PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) remediation work at Jack Garland Airport could be starting up as early as this spring.
A contract is coming to council next week for approval that includes a $3-million increase to the current $5-million contract.
Under an existing $20-million agreement with the Department of National Defence, 97 per cent of the remediation project would be funded by the federal government.
The scope of work includes removing and treating most contaminated soil and injecting an adsorptive material in various locations.
“The development of a PFAS remediation plan has been a complex undertaking that began more than two years ago,” says Mayor Peter Chirico. “We are extremely pleased that cleanup efforts at the airport site are now about to get underway. Our priority throughout this process is and has been the health and safety of our residents.”
The city says the price increase also includes an increase in the project’s scope, including remediation design, site supervision, sampling analysis and reporting.
PFAS are manmade substances found in many consumer and industrial products, including firefighting foam.
“Past use of the airport lands for firefighter training between the early 1970s and mid-1990s has been identified as the main source of PFAS on the airport property,” states a release from the city.
Officials say the level of PFAS detected in the city’s municipal water supply remains significantly lower than drinking water screening values set out by Health Canada and the interim guidance level provided by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
