Sydney Tar Ponds - Cleanup

Cleanup

On May 12, 2004, the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia announced a 10-year, $400 million CAD plan to clean up the Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens. The plan called for PCB-contaminated sediments to be destroyed in an approved PCB incinerator to be set up temporarily at a decommissioned industrial facility five kilometers east of the coke ovens. Remaining materials would be treated in place and then contained within an engineered containment system.

At the Tar Ponds, treatment will consist of Solidification / Stabilization (S/S) with Cement, a process by which contaminated sediments are mixed with Portland cement powder or similar hardening agents. At the coke ovens, contaminated soils will be treated with a form of bioremediation known as land farming, in which hydrocarbon-eating bacteria and nutrients are tilled into the upper surface of the soils. The sites will then be contained within a layered cap and impermeable sidewalls, and then landscaped for as yet undetermined future use.

A special operating agency of the Nova Scotia government, the Sydney Tar Ponds Agency, will manage the cleanup on behalf of the two governments, in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Government Services which is the lead federal agency. Fifteen community groups in such fields as environment, health, business, labour, religion, recreation, municipal government, and higher education, contribute delegates to a Community Liaison Committee that serve as a sounding board for project managers during the cleanup. The cleanup is done by Muggah Creek as of 2012 and on August 11, 2012 they opened the Ferry Street bridge for walkers and bikers and August 13, 2012 they opened it for cars.