The federal government says it will spend about $2.3 million to clean up a liquid pollutant at a government-owned wharf on Nova Scotia’s southern shore.
Roxanne MacLean with the Fisheries Department said Monday the government is building a system to extract a “non-soluble” liquid contaminant from soil and groundwater located close to Kraut Point Small Craft Harbour in Riverport, N.S.
MacLean said the department learned about the liquid in 2009 during a routine site assessment but said it doesn’t appear to be spreading. “This is a complex project,” she said, adding that the department hopes to run the extraction while the busy harbour remains fully active.
The system will separate the pollutant from the water, which will be treated and tested before being deposited into an underground collection area. The pollutant will be sent for recycling, where MacLean said she suspects it may be turned into a fuel.
MacLean said this type of contamination generally comes from transporting, handling and storing petroleum products but she said the liquid’s origin is unknown. There are no immediate risks as the liquid is currently under the wharf and has yet to reach the harbour itself, she said, adding that the department is working to prevent further spread.
“It has not hit the water and we want to make sure that it never does,” she said. “The goal of this project is to prove that there’s no future long-term risks to human health and ecological receptors.”
The extraction system will operate for two years, MacLean said, adding that the majority of the substance is expected be filtered out of the groundwater by the end of the first year. She said the extraction system should be fully operational by early February and that the project is scheduled to be completed by March 2025.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2021.
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