Completion of the Rock Bay Remediation Project
News Release
July 4, 2016 – Victoria, British Columbia – Transport Canada
The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, called the removal of all contaminated soil from Rock Bay and the finalization of the remaining restoration and monitoring work, important steps to protect the environment as he toured the project today.
Cleaning up Rock Bay will allow the site to be used again within the community. The Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation have agreed to purchase the site after Transport Canada completes its work over the next few months.
Rock Bay is the site of a former coal gasification facility that operated from 1862 to 1952 on property previously owned by Victoria Gas and BC Electric, predecessor companies of BC Hydro. This facility and associated infilling resulted in the contamination of soil, groundwater and sediment with hydrocarbons, and metals and other substances on Transport Canada lands and adjacent properties.
The Rock Bay Remediation Project is funded through the Government of Canada’s Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan, which provides funding to assess and remediate federal contaminated sites.
Quote
"I am very pleased that the Rock Bay Project is nearing completion and that all of the contaminated soil has been removed. This project demonstrates the Government of Canada's commitment to the environment, and to generating opportunities for the local economy."
The Honourable Marc Garneau
Minister of Transport
Quick Facts
- Between 2004 and 2006, over 200,000 tonnes of contaminated soil were removed.
- The final phase of the project began in 2014 and involved the remediation of the remaining uplands and the sediments in the bay itself.
- Approximately 90,000 tonnes (4,800 dump truck loads) of contaminated sediments from the bay and the surrounding foreshore were removed during the final project phase. Lined up end-to-end, those dump trucks would stretch 30 kilometres.
Contacts
Delphine Denis
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Marc Garneau
Minister of Transport, Ottawa
613-991-0700
Media Relations
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to e-news or stay connected through RSS, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr to keep up to date on the latest from Transport Canada.
This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons living with visual disabilities.
Search for related information by keyword
Page details
- Date modified: