News Release

Cost to Remediate First Phase of Blatchford Site Significantly Under Budget

As the City of Edmonton gets ready to begin construction on the Blatchford development, it has released the results of the first stage of remediation work at the site. The cost to remove contaminants from the west side of the site around the former air traffic control tower cost $292,738, far less than the $1 million originally budgeted.

“For this first phase of remediation, the information we had from the testing was accurate in terms of where contamination was located and what types of contaminants we would find,” says Mark Hall, Executive Director, Blatchford Redevelopment project. “Environmental testing has been happening at this site since 1985. With 30 years of information to support our remediation process, we are well positioned to successfully remediate any areas of concern.”

The City has contracted Golder Associates, a global company that has remediated thousands of sites around the world, to oversee the testing and remediation process.

“Golder draws upon our network of 500 specialists who are trained in soil, sediment, groundwater and hazardous building materials remediation. We are working closely with the Blatchford Redevelopment office to develop an effective remediation plan to address the identified areas of contamination and ensure the land is safe for development,” says Arthur Cole, Senior Environmental Engineer, Golder Associates.

In the area remediated, crews removed 3,253 tonnes of petrochemical hydrocarbons (e.g. fuel, oil, grease, solvents) from a 6.53 hectare area.

Summary results:

• All locations with potential contamination are on the perimeter of the site and are related to historic building use.
• Fifteen building locations on the site were identified as needing further investigation. The locations will undergo additional testing as they are prepared for future development.
• Three of the 15 locations are now remediated. Additional remediation will occur over the course of the development.
• Any areas of contamination will be remediated to meet provincial environmental standards.

The City also released the recycling numbers from the first stage of deconstruction. In 2014/2015, six buildings were removed from the Blatchford site. The City set a goal to divert a minimum of 85% of buildings materials from the landfill. This goal was exceeded for the first stage of deconstruction with 90% of building materials diverted from the landfill.

The first stage of construction at Blatchford is scheduled to begin later this year.