Brantford Greenwich-Mohawk Remediation Plan
Type of initiative
FCM Green Municipal Fund - Plans, Studies, Pilots
Sector
Brownfield
Project value$456,398
Project Type
Feasibility Study
Sub Sector
Site assessments and remedial action plans
Grant amount$228,199
Program type
GMF
Municipality
City of Brantford, ON
Status
Fully Disbursed
Population
104,688
Project timeline
2013 - 2018
Project number
10271
Description
The City of Brantford will conduct environmental site assessments and develop a remedial action plan to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater at the Greenwich-Mohawk brownfield site, a 50 acre former farm implement manufacturing facility. The assessments and plan will identify which remediation methods are the most sustainable for this site. The eventual remediation of the properties will contribute to the overall strategy for improving Brantford's downtown, which is identified as an urban growth centre in the Province of Ontario's Places to Grow Act.
The Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) will verify the level, extent and nature of soil and groundwater contamination at the Greenwich-Mohawk site. The research team will use a modified version of the Triad approach advocated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The methodology has three components: systematic planning to lead to the filing of a Record of Site Condition; a dynamic work plan that allows for adjustments based on field decisions; and real-time data generation. The risk assessment will assess human health and ecological risk to identify clean-up objectives for the site to meet provincial requirements for a mixed-use development. The team will prepare a remediation action plan by comparing the Phase II ESA data with the remedial objectives set during the risk assessment. The plan will identify the preferred method and technologies for site clean-up based on technical performance, cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability.
The study will result in a remediation action plan to clean up this long-standing brownfield site. The city is planning to redevelop the site as a mixed-use neighbourhood providing 16 acres of green space, an improved waterfront along the historic Grand River Navigation Company canal, providing a range of housing types, and creating a museum district that integrates the industrial heritage of the site. Remediation would remove hydrocarbon contaminants, heavy metals, chlorinated organic compounds and waste fill from the soil, for an estimated reduction in soil pollutants of 685,750 tonnes.
(Project description from original funding application)
Applicant
City of Brantford, ON