The Creosote is buried and protected with a concrete wall to prevent it from spreading apparently. I'm positive I can smell it riding by there on the bike path sometimes so I'm not 100% confident in their containment.Always questioned why the City uses that site as a snow dump. Not only would the runoff end up in the river, wouldn’t ground seepage potentially worsen spread of the contamination? The other snow dump by the northern approach of the Calf Rope bridge at least sets back from the river. I would have thought snow dumps would drain into settling ponds and undergo treatment.
When did the concrete containment get put in? I thought some of the creosote seeped under the river and was being detected in basements in Hillhurst
Oh, never mind, some googling found the Alberta Government page, which confirmed containment was constructed in 1995, after seeping over to Hillhurst:
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Contaminant management – Former Canada Creosote plant site (Calgary)
The Alberta government has taken lead, in monitoring contamination in the Bow River and in communities on the North side of the Bow River.www.alberta.ca
According to the link you provided, the containment was installed in 1995, city took over management in 1997. You can see the site on streetview immediately west of Pumphouse Theater https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.0455...fWYmx8blrOrnxeQVhn_A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=enWhen did the concrete containment get put in? I thought some of the creosote seeped under the river and was being detected in basements in Hillhurst?
Oh, never mind, some googling found the Alberta Government page, which confirmed containment was constructed in 1995, after seeping over to Hillhurst:
![]()
Contaminant management – Former Canada Creosote plant site (Calgary)
The Alberta government has taken lead, in monitoring contamination in the Bow River and in communities on the North side of the Bow River.www.alberta.ca
Wouldn’t runoff from the snow dump make containment more challenging?The Creosote is buried and protected with a concrete wall to prevent it from spreading apparently. I'm positive I can smell it riding by there on the bike path sometimes so I'm not 100% confident in their containment.
If we can hold Domtar liable then we should 100% go after them, not only to get it cleaned up but to set a precedent!
It would be a landmark case in environmental liability. It has Supreme Court of Canada written all over it.The Creosote is buried and protected with a concrete wall to prevent it from spreading apparently. I'm positive I can smell it riding by there on the bike path sometimes so I'm not 100% confident in their containment.
If we can hold Domtar liable then we should 100% go after them, not only to get it cleaned up but to set a precedent!
If I had to guess, I would assume that a thick layer of clay or some other material that prevents water from penetrating that deep. Over that they likely have a drainage layer then a few feet of top soil. The layer with the contamination is supposed to be protected with concrete walls to prevent any more creosote from getting out as well. I don't know the specifics, just what I remember when this was first discussed on SSP when CalgaryNext came out and what I've read in the media, so this is about all I know / remember.Wouldn’t runoff from the snow dump make containment more challenging?
I highly doubt that after all these years, the City would be successful in getting a judgement against Domtar who inherited the problem from the previous company. If they thought they could, they would have tried by now. Why wait??It would be a landmark case in environmental liability. It has Supreme Court of Canada written all over it.
Isn’t the question whether the liability follows through bankruptcies and restructuring and such? I know the recent case moved environmental liabilities up the claim precedence list, but unless the liability was listed at some point during one of the restructuring processes at some point the liability has to no longer exist. I bet all of Domtar’s similar ‘liabilities’ that former parts of it created all over North America add up to way more than the ~$2 billion the company is worth today.It would be a landmark case in environmental liability. It has Supreme Court of Canada written all over it.
So far it's beating out some of the public art that we've received in recent years .....That's awesome! they should leave those alone and call them public art lol.