BY BILL BRADLEY
The clean-up of creosote from Junction Creek beside Copper St. in the centre of the city is a major effort currently underway in Greater Sudbury. It was the diligence of volunteers with the non-profit environmental group, the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee that alerted Greg Clausen, general manager of infrastructure services to the problem in 1999 when they spotted creosote deposits on the creek bank. Clausen in turn alerted the Ontario Ministry of the Environment to do an immediate site visit.
The affected area, the site of a creosote plant where railway ties were treated with a toxic chemical, creosote, is located south of Lorne St. on the north bank of Junction Creek.
After a plan of action was developed, partnerships created and contractors hired, work started.
The creek's flow was interrupted to expose the sediments, and pumped further downstream with soil excavation beginning in mid-July. Approximately 20,000 tonnes of contaminated soil were removed from a drainage ditch and then from a 125 metre section. The most toxic was hauled to a licensed waste disposal facility in Sarnia, and soil less contaminated trucked to the Sudbury landfill.
“Apart from the city's road projects, the Junction Creek Remediation Project, valued at $3 million, is one of the biggest construction sites operating today in Greater Sudbury. Yet we are doing our best to see it done right, for the ecology and the neighbours, even from the beginning,” said Shaw.
The partners in the project, the City of Greater Sudbury, CP Rail owners of the land affected, and Domtar, whose creosote plant caused the problem earlier in the past century, each are contributing $1 million to cleaning up the site.
Work is expected to be finished by Oct. 1, 2007. Clean Harbors, based in Burlington, specializing in environmental cleanup and restoration, and Earth Tech, local consulting engineers, were hired to do the work.
Yet, those involved, the city, the environmental group and the contractors, are doing their best to lessen their impact on the environment and the surrounding community.
The project was delayed because the environmental group wanted a better remediation plan than what was proposed.
“We did not like the original plan that called for just capping the contaminated layers in the creek, an engineered approach. We wanted the contaminated soil out of there and let the ecosystem naturally repair the site,” said Carrie Regenstreif, special projects manager with Junction Creek Stewardship Committee.
According to Tom Brown, Ontario Ministry of Environment area supervisor, the delay was worth it.
“We are happy this project is moving forward and even happier that all the parties are in agreement of this plan of action. The delay experienced was worth it,” said
Brown.
Shaw said care was taken in all stages of the project.
“When we were siting the road way necessary to bring in the equipment, we used an existing roadway and I went with the contractors and personally marked those trees I thought we could save so as to ensure there was adequate vegetative buffer for any potential noise problems,” said Shaw.
Clean Harbours has provided shrouding for two large pumps located on the creek banks, used for pumping large quantities of water if there is heavy rainfall. Other smaller pumps are shielded by straw bales.
Ward 1 Councillor Joe Cimino said he has been pleased with the care taken to protect both the environment and the neighbourhood.
“I have not had any complaints yet about noise or dust. The workers conform to city noise bylaws and shut their equipment down accordingly,” said Cimino.
“I also grew up nearby and as a kid I heard stories about possible contamination. Now we know the contamination was below human health guidelines but I am happy the site is being cleaned up. There is a lot of potential for a new Rainbow Routes trail system being developed here. That's what the neighbourhood has been telling us in public consultations.”
