Delineation of Groundwater, Bedrock, and Soil Contamination at the McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant Site

The Capital Regional District (CRD) of Vancouver Island will conduct a detailed site investigation (DSI) on McLoughlin Point in the Town of Esquimalt, one of the district's 7 member municipalities. The site has been chosen as the location for the new McLoughlin Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) which will provide tertiary treatment to the Region’s wastewater replacing the current practice of pumping untreated sewage directly into the Strait of Juan de Fuca allowing the CRD to meet new federal wastewater system regulations. McLoughlin Point was formerly a bulk storage and distribution terminal for Imperial Oil Limited and has been used in various similar capacities since 1910. Fuels and waste oil were historically held in up to 17 storage tanks before being pumped from barges to tanks via a piping system. The site was partially remediated with the majority of impacted soil removed as part of excavating to the design grade of the WWTP. This revealed previously unknown contamination in the underlying bedrock of which will be investigated in this scope of work. Contaminants of concern identified to date include BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene), VPH (volatile petroleum hydrocarbons), LEPH/HEPH (light and heavy extractable petroleum hydrocarbons), and PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). The CRD will collect hydrogeological and soil vapour data and complete delineation of groundwater and soil throughout the site to address BC Contaminated Site Regulation (CSR) concerns. The resulting assessment work will support a risk assessment and eventual certificate of compliance for the site; this scope of work is the subject of a subsequent GMF application (GMF 16342). This initiative focuses on further environmental delineation and will produce a Detailed Site Investigation (DSI) Report. The indirect benefits of this project stemming from the eventual construction of the WWTP will be largely found in the marine health of the surrounding environment and are in line with the goals outlined in the CRD’s Core Area Liquid Waste Management Plan (2016). Although this project will utilize well-known contaminated site practices, the CRD will employ specific protocols to protect the marine environment from further contamination during the project’s implementation. These protocols may be of interest to other communities with costal contaminated sites. (Project description from original funding application)