class of chemicals used in everything from cookware to food containers and makeup, had evidence the substances were toxic as early as the 1970s and obscured the danger, according to a new study based on industry archives held at the University of California.
Governments in Canada and the U.S. are now cracking down on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of more than 9,000 human-made chemicals produced since the 1940s. They have unique properties that make them heat-resistant, oil- and water-repellent and friction-resistant, and are found in products from cosmetics and take-out boxes to non-stick cookware and fire suppressants.
Because they’re hard to break down, contamination from the long-lived substances — sometimes called “forever chemicals” — is extensive all over North America.
“It’s really very sad, actually, how people were harmed by this chemical while the industry knew — had documents that showed they knew — it was toxic,” said Tracey Woodruff, professor of reproductive health and the environment at the University of California, San Francisco, and an author on the study published Thursday in Annals of Global Health.
The study examined 39 internal industry documents currently held at the university’s Chemical Industry Documents Library, dating from 1961 to 2006. The documents come from a lawyer who led a class action lawsuit in the early 2000s against chemical manufacturer DuPont on behalf of about 70,000 people in West Virginia and Ohio over exposure to PFOA, a form of PFAS.
The internal industry documents came from the discovery process and were related to DuPont and 3M, two major PFAS manufacturers. The documents were given to the makers of a 2018 documentary film called The Devil We Know, which was about the health hazards of PFOA and its use in Teflon cookwear.
Woodruff and her team’s analysis found that the companies had evidence by the 1970s —decades before public health and government authorities turned their attention to the chemicals — that some PFAS were toxic to humans, based on lab reports and health impacts on employees, but downplayed those impacts in public messaging or obscured what they had found.
“I think it really reinforces why we have to hold these industries accountable because they’re clearly, as you read the documents, concerned about the profits for this chemical and not about the health of their employees nor of the public,” Woodruff said.
Industry tactics
Until around 2000, the public health community considered PFAS to be inert and not something that would cause health problems, the study notes.
However, the chemicals can enter our blood and bodies from non-stick Teflon pans, fire retardant, food wrappers, cosmetics, and even the environment. In studies, they have been found in the bodies of most people tested in the U.S., Canada and other countries, and have been detected in major bodies of water.
Today, PFAS have been linked to liver problems, pregnancy issues, immune problems and some cancers. These health effects have mostly been observed in animal testing; the exact impact on human health remains unclear and is difficult to study as it would involve exposing people to suspected toxins.
The study highlighted examples of company documents mentioning toxic effects:
- As early as 1970, a DuPont memo said PFOA, a type of PFAS, was “highly toxic when inhaled and moderately toxic when ingested.”
- In 1980, DuPont and 3M learned that two pregnant employees involved in PFOA manufacturing had given birth to children with birth defects. Neither company released that information or told employees.
- In 1981, DuPont workers showed elevated levels of liver enzymes.
- In 1994, 3M knew of links of PFAS to prostate cancer that it shared with DuPont, a competitor.
Woodruff’s research also examined tactics the industry used to obscure and delay research into PFAS and regulations restricting their use. The study used research methods previously used to examine the tactics of the tobacco industry.
In an email statement to CBC News, 3M said “3M has previously addressed many of the mischaracterizations of these documents in previous reporting.” They did not include any specific responses to the study.
In December 2022, 3M announced it was going to exit PFAS manufacturing altogether by the end of 2025, partly due to regulations coming in around the world to restrict the chemicals.
Comment was also requested from two companies resulting from DuPont’s split in 2019, but both said they were not involved.
Canadian researchers have found that hundreds of cosmetics, many described as waterproof or long-lasting, contain potentially toxic chemicals that aren’t listed on the labels.
Governments step in
Human health studies that do exist mostly focus on two types of PFAS — PFOS and PFOA. There’s evidence linking them to liver disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes like preterm birth and cancer, and both have been banned in Canada.
Other PFAS chemicals are not as well studied but could cause similar health problems. Because there are hundreds of different PFAS chemicals, and it would be difficult to study all of them, the Canadian government is considering regulating all PFAS rather than specific chemicals.
The government released a draft “State of PFAS” report in May, inviting public comment. The report will inform eventual policies to regulate PFAS, the government said.
South of the border, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to finalize new rules on PFAS. Several U.S. states have moved on their own to restrict the use of PFAS and keep them out of their water supply.
Fe de Leon, researcher at the Canadian Environmental Law Association, says it’s difficult to keep up with PFAS regulations, because the chemicals keep changing.
For example, PFOA was replaced with another PFAS chemical called GenX, which has also been linked to liver-related health issues.
