Notice of intent to make a determination
 
Cote First Nation Main Landfill Decommissioning- Public Comments Invited

April 7, 2021 - Indigenous Services Canada must determine whether the proposed Cote First Nation Main Landfill Decommissioning, located on Cote IR 64 is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects. To help inform this determination, Indigenous Services Canada is inviting comments from the public respecting that determination.

Written comments must be submitted by May 6, 2021 to:

Indigenous Services Canada
SK Region, Environment Unit
1827 Albert Street
Regina, SK S4P 2S9
aadnc.isc-skenv.aandc@canada.ca

 The Proposed Project

The subject site was used as the main dumpsite up until 2020 by Cote First Nation and covers a 2.5 hectare area. A large waste mound was noted at the site at the time of the Phase II Environmental Site Assessment conducted in 2018 and waste had become scattered across the property including down the access road into the site.  Intrusive investigations included a test pit program in which 9 test pits were excavated to depths of approximately 4.5 m below ground surface to confirm the presence or absence of buried waste.  Test pits were limited to area that were not below the mounded waste surface.  Following the test pit program, a test hole drilling program was completed in which five test holes were drilled and completed as monitoring wells.  Additional intrusive investigations were conducted in late 2019/early 2020 in which an additional 13 test pits were excavated and three additional test holes (two of which were converted to monitoring wells) were completed.  The results of the field program indicated that some impacts may be present from the historical landfilling activities including elevated soil salinity and chloride/organic parameters. Since this time, Cote First Nation has been actively consolidating the waste materials at the site in order to initiate clean up.  Full decommissioning will require the removal of the surface wastes such that a full assessment of the buried waste can be completed.  Formation of leachate was noted during the site investigations however, full decommissioning and reclamation can not be completed until such time as the surface wastes have been removed.
 

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