Compliance Monitoring and Closure Planning for Northwest Vancouver Island Quarry Site
Client:
Confidential
Location:
Northwest Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Dates:
2022 – 2025
Background:
Situated on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, a remote access mineral quarry operated from the late 1990s to early 2000s. Metal leaching and acid rock drainage were identified during mining operations, leading to installation of a limestone cover, passive treatment system for surface water drainage, and marine effluent discharge. The site has remained dormant since the mid-2000s with exception of compliance monitoring. The cover and treatment systems, intended as a temporary solution for managing mine site drainage, remain in good condition and are effective. Further reclamation planning and site work was required to achieve site closure by addressing continuing metal leaching and acid rock drainage, landform stability, and final cover requirements for end land use.
Services Provided:
Hatfield supported the client with several key objectives including compliance site monitoring and maintenance, preparing annual compliance reporting requirements, reclamation planning, and regulatory engagement.
Water sampling events were crucial for site compliance, but also to ensure that long-term water quality management and closure decisions were informed by empirical trends and site observations regarding the effectiveness of remediation and reclamation efforts. Building on extensive experience in mine site environmental management and closure in western Canada, Hatfield addressed the requirements and challenges associated with this remote site.
Hatfield recognized the importance of satisfying regulatory expectations to transition the quarry mine toward Care and Maintenance followed by reclamation and eventual site closure. This required a careful and phased approach to permit amendments and reclamation planning execution. Hatfield prepared the Mines Act application to transition the site to Care and Maintenance, led reclamation planning with consulting partners, and developed an updated Reclamation and Closure Plan. Hatfield also developed a permitting strategy for the client and supported engagement with the relevant authorities to communicate expected work phases, permit amendments, closure and reclamation approaches, and end land use objectives. This process resulted in mutually acceptable revisions to the permits and schedule required to transition the quarry mine into Care and Maintenance.
Hatfield navigated permit compliance expectations in relation to actual site conditions and risks to human health and the environment to avoid unnecessary technical work, delays, and ensure reasonable and appropriate future monitoring and reclamation costs.
