2018 CLRA Conference Planning for the Annual 100 Year Event Summit - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Reconsidering Remediation - through Sustainability Presenter: Maylia Parker

Contributor: Belinda Campbell, PSPC

2018 CLRA Conference

Planning for the Annual 100 Year Event

Summit Waste Rock, Scotchtown, Cape Breton, NS

Is there a better way? Reconsidering our remediation approach by evaluating sustainability

Overview

• 1. How did we get here?
• 2. Sustainable Remediation – a

different lens

• 3. Through the Looking Glass
• 4. Outcomes
• 5. Where do we go now?

Photo source: Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation Former Mine Site Closure Program Update 2013-2014, Government of Canada

The Site and Its History

How did we get here?

The Site and Its History

Source: Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation Former Mine Site Closure Program Update 2013-2014, Government of Canada

2001 - Cape Breton Development Corporation (CBDC/DEVCO) ceased mining Former Mine Site Closure Program established with PWGSC (now PSPC) to… …leave former mine sites and related properties in a stable and safe condition, and return the land to its previous use or an acceptable alternative. 2009 - CBDC merged with Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (ECBC) 2011-2013 – remediation & closure activities 2014 – ECBC absorbed into Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)

CBDC lands associated with coal mining:

• 700 properties in 35 communities
• 1,000+ km2

Environmental Issues: mine water discharge, erosion, mine

• penings, impacted soil, surface water

and groundwater

The Site and Its History

Map source: Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation Former Mine Site Closure Program Update 2013-2014, Government of Canada

Scotchtown Summit (SSSA)

• Waste rock disposed at Site since 1911
• 39 ha waste rock pile (WRP) consolidated

from surrounding mine sites

• acid rock drainage (ARD) + metals
• Remedial activities completed 2011-2012
• cap system
• recreational trail
• Site Management Plan
• Environmental Monitoring Trend Analysis

Site Description

Scotchtown Summit (SSSA)

Located in 2 watersheds:

• Waterford Lake (primary drinking water

source)

• Kilkenny (supplementary drinking water

source)

• connected by water line

Surface drainage:

• Irish Brook (runs through town)
• 2 tributaries of Kilkenny Lake Brook

Geology:

• Waste rock – Till – Sandstone

Photo source: Google Maps

SSSA Closure Design Criteria

• 1. Human Health
• Waterford Lake: drinking water quality
• n-site (none identified)
• 2. Two tributaries of Kilkenny Lake Brook
• background or CCME
• 3. Irish Brook
• no net negative effect
• 4. Land use
• vacant
• 5. Ecological risks
• no impact to terrestrial animals and

birds

• 6. Infrastructure
• no adverse impacts
• 7. Surface erosion protection measures
• 1 in 200 year runoff event
• 1 in 200 year runoff event

Photo source: Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation Former Mine Site Closure Program Update 2013-2014, Government of Canada

Remedial Option Selection

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Description

Protect Kilkenny Lake Brook Tributaries Treatment of ARD (add-on to Option 1) Low Permeability Cover: Plastic Liner (HDPE)

Method

• cover southern

area of WRP w/veg cap

• improve SAPS1

ponds

• improve West

ponds

• raise west dam
• flow through lime

addition plant with sludge settling pond

• remove SAPS ponds
• improve West

ponds

• raise west dam
• cover entire WRP

with HDPE liner, till, and seed

Cost

$2.6 M $17.3 M $21.2 M

Selection

No – does not address gw plume and Waterford Lake No – addresses Irish Brook but not Waterford Lake Yes – reduce ARD generation thereby protecting Waterford Lake and improving sw quality SSSA RAP

1SAPS =

successive alkalinity producing system

Remedial Action Plan

Is there a problem?

Closure criteria are being met Capping retards an already slow (geologic) process (Very) long term monitoring program Has environmental liability been reduced? Problem for future generations?

Figure 3.3, Option 3: Low-Permeability HDPE Liner, SSSA Call-Up #4 Remedial Action Plan (RAP), Summit Waste Rock Pile, Nova Scotia, AMEC Earth and Environmental Services, December 2008.

A different lens?

Sustainable Remediation

Sustainable remediation considers the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project to ensure an optimal outcome, while being protective of human and environmental health, both at a local level and for the larger community.

• SuRF Canada

Sustainable Remediation: Process vs Technology

Sustainable Remediation – a different lens?

“Sustainable Remediation Framework” Haley et.al.,Spring 2011 Edition of Remediation Journal (June 2011)

Sustainable Remediation In search of the

• ptimal outcome…

What's in the toolbox?

What’s in the Toolbox?

Tool Type Example Tools

Increasing Complexity Best Management Practices (BMPs - any project) ASTM, SuRF, USACE, EPA Fact Sheets Simple (Qualitative) California Dept. of Toxic Substances – Green Remediation Evaluation Matrix (GREM) SuRF UK Indicator Parameters PSPC Sustainable Development (SD) Tool Advanced (Quantitative) Carbon Footprint Calculations Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) Tools US Air Force Sustainable Remediation Tool US Navy and ACE SiteWise

Sources: 1-www.clu-in.org, 2-www.dtsc.ca.gov, 3-ITRC

Sustainable Remediation – a different lens?

