Comprehensive Plan and Action Plan for the Remediation of Brownfields of the City of Shawinigan

Given its heavy industrial past, Shawinigan is faced today with a major problem of contaminated sites scattered throughout its territory. The City has thus decided to develop a comprehensive plan to investigate the situation and develop a strategy for remediation and redevelopment of brownfield sites owned by the City as well as by private owners. The City possesses significant natural assets, including a water network, a vast forest cover and wetlands. Boosted by this recreo-touristic capital, Shawinigan will use its comprehensive plan to revive the economic and social driving forces that have become sluggish in the last few years. To ensure the project's success, Shawinigan will use the triple bottom line approach: it will undertake an environmental study to prioritize sites based on environmental risks as well as the complexity and cost of remediation. The City will conduct an economic study to evaluate the costs and potential tax revenues, and to determine what incentives could be used to encourage the remediation and redevelopment of the brownfield sites. Finally, it will analyze the social impact of the project, for example if citizens gain access to waterfronts (where a large number of contaminated sites are located), if parks could be developed or if the sites could be reserved for community, residential, commercial or industrial uses. Aside from Montreal, no city in Quebec to date has developed a comprehensive remediation plan covering numerous contaminated sites. Shawinigan is playing a pioneer role, especially since the project is in line with a law that is not yet in force. Thus, the City will be able to share its methods with other municipalities as well as the lessons learned from the process. Once sent to the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Occupation du territoire, the initiative could also inspire other cities, which by 2015, will be forced to undertake such initiatives. (Project description from original funding application)