“You go one chemical at a time, and it doesn’t work because those chemicals are replaced most of the time,” she said.
“We have to do a better job, right, asking for more information before these chemicals are allowed in the market.”
De Leon says Canada’s legislative framework is not reactive enough when new information about a chemical’s hazards becomes available. She hopes the “State of PFAS” report will lead to government action soon.
“The cost of doing nothing is so significant, and it affects generations,” she said.
“It’s not just the immediate people who are affected. The next generation could be equally affected by these types of chemicals being in people’s bodies.”
Feds say Agnico Eagle has failed to protect caribou at Nunavut gold mine as promised
(Source: CBC News) The federal government says Agnico Eagle Mines is not doing what it has promised to protect migrating caribou at the Meadowbank gold mine in Nunavut.
An order issued last month by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) says the company has failed “on multiple occasions” to meet its obligations under its project certificates for the mine, and under the Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act.
The order requires the company to comply with its permits to operate or face potential penalties.
“[Agnico Eagle Mines] has failed to close roads as required while migrating caribou are passing,” the order, written by CIRNAC resource management officer Kyle Amsel, states.
The 13-page order document details the company’s repeated failures over the last decade and a half to implement caribou protection measures at the mine site, comply with an ecological management plan, and accurately and appropriately report activities.
The federal order follows concerns raised by the Nunavut government. Last fall, the territory’s Environment department wrote to CIRNAC asking for an investigation.
“This is the fourth consecutive year in which the GN has presented evidence of [Agnico Eagle’s] failure to implement the road closure provisions of the TEMP [Terrestrial Environment Management Plan],” reads a letter sent by Jimmy Noble Jr., Nunavut’s deputy minister of Environment, to regulators in October 2022.
The Oct. 17 letter, addressed to officials at CIRNAC and the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB), states that the company’s promised caribou protection measures, outlined in the TEMP, were “an important factor in the GN’s review of this project.” It asked federal inspectors to investigate.
A company spokesperson told CBC News at the time that the company had fulfilled all of its obligations, and would keep talking to authorities “to find a common understanding of this issue.”
In an email to CBC News on Wednesday, Agnico Eagle spokesperson Natalie Frackleton said the company is reviewing the CIRNAC order issued last month and “the allegations it contains.”
She also said the company is reviewing items “that have already been addressed by the company as part of the formal annual report review,” but did not provide specifics.
“The company remains confident that it is taking the necessary measures to protect caribou. We will communicate directly with the appropriate stakeholders and will not comment further publicly at this time,” Frackleton wrote.
The concerns about Agnico Eagle’s caribou protection efforts have largely focused on two roads at the mine complex near Baker Lake, Nunavut: the Meadowbank all-weather access road, and the Whale Tail haul road, which connects an open pit mine to processing facilities.
Production began at the Whale Tail pit in 2019, the same year production ceased at the Meadowbank mine. The operation at Whale Tail continues to use processing facilities at the Meadowbank site, with the two sites connected by a 64-kilometre haul road.
The Nunavut government has said the company’s TEMP for the Whale Tail mine expansion project includes a requirement to automatically close the road to traffic if a dozen or more caribou were seen within a kilometre and a half of the road during migration times. Those include the periods from April 1 to May 25, and from Sept. 16 to Dec. 7.
Amsel’s CIRNAC order questions some of the company’s decisions around road closures, and the accuracy and thoroughness of its record-keeping and reporting over the years. For example, Amsel points to the company’s 2018 annual report on wildlife monitoring which included discrepancies in data collection “which caused misleading statistical analysis.”
The same 2018 report included a list of internal company correspondence that “appears to denote daily instances of road closures,” but includes minimal or no data.
The correspondence “appears to have been compiled at random,” Amsel wrote, saying the data “has little value upon review to determine compliance with the TEMP.”
Amsel also refers to the company’s 2019 wildlife monitoring summary report, which asserted that more migrating caribou had been observed that year from the all-weather access road than in any other year since surveys began. Amsel calls the statement “factually incorrect and misleading,” and points to higher survey numbers years earlier.
Also in 2019, the company reported 94 full days of road closure but Amsel states that on 82 of those days the company “did not respect the road closure and allowed such things as convoys, daily rides, food truck etc.
