For immediate release
Montréal, Quebec, October 17, 2012 – The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, announced today that work is well underway on the environmental remediation of the access road to the old wharf in Havre-Aubert, in the municipality of the Magdalen Islands.
“This project is part of the government’s commitment to remediate federal contaminated sites while benefiting the economy of the Magdalen Islands,” said Minister Ambrose.
This project, amounting $620,000, is being carried out by the consortium of MissionHGE and DemAction, a Boucherville contractor specializing in environmental site remediation that has been hired by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). The project will create direct and indirect jobs, as well as local benefits. The work is being monitored by Franz Environmental Inc.
PWGSC has ensured that only areas where contaminants have been detected will be excavated. The materials are sorted as they are excavated. The soil is being taken to specialized sorting facilities. The asphalt has already been recovered by the ministère des Transports du Québec, and the concrete taken to a specialized site to be crushed and reused. The wood residue will be forwarded to an authorized site to be re-used for other purposes.
Since the work is being carried out near water, measures have been taken to avoid contaminating the water or destabilizing the shoreline, which is vulnerable to erosion. A pile of stones has been deposited to limit contact between the work area and the water. Water in the excavated areas is pumped into a basin and then filtered through a membrane or sent into a tank to be decanted. To prevent erosion, a low wall has been erected from stones collected on site.
The work is scheduled to be completed in late October 2012.
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