We recently submitted this letter to the editor of L’Aurore Boreale. The article includes a number of claims about the project that are just not true. It’s an important project, and no-one is served by misinformation in the discourse about it, so we thought it best to post about it here as well.
December 10, 2024
Editor –
A recent article about Castle Rock’s proposed land treatment facility (LTF) in L’Aurore Boreale contained a number of misleading claims that must be addressed.
Before getting to that, I’d like to say this is an important environmental project and in a good location. It will take in soil and other material contaminated with hydrocarbons such as oil, diesel, and gas – and clean them with a natural bioremediation process. The LTF will not accept material contaminated with metals or other chemicals. There are numerous contaminated sites in the Haines Junction area but no LTF in the area, so sites are sitting unaddressed. For example – Bear Creek Lodge in the nearby subdivision is listed as contaminated site on the Yukon Contaminated Sites Registry. LTFs addressing such contamination aren’t unusual – there are many LTFs located throughout the Yukon, just none in the Haines Junction area.
How do sites become contaminated? In many instances a property has had an oil furnace to heat a building, with a fuel tank buried nearby, and that tank leaked over the decades. Other sites include old gas stations where tanks leaked or where people simply dumped used oil into the ground – a practice unthinkable today. Either way, hydrocarbons can leak into groundwater or neighbouring properties, and should be cleaned up. That’s what our LTF will do.
In the article, an opponent of the project claims the project ‘lacks transparency,’ when in fact we have been in a review process through the Yukon Office of Environmental and Socioeconomic Assessment (YESAB) for over eight months and held a public meeting in November. Based on comments received by area residents we have made a number of changes to the project plan, perhaps most significantly moving it to the other side of the existing industrial property so it will be almost a kilometer (850 meters) away from the nearest residential property. The article’s claim we’re moving it just 150 meters farther than originally planned is false.
That is just one error of many.
The article notes the process launched without an environmental permit – of course it did, because the YESAB process is part of obtaining the required permit. The public consultation comes before a permit is issued.
The article claims the project has not been communicated with the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations or the Village of Haines Junction. In fact, we consulted with both governments before submitting our proposal, and both have written letters of support.
The article claims the Yukon Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources assessed the site and found it not suitable. In fact, that department hasn’t submitted comment on the project, while Yukon’s Highways and Public Works, Environment, and the Kluane National Park have submitted comments that they have no concerns with the project.
The article claims we did not look at other sites when considering where to propose this facility, when in fact we looked at about eight potential sites and determined this is the best location – next to an existing industrial site with the long-standing Yukon Government Mackintosh Quarry, and close to contaminated sites that need remediating.
These are important conversations, and it’s critical we go into them with facts rather than false claims.
The article claims the site will harm the environment, when in fact it will clean up contaminated sites, with robust measures in place to ensure no impacts. It claims the area’s high winds will blow microorganisms and heavy metals around, and contaminants will infiltrate into groundwater. No. We won’t accept soil with heavy metals, so there won’t be any to blow around. The microorganisms used are naturally-occurring, so they are there anyway. We’ll keep the soil moist to avoid any from being picked up by wind. The LTF won’t be constructed on permeable soil, and will sit on a geosynthetic liner with a base of sand on top of that, preventing contact between the ground and soil being treated.
We have operated a similar facility in Whitehorse for the past decade without issue, and will operate this new facility to the same high environmental standards.
We posted a blog with more information about the facility in November – find that here.
In the end, this LTF is an important and much-needed facility, and we believe it is proposed for the right place. We have been engaging with Yukon’s review process for the better part of a year, and made changes that address residents’ concerns. It will be almost a kilometer away from the nearest residential properties and a half-kilometer from the nearest stream. It will use safe, proven technologies and techniques to clean contaminated soil.
We welcome comment and suggestions about the site. But please, let’s keep it factual.
Regards,
Ron Bonnycastle
President, Castle Rock Enterprises