Turner Valley - Containment wall at gas plant completed

Okotoks Western Wheel
By Pamela Roth
Staff reporter
November 29, 2006 Vol. 32 No. 17

Efforts to prevent hydrocarbons at the Turner Valley Gas Plant from leaching into the nearby Sheep River hit a milestone last week with the completion of a concrete containment wall.
Construction on the 650-metre erosion and protection wall began in September and is designed to divert ground water to a treatment plant before entering the Sheep River.
With its completion, along with other weather-sensitive work, the province expects the containment and groundwater treatment system designed for the area to be ready in time for spring run-off, when the risk of contaminants migrating off the site is highest.
Members of the Turner Valley Gas Plant Resolution Advisory Panel met in Turner Valley last Wednesday to review the first stages of environmental remediation, however, the group quickly came to the conclusion it’s still too early to begin critiquing the work.
“We haven’t had enough information to say what they are doing today is the wrong thing,” said panel member and Turner Valley Coun. Barry Williamson. “We haven’t yet, at this stage, been convinced that they should stop what they are doing.”
The $5 million containment system consists of a bentonite (clay) slurry cut-off wall along the bank of the Sheep River and borders the northern portion of the site.
The groundwater treatment system is a concrete corridor that captures groundwater and carries it through a three-stage water treatment process. Once the treatment process is complete, the water is released back into the Sheep River.
In order to make sure the structure can withstand a major flood, the height of the bank now exceeds the water levels experienced during the June floods in 2005, which was the highest flood level in the past 110 years.
The remainder of the containment system will consist of erosion protection work, scheduled for completion by mid-February, and the construction of the water treatment facility, slated for completion in March 2007.
Other contaminants, such as asbestos, sulphur and mercury, have already been removed or contained in accordance with a 10-year clean up plan by the province, however, contaminants such as chromium, copper, mercury and petroleum hydrocarbons still pose a problem.
So far Alberta Community Development has spent close to $5 million to clean up the historic site — a site in which the gas plant panel hopes to turn back into a safe place for the public to tour. The gas plant was closed to the public in November 2005 due to health concerns.
In the meantime, the panel, which meets once a month, is in the process of actively seeking an environmental expert to join the group in future meetings.