Environmental Remediation Award of Excellence
West Niagara Secondary School and New Ridgeview Garden Centre WSP
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CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEER
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A complex site Estimates based on historical documentation suggested the site housed 73,000 tonnes of C&D waste. On the east side of the quarry, however, unanticipated ribbons of waste were discovered, leading to a secondary, deep area of waste. The final volume of C&D waste was approximately 170% of the original estimate. The soil originally used to cap the waste was also impacted with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) had previously documented the cap material to be
“The project team worked within a tight timeline while dealing with complex challenges in a highly visible area.” – Jury
environmentally non-impacted, having been sourced on-site from outside the former quarry area. This added an unexpected 73,000 m3 of soil requiring risk management. Rather than landfilling the cap material and the existing quarry fill that was determined not to be suitable on-site, an off-site receiving facility accepted and reused approximately 100,000 m3 of the soil. While additional effort was needed in soil characterization, processing and tracking, this was a sustainable solution that diverted soil from landfills.
PHOTOS COU RT E SY WS P
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n 2017, the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) purchased half of the family-owned and operated Ridgeview Garden Centre’s land to build a new secondary school. The property was formerly a shale quarry and brickworks, dating back to 1875. When the brickworks was demolished, its remnants were buried on-site. Subsequently, the shale quarry was illegally infilled with approximately 140,000 m3 of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. This left the land burdened with poor soil quality, most of which was geotechnically unsuitable for future use of the site. DSBN retained WSP to complete an updated Phase One and Two Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), including the filing of a Record of Site Condition (RSC). The results of the ESAs showed a complex, contaminated site with multiple challenges. WSP then provided remediation options, including removal of waste to licensed landfill, diversion of impacted soil to a reuse site and sequestration and risk management of impacted soil beneath the site—all while keeping Ridgeview open and operating throughout the remedial efforts.
September/October 2021
2021-10-18 10:14 AM
