The final step of a rehabilitation effort that aims to restore water quality and the ecosystem health of Hamilton Harbour is set to get underway.
Several local federal MPs and the president of the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA) revealed the specifics of stage three in the Randle Reef Remediation Project Wednesday, anchored by a $29-million contract awarded to Milestone Environmental.
The next phase will see 695,000 cubic meters of toxic sediment, dredged into a massive steel structure over the past several years, dropped into a multi-layered environmental installation and capped with asphalt.
The capping process is expected to wrap up by the end of 2024 with a final step to isolate contaminants finishing in 2025.
HOPA will then take over and be left in charge of monitoring and maintaining the 60-hectare site, ensuring none of the contaminated sediment ends up back in the harbour.
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“The transformation we have seen so far is a testament to the power of environmental stewardship and a shared commitment to the health of our Great Lakes” HOPA president and CEO Ian Hamilton said.
“When Stage 3 is complete, we look forward to creating a productive port facility for a more sustainable and prosperous future.”
The site at Randle Reef has long seen industrial contamination dating back more than 150 years with the harbour identified as an Area of Concern under the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1985 because of water quality.
During the first two stages of remediation, contaminated sediment was removed from the water and walled off in a massive engineered containment facility (ECF).
In all, it’s a $150-million cleanup funded through a public-private approach, with the federal government and the province of Ontario each contributing a third of the funding, and the remaining third collectively funded by local partners.
The Government of Canada will invest some $420 million over 10 years to restore and protect the Great Lakes, as part of a Freshwater Action Plan.
It’s targeting the cleanup of 12 out of 14 remaining areas of concern in the lakes by 2030.