Environmental Remedial Action Plan - Former St. Theresa School Site - Corbeil and Adjacent Cenotaph Park

The Municipality of East Ferris will complete an environmental remedial action plan for the former Saint Teresa primary school site located in the Village of Corbeil. The property and the adjacent Cenotaph Park are significantly impacted by furnace oil that leaked from underground tanks located on the school property. The fuel oil has migrated from the property through the Cenotaph Park and potentially onward to private properties, contaminating both soil and groundwater. The municipality purchased the school in 2009 with the intent to convert the original portion into a new municipal office. A fuel oil odor was detected while excavating, and an abandoned concrete septic tank with fuel still inside was discovered. The municipality was required to stop all work. East Ferris retained the services of an engineering firm to prepare the remedial program to be carried out in the heavily impacted areas. However, it was discovered that contamination reached outside the property limits, and a different engineering firm determined that the contamination was in fact significant. This second firm carried out further investigations including well drilling, seismic well drilling, survey work, analysis of local residential water wells, and the impact and boundary limits of the petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soils and impacted groundwater. The new study will determine the full extent of the contamination, and will identify various options available to remediate both the contaminated groundwater and soil on the properties. Options will include in-situ remediation such as groundwater skimmers and belts, bio-remediation, chemical remediation, barrier walls and cutoffs, and excavation and aeration. East Ferris will assess remediation methods regarding cost and remediation benefits as part of the options screening process. Following the selection of the preferred remediation methods, the municipality will proceed with the remediation of the groundwater and soils, and on-going monitoring of the groundwater on the properties as well as neighboring residential wells will be carried out. Remediation of the soil and groundwater near the building will reduce the hydrocarbon contaminated soils from approximately 50,000 m3 to less than 10,000 m3. Once remediated, the municipality will be able to build their new municipal office and approximately 1,800 m2 of land currently not suitable for re-use will be redeveloped and reused. The Cenotaph Park will be expanded and used as a multi-functional recreation area for the residents. The newer section of the school, constructed in 1970, is rented by the Ontario Provincial Police, and is used as their training centre, generating rental income for the municipality. Remediation of the property will improve the air quality inside the training centre, reducing the noticeable fuel oil odour. (Project description from original funding application)