Notice of intent to make a determination

York Factory First Nation Remedial Actions Project – Public Comments Invited

March 28, 2021– Indigenous Services Canada must determine whether the proposed  York Factory First Nation Remedial Actions Project located in York Factory First Nation is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects. To help inform this determination, Indigenous Services Canada is inviting comments from the public respecting that determination.

 

Written comments must be submitted by April 27, 2021 to:

 

Dan Benoit

200-365 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg, MB

Daniel.benoit@canada.ca

 

The Proposed Project

The York Factory First Nation Remedial Actions Project will involve the excavation of a total of

approximately 1,155 m3 of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC), impacted soil from two (2) separate sites in

the community:

• 1,140 m3 of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC)/volatile organic compound (VOC) impacted soil at the Former Public Works Yard site; and,

• 15 m3 of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) impacted soil at the Former Maintenance Garage and Tank Farm Site (the Site) in York Factory First Nation.

The petroleum hydrocarbon impacted soil will be hauled to a new community landfarm for treatment.

 

The Former Maintenance Garage and Tank Farm Site is located centrally within the community, and consists of (1) active 75,000 L split gasoline/diesel aboveground storage tank (AST) with dispenser and utility shed, located within the northern portion of the site (tank farm area) and a vacant lot within the southern portion. Neighboring land use includes mixed residential and commercial development. Aiken River is located within 410 m south of the Site.

 

The Former Public Works Yard Site is located within the western portion of the community, and is currently used as a metals dump, vehicle scrapyard, drum storage area, tires and other random debris. Numerous aboveground storage tanks (AST) were identified at various locations, including an inactive 25,000 l diesel tank. The site is surrounded by dense tree coverage. The nearest residential property is located approximately 120 m east of the site. Aiken River is located within 220 m south of the Site.

 

A new landfarm facility is proposed for construction within the reserve boundary. The proposed

landfarm site is located within the eastern portion of the community along the winter road alignment, within an undeveloped, forested area.

 

Construction work will be initiated by the successful Contractor in the spring of 2021, and will

commence with the construction of an access road to the landfarm site. Road upgrades will be

undertaken along the existing gravel road which bypasses the quarry site. The bypass road will be extended further southeast towards the new landfarm site on the existing winter road. Landfarm construction activities will include clearing and grubbing of 1.4 hectares of forested area, grading the cell floor, followed by the installation of a 60 mil HDPE liner and non-woven geotextiles. A subsurface drainage collection system consisting of buried piping and sand bedding will be installed. Perimeter ditching and berms, erosion control mats, and monitoring wells will also be included in the design layout.

 

Site preparation activities at the Former Maintenance Garage and Tank Farm Site will include temporary removal of the AST, dispenser unit and buried electrical lines, along with the crushed gravel pad overlying the northern portion of the former tank farm, in order to access the underlying impacted soil. A Licensed Petroleum Technician (LPT) will be retained to disconnect the fuel system, remove product and purge the AST prior to removal to a temporary location onsite. The AST will be reinstalled in its original location, following the soil remediation activities. No clearing or grubbing is anticipated at the site.

 

Site preparation activities at the Former Public Works Yard Site will include decommissioning of all of the abandoned ASTs by a Licensed Petroleum Technician (LPT) and off-site removal for disposal. The numerous barrels, some filled with a mixture of diesel fuel, glycol, waste oil, and contaminated water will also require proper removal and disposal. Any derelict equipment, metals and vehicles should be set aside for crushing, and removed off-site for disposal. Once the waste metals are removed from the Site, Aski recommends additional testpits be excavated within the east portion of the Site during the soil remediation activities, to ensure that no additional PHC impacts related to the storage of heavy equipment/metal waste items exist. No clearing or grubbing is anticipated at the site.

 

Excavation activities at the sites will begin in the summer of 2021. During the course of the soil

excavation activities, the limits of the excavation will be assessed using field screening techniques. The final limits of the excavation (vertical and horizontal extents) will be subject to field screening and confirmatory laboratory analysis of CWS F1-F4 hydrocarbon fractions and CCME CEQG benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) concentrations. All laboratory results will be compared to current CCME residential land use guidelines. The excavated area will be backfilled with clean soil from a selected borrow area and the impacted soil will be hauled to the community landfarm for treatment/augmentation.

 

Remedial measures will also include the treatment of hydrocarbon impacted water that may accumulate in the excavation during site remediation due to seepage or precipitation, by means of a water treatment system. To address water infiltration or precipitation, a water treatment system will be made available throughout the excavation work to treat any accumulation of impacted water. Coalescing separators and clay/carbon filtration/polish systems shall be implemented to deal with hydrocarbon impacted water at the source. Treated water will be sampled and analyzed for hydrocarbon concentrations, prior to discharge. The same treatment methodology and treatment system will be used to treat impacted water accumulated within the sump at the landfarm treatment cell.

 

For the duration of the project, roadways will be watered on a regular basis for dust control and

regraded. The water will be retrieved from the water pump house. In order to ensure the protection of the general public, safety personnel will be retained throughout the duration of the project. This will include an on-site flagman to provide traffic/pedestrian control, as well as site security personnel during non-construction hours. In addition, safety fencing will be erected at the remedial sites prior to initiating any construction work and will remain in place until backfilling activities are complete.

Document Reference Number: 1

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