NuVista Energy Ltd
Hay-Zama Battery
Date:
2004 - present
Location:
Hay-Zama Wildlands Provincial Park, Northern Alberta
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Stakeholder Engagement
Soil Investigation
Groundwater & Surface
Water InvestigationConceptual Site Model
Remedial Action Plan
Site Specific Risk Assessment
Land Management
Site Specific Liability Assessment & Long-term Asset
Retirement ManagementPrime Contractor
The project site, located on a seasonal island within the Hay Zama Lakes complex in northern Alberta, was once a 1950s oil battery and is now part of a protected area recognized for its international ecological significance. The Hay-Zama Wildlands, bordering the Dene’ Tha First Nation's traditional lands, are home to a variety of wildlife, including migratory birds and reintroduced wood bison. The area, marked by seasonal water fluctuations, is accessible only by helicopter or boat in summer and by snowmobile or ice road in winter. Environmental concerns at the site include elevated chloride and petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in soil and groundwater, with past remediation efforts removing and treating significant amounts of contaminated soil.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
(SINCE 2004) we’ve led the soil/groundwater monitoring (GWM) and spill response
First Nations contractors and stakeholder engagement
Since 2004, Ecoventure has been actively engaged in soil and groundwater monitoring (GWM) and spill response at the Hay-Zama Battery site. Major actions included the disposal of approximately 8,750 tonnes of impacted soil between 2004 and 2006, the installation of a GWM well network, and comprehensive soil investigations following the site's decommissioning in 2011. A staged decommissioning and remediation plan was developed, leading to the removal of all infrastructure and an additional 7,200 tonnes of impacted soil, along with the construction of a wetland to avoid introducing non-native backfill. A site-specific risk assessment (SSRA) was performed, involving extensive borehole drilling, groundwater well installation, and the creation of a 3-D conceptual site model (CSM). Further actions included the removal of 7,300 tonnes of heavily impacted soil in 2019, recontouring of the site, and the initiation of stabilization and erosion control measures.
The site-specific risk assessment indicated that the aquatic populations in onsite surface water bodies were comparable to those in control locations, with risks to human health considered manageable with appropriate mitigation measures. The successful risk assessment allowed for an estimated 10,000 m³ of impacted soil to remain onsite, reducing the need for further removal. The recontouring and construction of wetlands were designed to prevent stagnation and accumulation of salts, while stabilization efforts and an erosion control plan were put in place to address the site's seasonal flooding. Ecoventure also developed a planting strategy through greenhouse trials, aimed at promoting the stabilization and phytoremediation of the site.