Increasing complexity

Through the Looking Glass…

Applying Sustainable Remediation Frameworks and Tools

What is an indicator?

a single characteristic that represents a sustainability effect measurable or comparable

can be used to evaluate relative performance of different options

www.nicole.org

Consider: SuRF UK - Framework

Through the Looking Glass

Environmental (ENV) Social (SOC) Economic (ECON) Impacts on Air Impacts on Human Health & Safety Direct Economic Costs & Benefits Impacts on Soil & Ground Conditions Ethics & Equality Considerations Indirect Economic Costs & Benefits Impacts on Groundwater & Surface Water Impacts on Neighbourhood & Regions Employment & Capital Gain Impacts on Ecology Community Involvement & Satisfaction Induced Economic Costs & Benefits Impacts on Natural Resources & Waste Uncertainty & Evidence Project Lifespan and Flexibility

Have you considered these indicators in your project? Should you? How do you prioritize or weight the indicators? How will you measure and validate them?

Consider: SD Tool

Through the Looking Glass

www.claire.co.uk

• designed for federal contaminated sites managers
• evaluate various environmental decontamination options
• an interactive analysis grid (software, available online)
• independently calculates effectiveness for environmental, social and economic

dimensions

Stage 1

General Information

Stage 2

Site Description

Stage 3

Selection & Weighting

• f

Indicators

Stage 4

Technology Selection

Stage 5

Technology Evaluation

Stage 6

Results

http://sdat.pwgsc.gc.ca/guideUtilisateur-userGuide.aspx?lang=eng#2

Consider: SD Tool (Stage 3)

Through the Looking Glass

Environmental (ENV) Social (SOC) Economic (ECON)

Soil Quality Impacts on Aquatic Life Safety of Public and Workers Technology Cost Soil Vapour Intrusion Greenhouse Gas Emissions Project Duration Litigation Potential Groundwater Quality Residual Waste Production Quality of Life (during the project) Nuisance to Normal Operations Free Product Natural Resources Public Benefits Property Reuse Surface Water Quality Energy Consumption Cultural Heritage Environmental Reserve Impact on Drinking Water Supply Water Consumption Federal Government’s Image Local Economic Benefits Off-Site Migration Traffic Technical Reliability (maintenance & repair) Quality of Physical Environment Impact on Landscape Logistics Impacts on Terrestrial Life Innovation Technological Uncertainty How important are these indicators to your project? Federal govt & Stakeholders

• Very High
• High
• Low to

moderate

Outcomes – What did we see?

Applying Sustainable Remediation Frameworks and Tools

SuRF UK - Framework

Outcomes – What did we see?

www.claire.co.uk

SSSA Closure Criteria SuRF UK Indicator Parameter

Human Health (Waterford Lake) Env 3 – Impacts on Groundwater & Surface Water Soc 1 - Impacts on Human Health & Safety Two tributaries of Kilkenny Lake Brook Env 3 – Impacts on Groundwater & Surface Water Env 4 - Impacts on Ecology Irish Brook Env 3 – Impacts on Groundwater & Surface Water Soc 3 – Impacts on Neighbourhoods & Regions Land use (vacant) Soc 3 – Impacts on Neighbourhoods & Regions Ecological risks Env 4 - Impacts on Ecology Infrastructure Econ 2 - Indirect Economic Costs & Benefits Soc 3 – Impacts on Neighbourhoods & Regions Surface erosion protection measures Env 2 - Impacts on Soil & Ground Conditions Cost (highest chosen) Econ 1 - Direct Economic Costs & Benefits Timeline (to implement not remediate) Econ 5 – Project Lifespan & Flexibility Public Perception (incl. Aesthetics) Soc 4 - Community Involvement & Satisfaction Indicator categories are considered within the closure criteria…but adequate to determine

• ptimal

solution?

PSPC – SD Tool

Stage 1 & 2

• Where is the contaminant?
• Vadose/saturated
• What is the contaminant?
• Metals (no ARD)
• What is the geology?
• What are site management
• bjectives?
• Who are the stakeholders?

Stage 3 Review and weight indicator categories

Outcomes – What did we see?

Stage 4 Select remedial options for comparison

• Set list of options
• Ranked by effectiveness

Stage 5 Rank select indicators Stage 5 Results report

Does your site fit the tool?

SD Tool Results

Option 1 – Cap (46.3%) Option 2 – Flow-through lime treatment (51.6%)

We get a number…but is it meaningful?

Applicability to other sites

Where do we go now?

Next steps…

Does it make sense to look at sites retrospectively?

• How we make our decisions is as important as

the decision itself.

• Learn how to make better decisions.

What have we learned?

• Decision-making frameworks have value.
• Tools can be too rigid.

How does this study impact future work

• n other sites?
• Include the right stakeholders and ask the

right questions.

• Address conflict between short-term and

long-term considerations.

“In a world of change, the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned shall find themselves perfectly suited for a world that no longer exists.”

• Eric Hoffer