North Bay City Council approved a $7.31-million contract for "forever plastics" soil remediation work at the Jack Garland Airport by Clean Harbors Canada at its Sept. 17 regular meeting.
The Department of National Defence (DND) used fire-fighting foam containing PFAS between the early 1970s and mid-1990s at the airport site while Transport Canada owned it from 1939–98. The City of North Bay has owned the Jack Garland Airport property since 1998. It is confirmed locations on the Jack Garland site exceed current guidelines for PFAS in soil, groundwater, and surface water.
In 2017, testing on Lees Creek showed a waterway polluted with PFAS from the military base located just upstream. The creek empties into Trout Lake just a few hundred yards from the city's drinking water plant. A long-standing drinking water advisory for Lees Creek remains in place, as does a fish consumption advisory for fish from the creek issued by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).
Health information exists for only a small number of PFAS. What is known is that some PFAS may affect many systems and organs, such as the liver, kidney and thyroid; the immune and nervous systems; development and the reproductive system, metabolism, and body weight.
"The potential health risks from exposure depend on how much and how many of the PFAS you are exposed to and for how long," according to Health Canada. "Each person's specific attributes including age, habits, and overall health can impact how their body will react to chemical exposures."
Jacobs Consultancy Canada Inc. has developed a remediation plan. "The first phase, which focuses on preventing PFAS from leaving the site, includes soil, groundwater, and surface water remediation in the most contaminated areas, also known as 'hot spots,' according to a report prepared by Karin Pratte, the City of North Bay's director, water, wastewater and environmental services. "This project will ensure the removal and treatment of the most contaminated soil at the North Bay Jack Garland Airport lands."
DND and the City of North Bay signed an agreement in 2021 to begin the remediation of the PFAS-contaminated area at Jack Garland. The $20-million contribution agreement is funded by DND at 97 per cent ($19.4 million) and the City at 3 per cent (to a maximum of $600,000). "The shared responsibility agreements allow the City to submit a second proposal, if required, through the shared responsibility framework for additional costs of the remediation once a more detailed project estimate can be obtained," per the report.
The City's share of this contract for the first phase is approximately $220,000.
Jacobs was hired in October 2021 to assist in the PFAS remediation process, with a scope that includes "performing environmental assessments, site-specific risk assessments, developing remediation objectives and designing the remediation plan," per the report. "Jacobs completed field investigations which included soil, groundwater and surface water samples, analysis and reporting, risk assessments and soil/ground water remediation option analysis."
Jacobs has assisted the municipality as a technical representative, in liaison with DND; the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks; and, the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit.
As part of a formal bid process, eight bids were received and evaluated by the City and Jacobs. The bid from Clean Harbors Canada was the lowest and was deemed to be fair and reasonable and provide the best overall value.
MORE LOCAL PFAS REPORTING:
- New federal objective puts local drinking water over PFAS limit
- PODCAST: 'There is PFAS in our municipal drinking water'
- Packed house for session on local PFAS drinking water concerns
- Work starts soon on city's PFAS contamination problem
- City reacts as EPA reduces safe levels of PFAS in drinking water
