Feds to review Randle Reef plan
HAMILTON SPECTATOR
http://www.thespec.com/news/article/...ndle-reef-plan
The Hamilton Port Authority has submitted the Randle Reef containment design to the federal government for approval, sparking optimism the project to enclose toxic sediment in the harbour will finally go forward.
“Thank God,” said Jim Hudson, executive director of the Bay Area Restoration Council (BARC). “We’re going forward on a project selected to be the best solution that we can afford.”
Randle Reef is a shallow area near U.S. Steel’s Hamilton Works, heavily contaminated with coal tar. The cleanup plan involves building a containment structure around the worst sediment, then adding less-contaminated mud from other areas of the harbour and capping it to create a shipping pier.
The work must be done to stop the contamination from spreading and to help get the harbour off the International Joint Commission’s list of Great Lakes toxic hot spots.
The Port Authority placed an ad last week giving public notice of an application under the Navigable Waters Protection Act to the Minister of Transport. The application, which includes the site and engineering plans for the structure, can be viewed at the No. 62 land registry office of Wentworth. The public has 30 days to comment.
But a critical piece of the plan is still missing -- a financial commitment from the city to match federal and provincial contributions. There is federal and provincial money on the table -- $30 million each for Randle Reef. Delays over the past three years have pushed the $90 million project cost to about $150 million.
Burlington and Halton Region have been asked to contribute $4 million each. The port authority has committed $6 million and U.S. Steel has promised $7 million.