| CLIENT | Town of Hay River |
| LOCATION | Hay River, NT |
| SERVICES | Site Supervision Semi-Annual Groundwater Sampling Onsite Health and Safety Field Activities Annual Reporting Compliance Monitoring Regulator Correspondence |
| SCHEDULE | Start Date: June 2016 End Date: Ongoing |
PROJECT PROFILE
KBL Environmental Ltd. (KBL) was retained annually under contract with the Town of Hay River (TOHR) in 2016 through 2021 to provide groundwater sampling services for the municipal solid waste facility.
SCOPE OF WORK
Each year since 2016, KBL has been awarded the contract for the provision of water monitoring services at the Hay River Solid Waste Facility and associated regulatory permitting. In addition, in 2019, KBL was awarded the contract to prepare, submit, and support the Town’s water licence renewal application. As per the facility’s Water Licence, semi-annual groundwater sampling is completed in the spring and fall. In 2017, KBL undertook four groundwater sampling events during summer months to gather additional data for trend analysis to allow for completion of the Landfill Drainage Study. In addition to Groundwater Annual Reporting, KBL also completed the Landfill Operation and Maintenance Plan and STF Closure Plan on behalf of the TOHR for submission to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board. The Town’s water license renewal application included written and face-to-face public consultations and engagement along with a public online consultation and response. KBL provides regular updates to the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Environment and Natural Resources on behalf of the Town and provides liaison with the Lands Department and the regulatory oversight body while maintaining open communication with counterparts at the TOHR.
PROJECT CHALLENGES
On March 3, 2019 an uncontrolled fire occurred at the Town of Hay River municipal solid waste facility. KBL was additional contracted to assess the risk posed to residents of the town and ecological receptors in Hay River considering the distance between the ponds and the river and the position of the waste facility upstream of town. To achieve this a sampling program was developed to assess the water in the onsite pond, locations along Hay River, the towns drinking water, and groundwater wells.
During public consultations in 2020, COVID 19 isolation protocols threatened to delay the public engagement and consultation process for the completion of permitting. A public hearing was completed remotely.
PROJECT SUCCESS
The client and stakeholders received routine updates from KBL as well as milestone reports summarizing site activities including Investigation and RAP were prepared and submitted on a timely basis. These reports and updates contained figures which provide easily readable representations of the data overlying site figures. These are used to provide time scale summaries of groundwater and soil data which are helpful in identifying trends and physical locations of impacts.
The RAP provided a methodology for addressing impacts in soil and groundwater. The objectives of the plan included removal of impacts related to the spill, investigating and documenting historical impacts in the area, protecting the creek and surrounding receptors. The remediation proceeded in conjunction with the RAP, however, impacts beneath an adjacent roadway necessitated a Risk Assessment (RA). The RA relied on analytical results obtained during remediation as well as follow up monitoring events. In 2020 all soils at the landfill’s soil treatment Facility had been successfully remediated. KBL anticipated completing a final facility assessment and decommissioning of the landfill in 2021 and is submitting a Facility Closure Plan to the MVLWB.
The Town’s water licence was successfully renewed in 2021.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
An Engagement Plan was developed and implemented with the local Aboriginal governments and other parties.