City of Windsor, Former Wickes Manufacturing Facility, Risk Assessment and Site Specific Remedial Action Plan
Type of initiative
FCM Green Municipal Fund - Plans, Studies, Pilots
Sector
Brownfield
Project value$308,000
Project Type
Feasibility Study
Sub Sector
Site assessments and remedial action plans
Grant amount$154,000
Program type
GMF
Municipality
Corporation of the City of Windsor, ON
Status
Fully Disbursed
Population
229,660
Project timeline
2012 - 2013
Project number
10413
Description
The City of Windsor will undertake a feasibility study to develop a site-specific remedial action plan for a 3.6-hectare parcel of municipally owned land. The site housed a metal-plating and stamping facility for approximately 40 years. The property has been derelict since the early 1990s and is located on a major thoroughfare in a mixed residential/commercial neighbourhood. There is concern that contamination may be migrating to Little River and Hawkins Drain, which both border the site. The city’s objective is to identify a clear path toward the successful remediation of a valuable site, to avoid urban sprawl and to transform this area that currently encourages crime into a productive part of the surrounding community.
Earlier environmental investigations identified the presence of metals, petroleum hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds in soil and groundwater at concentrations above the Ontario Ministry of the Environment guidelines. This study will include subsurface contaminant delineation, a designated substance survey of the derelict building, and the development of property-specific standards through a risk assessment. Remediation options to be evaluated include the installation of soil vapour barriers, soil caps, cut-off walls and other remedial and risk management alternatives.
The decision to conduct this study is a direct result of Windsor’s Brownfield Redevelopment Community Improvement Plan, which aims to remediate and reintegrate over 221 hectares of land that are currently designated as brownfield sites, and is also aligned with the city’s Environmental Master Plan and Community Strategic Plan. The city has initiated a partnership with the University of Windsor's Master in Environmental Engineering Program to foster the growth of knowledge about brownfield prioritization and the application of innovative remediation and risk management strategies. This study has the potential to produce a range of transferrable lessons, tools and frameworks for other municipalities.
(Project description from original funding application)
Applicant
Corporation of the City of Windsor, ON