Public Comment Period on Intent to Make a Determination
Exploratory drilling, test well drilling and pumping tests – Valcartier Military Base

April 5, 2022 — The Department of National Defence must decide whether the proposed project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

To help inform this decision, the Department of National Defence is inviting comments from the public on the project and its potential effects on the environment. All comments received will be considered public. For more information, individuals should consult the Privacy Notice on the Registry website.

Written comments must be submitted by April 24, 2022 to:
Annie Labelle-Lauzon, Project Manager
Mailing Address: 101 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa
ON, Canada, K1A 0K2
E-mail:  Annie.Labelle-Lauzon@forces.gc.ca

The Proposed Project

The Department of National Defence (DND) has proposed a project which aims to complete all the work in order to carry out three pumping tests in the summer of 2022. This project constitutes a preliminary step in the management of the TCE problem in the groundwater of the Valcartier region.

The project will be carried out in part on the territory of the Valcartier Base and DRDC-Valcartier. The activities planned on each of the Base Valcartier and DRDC-Valcartier territories are detailed below.

Valcatier Base

• Completion of one stratigraphic exploratory borehole;
• Drilling and installation of one pumping test well;
• Drilling and installation of a minimum of two observation wells in the vicinity of the pumping test well (locations to be determined);
• Drilling and installation of one injection well for water discharge during the pumping tests;
• Completion of one step-drawdown pump test (1 day duration) and one long pumping test (duration of up to 5 days);
• Treatment of pumped water using a mobile treatment unit;
• Discharge of the pumped and treated water via the injection well.

To allow access and drilling at the stratigraphic exploratory borehole and at the pumping test well location, an access road and a work area will have to be built. The access road and the work area, which will have been cleared of trees beforehand, will have to be removed from the stumps and prepared with granular material to allow the passage of heavy machinery (drill and service truck).

During the pumping tests, the water pumped from the pumping test well will be treated using a temporary treatment unit that will be installed in the work area. The treated water will then be conveyed to the injection well via a temporary pipe that will be laid on the ground surface. The pumped and treated water will be re-injected into the aquifer into the injection well.

DRDC-Valcartier

• Construction of one stratigraphic exploratory borehole;
• Drilling and installation of two pumping test wells;
• Drilling and installation of a minimum of four observation wells in the vicinity of the pumping test wells (locations to be determined);
• Construction of a discharge point for pumped and treated water in the existing ditch, downstream;
• Conducting two step-drawdown pump tests (1 day test at each test well) and two long pumping tests (duration of up to 5 days; 1 long test per test well);
• Treatment of pumped water using a mobile treatment unit;
• Discharge of pumped and treated water into the ditch at the engineered discharge point.

To allow access and drilling at the stratigraphic exploratory borehole and at the location of the pumping test wells, a work area will need to be constructed along the existing access road. The work area, which will have been previously cleared, will have to be removed from the stumps and prepared with granular material to allow the passage of heavy machinery (drill and service truck).

During the pumping tests, the water pumped from the pumping test wells will be treated using a temporary treatment unit that will be installed in the work area. The treated water will then be conveyed to the engineered discharge point in the existing ditch, using a temporary pipe that will be laid on the surface of the ground.

The engineered discharge point in the ditch will consist of riprap to reduce the velocity of the water to minimize erosion and the suspension of sediments from the ditch bottom. At the end of the work, the riprap will be completely removed.