Remediation Technology News and Resource
(The following are selected items from the US EPA’s Tech Direct – http://clu-in.org/techdirect/)
New Documents and Web Resources
Climate Adaptation Profile: Rocky Mountain Arsenal. EPA recently released a climate adaptation profile describing measures taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Commerce City, Colorado. Ongoing remediation work at this National Priorities List site includes maintaining two landfill caps and six evapotranspiration covers and operating five groundwater extraction and treatment systems. The site is vulnerable to drought conditions, erosion and sheet flow associated with intense or prolonged precipitation, and potential wildfires. Design and construction of the cover and capping systems included multiple measures to address the vulnerabilities, such as armoring associated drainage channels with concrete block, using drought-tolerant species to vegetate top surfaces, and periodically conducting prescribed burns of the vegetation to reduce fuel for wildfires. Other measures to enhance climate resilience of the site’s infrastructure include storing site-wide stormwater in three onsite lakes and beneficially using the site’s treated groundwater to recharge the local aquifer. Approximately 15,000 of the site’s 17,000 acres have been incorporated into the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. To view or download, please visit https://www.epa.gov/superfund/climate-adaptation-profile-rocky-mountain-arsenal.
Research Brief 341: Fighting Fluorine with Fluorine: New Materials Remove PFAS from Groundwater. Researchers funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) created a novel class of materials that can attract and remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water. According to the authors, the new technology — called Fluor Mop — can be regenerated, reused, and is potentially less expensive than current remediation strategies. For more information and to read the brief, please visit https://tools.niehs.nih.gov/srp/researchbriefs/view.cfm?Brief_ID=341
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://www.clu-in.org/products/tins/. The following resources were included in recent issues:
- Innovative Technology Supports Remediation Success at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant
- Field-Scale Investigation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Leaching from Shallow Soils to Groundwater at Two Sites in New Hampshire, 2021-2022
New ESAA Member
ESAA welcomes the following new members. If you are not a member of ESAA you can join now via: https://esaa.org/join-esaa/
Full Member:
Abatement Pro
37 Cougar Ridge Close SW
Calgary, AB T3H 0V4
Phone: (403) 910-1836
Mark Ballard, Principle Owner
Email: [email protected]
Profile:
ICI facility remediation services across Western Canada including asbestos, mould, environmental, lead and biohazards.
Upcoming Industry Events
2023 Hybrid Greening & Sustainability Workshop
June 13-14th, Ottawa
This first-ever Real Property Institute of Canada (RPIC) greening workshop is happening from June 13 and 14, 2023, at the Shaw Centre (55 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa) and online. This year’s learning themes explore different pathways to achieve net-zero, eliminate waste in the real property life-cycle, or reduce climate change risks to federal assets.
For more information visit: https://rpic-ibic.ca/professional-dev/2023-hybrid-greening-sustainability-workshop/
AER OneStop Record of Site Condition (RoSC) Information Update
As part of AERs ongoing engagement activities, this is a 90 minute live online session delivered through Microsoft Teams that will include some demonstration of the OneStop system.
The information will be tailored towards attendees with subject matter familiarity and there may be a degree of repetition for those who have attended previous sessions.
Topics covered will include:
- A brief overview of the purpose, use and completion of RoSCs
- RoSC “Intent of Submission” options
- RoSC functioning as a Remedial Action Plan, as required by the Remediation Regulation
- Contamination Review for Reclamation (modified intent, May 2023)
- Common review observations and frequently asked questions including:
- Soil Chloride: characterization, delineation and assessment of risk
- RoSC accuracy: Minor Exceedance Justifications & Site-Specific Risk Assessments
There will be opportunity to ask questions and familiarize yourself with requirements, expectations and process.
There are three Session Date Options: Tuesday June 20 (13:30-15:00), and Wednesday June 21 (09:30-11:00)
A link to the EventBrite registration is available on the AER Events webpage
https://www.aer.ca/protecting-what-matters/giving-albertans-a-voice/events
ESAA Job Board
Check out the new improved ESAA Job Board. Members can post ads for free.
Current Listings:
- Manager, Strategic Relations – ESAA
- Intermediate/Senior Environmental Specialist – Summit
- SENIOR CONTAMINATED SITES SPECIALIST – Matrix Solutions
- Environmental Manager (remote) – Action Land & Environmental Services Ltd.
- Senior Environmental Professional, Planning – H3M Environmental
- Senior Environmental Professional, Planning – H3M Environmental
- Labourer – Summit
- Environmental Project Manager – Arletta Environmental Consulting
- Junior Accountant – Nichols Environmental (Canada) Ltd.
- Environmental Technologist/Industrial Hygiene Technician – Stantec
- Reclamation Team Lead – Ecoventure Inc.
- Intermediate Environmental Project Manager – Nichols Environmental (Canada) Ltd.
- Environmental Technologist/Industrial Hygiene Technician – Stantec
- Environmental Specialist – Summit