HUDSON BAY — Work is continuing to bring the Hudson Bay landfill up to the provincial Ministry of Environment standards.
Following a 2018 decision to offer a five-year permit to operate until the landfill issues are corrected, the landfill currently needs changes to their leachate collection and disposal system to ensure runoff from active cells is safe to drain away from the landfill.
Clay and glacial till are key elements to containing contaminants and keeping contaminated water from leaching out of the landfill, according to Ministry of Environment standards.
More testing is needed before the project moves forward and Hudson Bay council passed the motion to approve it at the Aug. 11 council meeting. Following previous tests, BCL Engineering and P. Machibroda Engineering will be collecting deeper samples to test the drainage into the glacial till. These tests will be used to confirm or deny that the material isn’t doing what it is supposed to be doing and needs to be improved.
“Worst case scenario if it isn't what’s supposed to be there to do the job, then they would have to redesign the ditch where they would dig out what isn't working and then put some clay walls and use the material bed is working,” said Teresa Parkman, town administrator, during the council meeting.
Sometimes current leachate retention can work with a natural containment system offering proper drainage as water moves both vertically and horizontally back into the water system. While tests confirmed that the water is draining from the landfill properly as it moves vertically, these subsurface soil conditions are unsuitable for collecting and containing horizontal drainage, according to reports from the engineers.
