Remediation of 169 Rue Principale

The municipality of Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton wants to perform a feasibility study on the remediation of a contaminated property at the heart of the village that was recently acquired by the municipality. The property at 169 Rue Principale was acquired for the completion of a future municipal project with a community vocation. A Phase I site environmental assessment (SEA) made it possible to discover that the site had been used in the past as a car garage and gas station. Since these activities are on the list of designated activities, the site has to be remediated before a community project can be completed. A summary sampling program revealed soil contamination in the TR5 area of the property. The goal of the study is to carry out a Phase II SEA that meets the requirements of the Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (Department of the Environment and Fight Against Climate Change) in order to accurately define the degree and extent of the contamination of soils and underground water, and to establish a remediation plan. The study will be carried out according to the requirements of the Ministère’s Guide de caractérisation des terrains (Site Characterization Guide). The study is aligned with the municipality’s urban development plan, which specifies that contaminated sites should be identified and updated in particular for properties that are strategically well located and close to services, such as in the centre of the village. Innovative aspect(s): • Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton is a small rural municipality with limited resources. This is its first SEA and remediation project, which will allow it to acquire new experience in this area that it will be able to share with other rural municipalities in the region. Replicability: • Several municipalities inherit from orphan properties and do not dare to proceed with their decontamination and their reuse due to a lack of resources or expertise in this area. The experience of Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton will be an example for small-size municipalities that want to invest in projects with a positive return for the community. (Project description from original funding application)