AMEC to Prepare Environmental Impact Statement
SYDNEY TAR PONDS AGENCY--AMEC to Prepare Environmental Impact Statement
AMEC Earth and Environmental Ltd. has won a contract to prepare the environmental impact statement for the Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens cleanup.
The international environmental consulting firm, which has a Sydney-based staff of 12, will prepare the impact statement as part of the legally required environmental assessment of the cleanup. AMEC will also help the Sydney Tar Ponds Agency make representations to federal and provincial regulatory authorities overseeing the environmental assessment.
The environmental assessment is the last step required before work on the Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens cleanup can begin. Sydney area residents spent six years and 900 public meetings considering cleanup options. The assessment will zero in on every detail of the proposed solution, and will serve as a check to ensure the project has no unacceptable impacts.
The project will take 10 years and produce 2,700 person-years of work. The federal and provincial governments have committed $400 million to the job.
The plan is to dig up and destroy the worst contaminants, using methods that have proved to be safe and effective on similar sites. Remaining materials will be treated in place and then contained within an engineered containment system. The cleaned-up sites will be landscaped to fit their natural surroundings or future site use.
"We are delighted to be working on the biggest cleanup job in Canada," said Shawn Duncan, AMEC's head of environmental sciences and planning in Nova Scotia. "Our staff is eager to get started."
"We have always strived for excellence on this project," said Wayne Vervaet. "AMEC has extensive experience carrying out environmental assessments on important projects like the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline and the Petitcodiac River cleanup. They will be a great help as we prepare to finally get cleanup work started."
While the environmental assessment is underway, work on four preliminary projects, designed to prevent environmental harm, will begin over the next two years. They are: the re-routing of Coke Ovens Brook, the remediation of the Sysco cooling pond, the replacement of the Whitney Pier water main, and the construction of a coffer dam between Battery Point and the Sysco Piers.
No decision has been made as to the level of environmental assessment. Federal law allows three kinds of assessment: a screening, a comprehensive study, and a full panel review by independent experts.
The AMEC contract includes management and co-ordination of all facets of the assessment including environmental and socio- economic impact assessment as well as public and regulatory consultation.
Because the duration and intensity of the three levels of assessment vary widely, the length and value of the AMEC contract has not been determined.