No "new concepts" for CIP cleanup says MNR

Despite a recent reversal by Hawkesbury's municipal council about the clean up of the CIP lagoons, Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources will continue its plans. Ontario Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield spoke to The Review on May 12. She said the government, which owns the land, would not consider something fundamentally different than the approved Option Two which would see a partial remeditation of the CIP lagoon: the pollution folded in half and buried on the site.

However, says Cansfield, companies such as Northern Watertek could apply for the project and suggest their ideas during the Request for Proposals (RFP) phase of the project even if they are different than option two to a degree.

"If there's a brand new concept we need to do a brand new environmental assessment and I am not doing another environmental assessment. The EA is already completed," Cansfield said.

"If they can adapt whatever they do within our RFP requirements, they are welcome to bid."

The minister's statements will surely provoke a reaction from Hawkesbury municipal council, which recently voted 4-3 to reverse their prior support for Option Two and to ask the ministry to consider a full remediation.

One source of confusion is an apparent lack of understanding between the ministry and the municipality.

On May 12, two weeks after Hawkesbury's reversal vote, Cansfield said she was not familiar with the terms "partial remediation" and "full remediation" as they applied to the CIP lagoon.

She was also not familiar with Northern Watertek's proposal to remove all the pollution for the same cost as burying it.

"We are moving forward, we have done our assessment and we believe there is enough flexibility in the existing concept that if there are innovative solutions they can bid through the RFP process. We're not going to waste any more time on this," she said.

"Within an RFP there is enough flexibility to have different solutions come forward. You have to wait and see what comes forward. We put the criteria out and people respond."

 

Flexible solutions: what does it mean?
Jim Fraser, an area supervisor for MNR at the Kemptville office, said the ministry was indeed preparing to issue a call for tenders in early June for the CIP lagoon.

He described the government's plan for the CIP lagoons as merely a concept and not a detailed plan, which would require the creative work of companies.

"Basically any company can bid on it and bring their knowledge and expertise to the process. The tender will lay out all the components of the work and the Ministry of Environment's requirements. Any of the bids will be carefully reviewed and considered. But the tender allows all companies with all sorts of interesting concepts to bid equally, and then MNR will sit down and see what is the best value for the site," he said.
"There are a number of uncertainties still remaining, and that's a part of the design process. Right now we have estimates of the volume of cellulose fibres in the lagoon but until we get the shovels in the ground, so to speak, we won't know what is the best way of handling that and that is what out tenders can help us determine," he said.

"What's critical for us is to get the tender out and see what design quotes come back. After that well make an assessment about what's the best fit for the site."

Watch for continuing coverage of the CIP lagoons in The Review and updates online: