ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: September 2, 1998
Author/Local: Kolvane Yuh/7125
CC File No. 3759

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Manager of Real Estate Services
SUBJECT:	Cambie Works Yard Site: Ground-water Control System in the Asphalt Plant Area

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the budgets for Morrow Environmental Consultants Inc.'s contract and MTR Consultants Ltd's contract be increased as the Manager of Real Estate Services may approve, to install, operate and maintain a pump-and-treat control system for the contaminated plume in the asphalt plant area of the City's Cambie Works Yard, including ongoing monitoring of ground-water quality, generally in accordance with the proposal attached as Appendix "A", for a total maximum cost of $205,500 plus GST to be funded by the Truck and Equipment Plant Account (Asphalt Plant Replacement Fund).

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Corporate Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

COUNCIL POLICY

Council approval is required for consultant contracts in excess of $30,000.

PURPOSE

This report seeks Council's approval to increase the budgets for the existing contracts with Morrow Environmental Consultants Inc. and MTR Consultants Ltd. up to a maximum total additional cost of $205,500 plus GST to install and operate a pump-and-treat system to control the contaminated hydrocarbon plume located in the asphalt plant area of the City's Cambie Works Yard at Southeast False Creek. The work is required to meet the Ministry of Environment's requirements.

BACKGROUND

On July 26, 1990, Council established a policy that the Southeast Shore of False Creek be a let-go industrial area, and on December 3, 1991 Council resolved that the main land use for the area will be housing. Following these policies, environmental site assessments on the City owned lands at the Southeast Shore of False Creek were carried out as follows:

May 18, 1993 Council directed Real Estate staff to carry out environmental site assessment on the City owned lands on the Southeast Shore of False Creek. Council also approved MTR Consultants Ltd. as environmental project manager.

February 1, 1994 Council approved Morrow Environmental Consultants Inc. and Envirochem Special Projects Inc. to carry out soil and groundwater sampling on the City lands.

January 17, 1995 Council received the report on the environmental assessment. The report found extensive contamination in Site 1 (the City Works Yard) and Site 3 (former Canron site). It also identified three hot spots where a potential for contaminated groundwater escaping into False Creek can happen.

April 11, 1995 Council approved MTR and Morrow to carry out further investigation on the hot spots.

May 28, 1996 Council received the reports on assessment of the hot spots. The report identified that the City asphalt plant area and Site 3 should be followed up, and Council approved MTR and Morrow to monitor the hot spots.

May 12, 1998 Council approved Morrow to carry out further soil and groundwater assessment at Site 3. The drilling and sampling have been done and analysis of the data is being carried out.

DISCUSSION

Regarding the contaminated plume in the asphalt plant area, MTR and Morrow have been monitoring the groundwater quality since the summer of 1996. The B.C. Ministry of Environment have been kept informed of all reports produced by the monitoring. Environment Canada also have the same information through the Ministry.

The contamination in the asphalt plant area is hydrocarbon at levels significantly above Ministry standard and the plume is situated within 60 to 100 feet of False Creek. The Ministry of Environment has been concerned about contaminated groundwater discharging to False Creek, and the Ministry has required the City to implement short term remedial measures. Since the autumn of 1996, a number of meetings have been held and correspondence exchanged with the Ministry. We took the position that sampling of surface water of False Creek immediately adjacent to the potential discharge zone did not detect the contaminants of concern. In view of City Engineering's current construction of a new asphalt plant at the E. Kent site, decommissioning of the Cambie Yard asphalt plant is expected to happen in the first half of 1999; therefore, we informed the Ministry that we believe that it is appropriate to remediate the contaminated plume at source after demolition of the asphalt plant, and that implementing temporary measures is not cost effective.

The Ministry in their letter dated June 5, 1998 notified the City of a draft order and that the Ministry will issue the order under the Waste Management Act for remediation of the asphalt plant area. Subsequent discussion with Ministry staff lead to Real Estate and Engineering staff agreeing to seek Council's approval and funding to implement a control system, and the Ministry's letter of July 6, 1998 accepts our position. The letters are filed with the City Clerk for reference.

Two control systems were looked at, a pump-and-treat system and a patented "funnel and gate" system. The pump-and-treat system has an established reliable track record and it is appropriate due to the physical constraint of an operating asphalt plant and other City Engineering uses of the area. The "funnel and gate" system is a recent method, and it funnels the contaminated groundwater into a treatment gate which treats the groundwater. However, the location of the gate, and a number of difficult site constraint, make this system impractical in the current situation. The costs are similar.

The proposed pump-and-treat system plans for two pumping wells. Morrow believes that one well should be sufficient to control the flow of the contaminated groundwater plume. However, a second pumping well is advised as it will ensure availability of a back-up to the control system, as well as assisting in the permanent remediation of the subsurface contamination by using the second well to recover free hydrocarbon product from the plume. It is intended that the first pumping well will be installed first. A pump test will be carried out to confirm the adequacy of the capture zone. If the capture zone should prove to be inadequate, then the second pumping well will be installed and activated. Ongoing operating and regular maintenance of the system and groundwater sampling will be required. The system is intended to be in operation for approximately one year, at which time decommissioning of the asphalt plant and remediation of the contaminated soil and groundwater is expected to take place.

Morrow's proposal, including contractor costs, is $190,500. MTR's services will be required in reporting to and liaising with the Ministry of Environment in all phases of the control system, and a budget of $15,000 is appropriate. Therefore, a total budget increase of $205,500 plus GST.

City policy is to select consultants through a tender process. In view of the short time available for the City to respond to the Ministry of Environment's draft order, it is recommended to not tender the work but extend Morrow and MTR's contracts to include the required work as described in this report. This is appropriate as the Morrow contract was the result of a tender process in 1993/94, and furthermore, Morrow and MTR have acquired in the last five years, direct experience and knowledge of the environmental issues of the City Southeast False Creek lands, so that their experience will be useful to the City and looked upon favourably in a tender situation. Under this circumstance, the Manager of Real Estate Services recommends that it is appropriate to approve budget increases in the existing Morrow and MTR contracts to implement the proposed pump-and-treat control system.

Based on historical land use data and boreholes and sampling results, the contamination underneath the asphalt plant is caused by the City's use of the land in the asphalt plant area, and it is considered appropriate that the source of fund for the recommended pump-and-treat system be the Truck and Equipment Plant Account (Asphalt Plant Replacement Fund).

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver