HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-008-16 Addendum .1
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Planning services
Report
If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the
Municipal Clerk at 905-623-3379 ext. 2102.
Report To: Council
Date of Meeting: February 8, 2015
Report Number: Addendum to PSD-008-16 Resolution: m
File Number: PLN 26.14.1 By-law Number:
Report Subject: Clarington Transformer Station — Additional Professional
Services
Recommendations:
1. That Report PSD-008-16 this Addendum to PSD-008-16 be received; and
2. That all interested parties listed in Report PSD-008-16 and any delegations be
advised of Council's decision.
Municipality of Clarington
Addendum to Report PSD-008-16 Page 2
Report Overview
Council requested a costing estimate for additional work relating to private wells and
tritium testing from the peer review hydrogeologist for the Surface and Groundwater
monitoring program, being carried out by Hydro One on the Clarington Transformer Site
and surrounding area. Council further instructed staff to report back on whether the
various agencies involved are willing to co-operate.
1 . Background
1.1 At the January 18th, 2016 Council meeting:
That the issue of further tritium testing of the wells in the vicinity of the Clarington
Transformer Station be referred to staff to report back at the next Council meeting
as to whether any co-operation needed from Stantec/Hydro One and any other
agencies to carry out the proposal of Dr. Cherry dated January 18, 2016, can be
obtained.
1.2 Attachment 1 to this Addendum Report is PSD-008-16. Attachment 2 is Dr.
Cherry's letter of January 18, 2016.
2. Peer Review Consulting Contract
2.1 The funds provided by Hydro One to Clarington to retain a peer review consultant,
were based upon the Municipality retaining an independent hydrogeologist using
the process set out in the Purchasing By-law and for works related to the peer
review of the Surface and Ground Water Monitoring Program.
2.2 The request for proposal and subsequent contract with SLR Consulting (Canada)
Ltd., with Mr. Usher as the prime professional, identified five tasks (detailed in the
Request for Proposal):
• Task 1 — Background Material review
• Task 2 — Conceptual Model
• Task 3 —Annual Peer Review Reports to Council
• Task 4 — Community Liaison
• Task 5 — Discretionary Budget (hourly)
Tasks 1 and 2 are complete. Task 3 will continue for another 3.5 years with 4
more peer review reports to Council, funding remains in the contract to complete
this task. Task 4 was front-end loaded as we anticipated that involvement with the
community would be very high in the initial years, and it has been. Task 4 will
continue for another 3.5 years; however, the amount of work anticipated from here
out, is attendance at the community liaison committee meetings and limited
discussion/response to questions by residents. Funding remains in the contract to
address task 4 providing controls are placed on access to the consultant; to date
residents have had unlimited access to Mr. Usher. Task 5 was discretionary and
is paid on hourly rates, it was intended to address the unforeseen that could occur
Municipality of Clarington
Addendum to Report PSD-008-16 Page 3
in a 5 year consulting contract. At this point, there is $35,000 remaining to
address this task.
2.3 Hydro One's "commitment" is to fund the work described in the existing SLR
contract up to a maximum of $250,000. Although "there is little likelihood of a
connection" (quoting from Mr. Usher's cost estimate) with the Hydro One
Transformer Site, the tritium study could conceivably fall within the scope of work
defined in Task 5 of the contract; however it is not review and interpretation. It
would be original scientific research along a minor line of evidence. In addition, it
would mean that whatever monies are dedicated to the tritium study will not be
available for other unforeseen peer review work.
2.4 The letter dated January 29, 2016 from Hydro One, outlines their confirmation that
the funding is for the independent third party consultant and for the review and
interpretation of the Monitoring Program results, see Attachment 3 to this
Addendum Report.
3. Clarington Transformer Site Containment System
3.1 The residents in their presentation of January 18, 2016, indicated that they fear
being subjected to contaminants from the transformers and more particularly that
these contaminants would enter into the groundwater system and affect their wells.
The underlying assumption is that contaminants, if produced at the Clarington
Transformer Station will enter the ground water system and make their way along
a pathway route to the various aquifer layers. The contaminants that they fear are
oil leakage from the Transformers that are being installed on site and a worst case
scenario of catastrophic failure of the transformers.
3.2 There are numerous safeguards and design features that Hydro One has included
in the design of the transformers, from the oils being used to the containment
system should any leakage occur. SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. as part of their
contract reviewed the design drawings early in 2015 and concluded that they
represent standard practice for the control of both expected leakage and
unanticipated failure. The components include a reinforced concrete tank around
each transformer, capable of holding more than the amount of transformer oil used
in the transformers. This primary system drains to a central oil/water separator
tank which can be maintained by pump out and cleaning.
3.3 The Hydro One containment system is currently under construction. In the
summer and autumn of 2015, Mr. Usher attended the site twice and visually
inspected the excavations for sand lenses and for discharging groundwater and
found none. He also examined photographs of these excavations taken by Hydro
One staff at different times which demonstrated the same thing.
3.4 The remainder of the site is covered with a granular blanket of porous crushed
stone, equipped with underdrains. During his inspections, Mr. Usher examined
parts of these features under construction and confirmed they were being built to
specification. It was his impression that the construction was being well managed
and he saw no signs of problems. Please be aware that he did not inspect
Municipality of Clarington
Addendum to Report PSD-008-16 Page 4
every component and every metre of construction, but randomly selected different
points to examine (including the discharge points). He was always granted full
access by Hydro One. Detailed inspection is not part of the peer review contract,
but rather the work was conducted under the discretionary aspect of Task 5.
3.5 It would be advisable to reserve some Task 5 funds to conduct future
inspections. The granular blanket is not yet complete, and the transformers will
not be in place until after the spring of 2016. Surface and ground water
monitoring results may change as the different components are implemented. In
addition, there is always a "teething period" as things settle into place and it is a
good idea to examine such things as discharge points and connection manholes,
to ensure no undetected problems occur.
3.6 It should also be noted that while all of this due diligence for the containment
system is occurring, the residents wells are not on any flow path from the
Clarington Transformer Station at surface or below surface as demonstrated by
the hydrological modelling and additional boreholes that have been drilled to
further verify this model. Most private wells are on the other side of a groundwater
divide separated from the Clarington Transformer site; only wells to the south and
southeast are in the flow path from the transformers.
4. Tritium Testing
4.1 The tritium study will not necessarily address the safety of the resident's wells. It
will examine three hypotheses about how quickly the ground water is flowing and
where it is being recharged from. The three different hypothesis being examined
are well leakage (e.g. around the casing of the individual wells), potential
undetected fracture networks in the aquitard, recharge through the deep aquifer
from the north (6 km). The results of the tritium study may not be conclusive in
their findings; however, there is so little tritium data available that it will supplement
the scientific knowledge of the Oak Ridges Moraine and help establish the
potential vulnerability of the Mackinaw and Thorncliffe aquifers on a regional basis.
4.2 Drs. Cherry, Clark and Gerber are very keen to carry out this tritium testing and
view the availability of the numerous on-site boreholes and private residential wells
into the different aquifers as an opportunity to advance this scientific knowledge.
The proposal by Drs. Cherry, Clark and Gerber (Attachment 2) was for the first
phase of work outlined in the cost estimate from SLR Consulting Ltd. To bring a
consolidated proposal together a telecon was convened by Clarington staff.
4.3 As a result of the telecon, there is now an agreed upon workplan that would be
carried out under the auspices of SLR Consulting Ltd. (Attachment 4). In this
agreed upon workplan Drs. Clark, Cherry and Gerber have agreed to donate their
time, Dr. Clark's lab will provide the "research rate" for testing and analysis. It is
anticipated that the Oak Ridges Moraine Coalition (Dr. Gerber) will provide access
to the three dimensional geologic model. Group G360 (Dr. Cherry, et al) will
sample the roto-sonic borehole (once it is drilled) and the multi-level cluster at
MW5-14 (this is contingent upon CLOCA and Hydro One executing an agreement
Municipality of Clarington
Addendum to Report PSD-008-16 Page 5
for the roto-sonic borehole and longterm access to the MW5-14 cluster and
CLOCA/G360 having a protocol in place to allow students access to the site).
4.4 It is assumed that Hydro One will allow Stantec to provide water samples from the
boreholes on site during their routine monitoring.
4.5 Permission to sample the private wells will have to be sought from the owners. Dr.
Cherry assumed that the private wells would be sampled by residents. The
Enniskillen Environmental Association has confirmed they are willing to carry out
the private well sampling. They are to fill out information sheets, take photos and
video of the wells and sampling for the record. If need be a University of Guelph or
McMaster student working as part of G360 can assist to ensure sample integrity.
4.6 An overall cost estimate for the first phase of the work, including the lab testing
and analysis has been estimated at $ 5,300 plus HST. However, this dollar value
is based on a series of assumptions, and the provision of the researchers time as
a pro-bono donation. An estimate that 10 additional rounds of helium testing
would be carried out in the second phase. SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. is
providing the overall co-ordination of the project and has estimated their time at
$8,000 plus HST. For a conservative overall upset limit a 10 percent contingency
has been added, bringing the total anticipated cost of the tritium study to $19,580
plus HST.
5. Timing of Clarington Transformer Construction
5.1 The Independent Electricity System Operator (formerly Ontario Power Authority)
has reconfirmed the need for Clarington Transformer Station to be completed by
2018, regardless of the recent announcement by the Government of Ontario
supporting Ontario Power Generation plan to pursue the continued operation of
the Pickering Nuclear Generation Station beyond 2020 and up to 2024. While one
of the primary purposes of Clarington Transformer Station is to replace the
approximately 3,000 megawatts of capacity currently generated by Pickering when
the plant is decommissioned, Clarington Transformer Station is also required to
ensure an adequate and reliable supply of power to support the growing
communities, in the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area by the 2018
timeframe.
5.2 Hydro One has informed us, they have obtained all necessary approvals and
permits to proceed with the construction of the transformer station and
construction is well underway. Hydro One will continue construction of Clarington
Transformer Station, on its current schedule. The target date to bring the new
station into service remains the spring 2018.
6. Concurrence
Not applicable.
Municipality of Clarington
Addendum to Report PSD-008-16 Page 6
7. Conclusion
7.1 The purpose of retaining a peer review consultant was to assist with understanding
the technical information and to have an independent advisor monitor the practices
and methodologies being employed during the construction of the Clarington
Transformer Station. To date, the observations, recommendations and
conclusions by Mr. Usher of SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. have required
additional work by Hydro One and their consultants to demonstrate that the
conclusions of the Environmental Assessment and Permit to Take Water are
reasonable and conservative.
7.2 Council and residents were concerned for the safety of private residential wells in
the vicinity of the transformer construction and Farewell Creek. To date Mr. Usher
has advised that the transformer construction has had no adverse impact on
residential wells and discharge to the creek as demonstrated by the November
2015 Monitoring Report. Further, most residential wells are not downgradient from
the Transformer Station and are separated by a groundwater divide, and thus are
not at risk.
7.3 The various experts involved, agree that tritium testing and analysis would provide
an additional line of evidence with regards to where the various aquifer layers
(shallow, intermediate [Mackinaw] and deep [Thorncliffe]) are being recharged
from, and over what period of time. The work plan has been agreed to (Attachment
4) and an upset limit, including contingency of$19,580 plus HST, established.
7.4 Hydro One has provided a response (Attachment 3), indicating that they
appreciate the value of conducting regional research; however, they will not
support any activities related to Dr. Cherry's most recent proposal (Attachment 2).
8. Strategic Plan Application
Not applicable.
Submitted by: Reviewed
—Z)�
David J. Crome, MCIP, RPP Franklin Wu,
Director of Planning Services Chief Administrative Officer
Staff Contact: Faye Langmaid, Manager of Special Projects, 905-623-3379 extension
2407 or flangmaid(a�clarington.net
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – PSD-008-16 and Attachments
Attachment 2 – Dr. Cherry's Proposal, January 18, 2016
Attachment 3 – Hydro One Letter, January 29, 2016
Attachment 4 – Proposal from the Experts Group
Municipality of Clarington
Addendum to Report PSD-008-16 Page 7
The following is a list of the interested parties to be notified of Council's decision:
Brad Bowness, Hydro One
Clint Cole, Enniskillen Environmental Association
Drs. John Cherry and Beth Parker, Group 360, University of Guelph
Dr. Rick Gerber, YPDT-CAMC
Chris Darling, CLOCA
Steven Usher, SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd.
DJC/FL/df/tg
Attachment 1 to
Municipality of Clarington Addendum to PSD-008-16
cla-mooln
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Planning Services
Report
If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the
Municipal Clerk at 905-623-3379 ext. 2102.
Report To: Planning and Development Committee
Date of Meeting: January 11, 2016
Report Number: PSD-008-16 Resolution:
File Number: PLN 26.14.1 By-law Number:
Report Subject: Clarington Transformer Station -Additional Professional
Services
Recommendations:
1. That Report PSD-008-16 be received; and
2. That all interested parties listed in Report PSD-008-16 and any delegations be
advised of Council's decision.
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Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-008-16 page 2
Report Overview
Council requested a costing estimate for additional work relating to private wells and
tritium testing from the peer review hydrogeologist for the Surface and Groundwater
monitoring program being carried out by Hydro One on the Clarington Transformer Site
and surrounding area.
1. Background
1.1 At the December 7th, 2015 Planning and Development Committee meeting, the
following Resolution #PD-079-15 was referred to Staff to provide a report on the
estimated costs of a consultant's report regarding the general source of the
contamination and cost of tritium testing/analysis:
That Staff request a report from Steve Usher, SLR Consulting, to obtain his
opinion for the reason for the contamination of the shallow wells near the
Clarington Hydro One Transformer Station.
1.2 The Minister of Environment approved the Environmental Assessment for the
Clarington Transformer project in January of 2014. To address ongoing concerns
from community members and residents, Hydro One proposed to Clarington to
fund a peer review of their Surface and Groundwater monitoring program. Council
accepted and Mr. Steven Usher of SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. was retained as
the peer review consultant.
2. Peer Review Findings in relation to Private Wells
2.1 In October 2015, Mr. Steven Usher of SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. provided his
peer review on the information generated by Hydro One and their consultant
Stantec in relation to the Surface and Ground Water Monitoring Program. The
peer review included information from all parties, including Hydro One, Stantec,
G360 Group, Enniskillen Environmental Association, the Conservation Authority,
Clarington, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and the Oak Ridges
Moraine Coalition YPDT-CAMC.
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2.2 Drilling of the deep borehole in November 2014 confirmed the absence of a
shallow sand lens at location MW5-14 at the western perimeter of the Hydro One
Clarington Transformer Site. However, below the east half of the site, extending to
the other side of the watershed divide and further downgradient east from the
divide, a sand lens exists and hosts local private wells that are part of the
monitoring program. SLR maintains that this sand lense is likely the Mackinaw
layer; Hydro One maintain that it is not continuous.
2.3 The reason private wells in the Farewell Creek Watershed were included as part of
the private well monitoring program is an evolution of the original program. At the
first Clarington Community Liaison Committee (CLC) meeting on June 5, 2014,
residents expressed an interest in having the private well monitoring program
expanded from its initial scope, which targeted only well owners adjacent to the
Clarington Transformer Station site. In recognition of the concerns raised by
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-008-16 Page 3
private well owners located further afield, Hydro One accepted this request and
extended the scope of the program to include interested residents within an
approximate 1,200 metre radius from the property boundary of Hydro One lands j
where the Clarington Transformer Station is located.
2.4 As part of the peer review presented in October 2015, SLR concluded that the
presence of a strong groundwater divide exists at surface and depth between the
site and the closest Mackinaw wells in the Farewell Creek tributary near Langmaid
Road. Further, it concluded the private wells are not at risk from the Transformer
construction site, ongoing monitoring will continue.
2.5 Individual residents have allowed Hydro One/Stantec access to their properties for
the private well monitoring program and the results are provided directly to the
residents. We have been informed that some private wells experienced high
levels of coliform and E-coli in the fall 2015 round of testing. The Municipality of
Clarington, and hence our peer review consultant do not receive the results of the
private well monitoring program because of privacy concerns under the Freedom
of Information and Privacy Act.
2.6 According to the Durham Health Unit elevated coliform bacteria and E-coli
readings is not uncommon in shallow private wells. The Health Unit has a number
of resources on their website to assist private wells owners with common issues.
Attachment 1 to this report is the information on Well Safety including bacteria and
E-coli from their website.
2.7 Hydro One included bacterial analysis as part of the Private Well Monitoring
Program to help provide additional information to residents about their well water,
as it is used for drinking and household purposes. However, the scope of the
approved Groundwater and Surface Water Monitoring Program does not include
testing for bacteriological parameters for the monitoring wells located on-site as
they are not used as a potable water source.
2.8 At the November 30, 2015 CLC meeting, Mr. Usher asked a number of questions
on behalf of the residents with regard to contamination from the construction site
being able to affect the private wells in the Farewell Creek watershed. Mr. Brant
Gill of Stantec the consultant for Hydro One confirmed that no mechanism for
contamination on the construction site existed for water at surface or below ground
to affect the Farewell Creek private wells. (A recording of the meeting is available).
In addition, Mr. Gill indicated that bacteria is present anywhere at surface, the
private well testing is performed on the "raw"water from the well (prior to any
internal treatment private residents may provide within their homes).
2.9 Council asked SLR for a proposal to on the estimated costs of a report regarding
the general source of the contamination (Attachment 2).
3. Tritium Testing
3.1 In August 2015, members of the EEA conducted some well sampling at PW1,
PW2 and PW10 for the purpose of tritium testing. Tritium is a rare isotope of
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Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-008-16 Page 4
hydrogen, with a half-life of about 12.3 years. (That is, for example, a
concentration of 100 Tritium Units (TU) would be reduced to half (50 TU) in 12.3
years.) Tritium is present in rain water and has been elevated since the 1950's
when atmospheric testing of nuclear devices drove up the natural values (a
maximum value of about 3000 TU was recorded in 1964). A record has been kept
of atmospheric tritium since 1953, and provides a unique tool for the age dating of
water. Tritium is not a contaminant, but due to its known rate of decay makes an
excellent tracer for dating water. Although tritium from this source has dropped
dramatically since this atmospheric testing was stopped in the early 1960's, levels
still have not returned to background (pre- nuclear testing) levels and are presently
around 14 TU. In recent decades, nuclear plants, which use lake water for cooling,
have low levels of tritium release. This second source means that background
levels will remain above pre-nuclear testing levels. (Attachments 3 and 4 provide
background information on Tritium from Durham Health Unit and the Canadian
Nuclear Safety Commission).
3.2 The tritium sampling conducted by the EEA has provided useful information. A
more complete picture of the site itself could be made if tritium sampling were
conducted in the onsite monitors as well.
3.3 Dr. Cherry and Dr. Clark questioned the preliminary conclusions drawn by Mr.
Usher in his Peer Review. Both submitted letters to Council calling for additional
work to be carried out in relation to the Tritium sampling. Following Mr. Usher's
Peer Review presentation he verbally recommended to Council that to confirm the
preliminary results of the Tritium testing six additional shallow wells, six additional
intermediate and six additional deep aquifer wells be tested, three in each horizon
upgradient and downgradient.
3.4 Council in receiving the peer review report on October 13th, 2015 passed the
following
Therefore be it resolved that the scientific representatives of Hydro One, the
Municipality of Clarington, the EEA and the Central Lake Ontario
Conservation Authority, including, but not limited to: Dr. Rick Gerber, Dr. Ian
Clark, and Dr. John Cherry, be asked to meet to provide an analysis of the
data on all 23 private wells, three blind samples, and ten site groundwater
monitors for sampling and measurement of tritium and helium isotope
concentrations;
That Hydro One be asked to cover the cost of this one-time sampling and
testing, in the spirit of working towards a solution;
That the four parties prepare a joint scientific report interpreting the results,
including dissenting opinions;
That Clarington request that the Minister of the Environment and Climate
Change amend the terms of the Environmental Assessment conditions to
require that Hydro One submit an addendum to the Environmental Site
Report to address the results of the recent studies showing elevated levels of
tritium within the framework of a conceptual model that explicitly assesses
Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-008-16 Page 5
groundwater connectivity among shallow, intermediate and deep aquifers,
and identify changes to the Permit to Take Water to require monitoring of
tritium, and to be consistent with the addendum;"
3.5 The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change provided a letter on November
27, 2015 in response to this request indicating that "...the current program is
satisfactory and does not consider the tritium levels found in local wells to be
unexpected. The Ministry does not think it is likely that the underlying aquifer is
being recharged directly through the till cap. The tritium concentrations indicated
that the groundwater recharge, corresponding to the lower concentration of tritium
found in the wells, is likely coming from up-gradient sources a number of
kilometres to the north of the site. The shallow dug wells are typically recharged
locally, and more recently; this is why their tritium concentrations are more
elevated."
Further, the Ministry letter indicated that they had no objections to Hydro One
carrying out tritium testing; however, they did not view it as necessary.
3,6 Hydro One provided a subsequent letter, dated December 4, 2015 indicating that
"tritium/helium-3 sampling would not provide additional information relevant to the
objectives of the Monitoring Program and construction or operation of the
Clarington Transformer Site, Hydro One will continue to implement its on-site
Monitoring Program and the private well monitoring program and will continue to
review any requests from the Municipality or other stakeholders,"
3.7 Attachment 5 is the SLR proposal for the cost of tritium testing/analysis; including
the methodology for carrying out this work.
4. Concurrence
Not applicable.
5. Conclusion
5.1 The purpose of retaining a peer review consultant was to assist with understanding
the technical information and to have an independent advisor monitor the practices
and methodologies being employed during the construction of the Clarington
Transformer Station, To date, the observations, recommendations and
conclusions by Mr. Usher of SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. have required
additional work by Hydro One and their consultants to demonstrate that the
conclusions of the Environmental Assessment and Permit to Take Water are
reasonable and conservative,
5.2 Council and residents were concerned for the safety of private residential wells in
the vicinity of the transformer construction and Farewell Creek. To date Mr. Usher
has advised that the transformer construction has had no adverse impact on
residential wells and discharge to the creek as demonstrated by the recent
monitoring report.
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Municipality of Clarington
Report PSD-008-16 Page 6
6. Strategic Plan Application
Not applicable.
Submitted by: Reviewed by:
15-aYid J. Crome, MCIP, RPP Franklin Wu,
Director of Planning Services Chief Administrative Officer
Staff Contact: Faye Langmaid, Manager of Special Projects, 905-623-3379 ext. 2407 or
flangmaidO.clarington.net
Attachments:
Attachment 1 — Durham Health Unit information on bacteria and a-coli
Attachment 2— SLR Proposal for opinion for the reason for the contamination of the
shallow wells near the Clarington Hydro One Transformer Station
Attachment 3 — Durham Health Unit information on Tritium
Attachment 4 —Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission information on Tritium
Attachment 5 — SLR Proposal for tritium/helium 3 testing
The following is a list of the interested parties to be notified of Council's decision:
Brad Bowness, Hydro One
Clint Cole, Enniskillen Environmental Association
Drs. John Cherry and Beth Parker, Group 360, University of Guelph
Dr. Rick Gerber, YPDT-CAMC
Chris Darling, CLOCA
Steven Usher, SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd.
DJC/FL/df
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Attachment 1
Municipality of Claringtcn Report PSD-008-16
I
Well
Water Safety
Contamination of Well Water
Pathways of Contamination
In aquifers,contaminants and recharge waters can follow similar pathways and can contaminate the groundwater
in the following ways:
Homestead Diesel Darn
® spills on the ground(fuel and pesticide spills) VMth Shed
Septic Feild Storage
injection into the ground(septic leaching beds, poorly
maintained wells,disposal of waste in wells)
• improper handling of industrial solvents and
chemicals(varsol and wood preservatives)
!:round 5hater �
® leakage from wastes(manure,wastewater,septic clay
(A.quitard) a.
tanks and landfills) - -
• leaking underground and aboveground fuel storage
tanks
• movement of groundwater between contaminated and clean aquifers
• over-application of soil amendments such as manure,commercial fertilizers or pesticides.
Bacteriological Contaminants
What are Total coliforms? m }
• Generalized group of bacteria found throughout the environment including soils, »(
vegetation, and in human and animal feces.
• Their presence may indicate a problem with your water supply, possibly ,kr°
through surface water contamination.
What is E. coli? �
• A group of bacteria that live in the intestines of warm-blooded animals .
• Their presence indicates recent fecal contamination such as sewage,and that
there is a problem with your water supply.
http://www.durham.ca/health,asp?nr=/der)artments/health/health rotection/wellWater/c
ontamination.htm&setl=ooter4indudes/health/healthFooterWell.inc#bac
Attachment 2 to
Municipality of Clarington report PSD-008-1
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SLRi
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5 January 2016
Ms, Faye Langmaid
Municipality of Clarington
40 Temperance Street
Bowmanville, Ontario L1 C 3A6
Proposal No.:209.40541
Dear Ms.Langmaid:
RE: North Clarington (in Proximity To The Clarington Transformer Station)
- Bacterial Well Contamination Study
In the autumn of 2015, sampling of private wells by Hydro One revealed bacteria levels in many
shallow wells and some deep wells in the community, These wells are thought to be outside of
the groundwater flow field associated with the Transformer Station construction, based on the
Stantec reports. However, the municipality is not privy to actual well locations due to privacy
reasons so is unable to assist residents in any way, Recently the Standing Committee passed
Resolution #PD-079-15, which stated:
That Staff request a report from Steve Usher, SLR Consulting, to obtain his opinion
for the reason for the contamination of the shallow wells near the Clarington Hydro
One Transformer Station,
We have spoken with just one resident, and read in the Toronto Star of another resident's bacterial
count. Like the Municipality, we too are not privy to the actual results. These results are listed in
the recent Hydro One monitoring report prepared by Stantec Consulting but are not identified by
location, The wells are on private property. Without access to the location specific data, and
without access to the properties in question to examine their wellhead construction and
operational conditions of the wells, we cannot reliably form an opinion on the reason for the
bacterial contamination on an individual well basis, Both Stantec Consulting, and the resident's
themselves know which sampling results belong to which well. So it is a relatively simple process
to obtain the information if permission is granted, but we have no control on whether permission
would be given or not.
You will recall that our annual report in late September concluded that wells are safe from the
Transformer site. This was based on the physical flow system. Most of the wells sampled by
Hydro One are in the Farewell watershed to the east. There are no shallow wells downgradlent
from the site. Bacteria cannot travel up and over the hills to get to these wells, because the water
flows the other way. The bacteria found in the sampling program are either Total Coliform, or a
member of that group, called E-Coli. Total coliform is naturally occurring and does not have to
come from animals. E-Coli is definitely from animals (including humans, dogs rodents, birds and
cattle). Our Provinical Standards call for no E-Cali in treated water (not raw water, that is a
common misapplication). In our experience, and well documented in the literature, raw water
often contains coliform, particularly in shallow wells, and most prudent rural residents have some
SLR Consulting(Canada)Ltd. 200-300 Town Centre Boulevard,Markham,ON L3R 5Z6
T:905.415.7248 F:905.415.1019
Municipality ofClahngkm Proposal No. 200,4O541
Clarington North Well Contamination Concerns January 2016
form oftreatment, including many ofthe residents near this site./ Under the new{3UD| regulations
being developed now bythe province, Total Coliform will no longer be used as an indicator
because itioubiquitous iDthe natural environment.
Coliform bacteria typically lives as long as 50 days outside of Vv80n host, and generally do not
survive that long. Groundwater travel times are quite slow, inthe order ofless than 10m8year.
This means that bacteria would only travel less than two metres during the 50 day lifespan in such
conditions. Therefore the presence of bacteria in o shallow well means that the GOUrCe is only
few metres away on any given property, and the cause is Usa||ydomHatic or wild animals or birds.
Finally, the presence of bacteria in private rural vve||s is very common right across Ontario and
elsewhere, 3mmany studies have shown,
To address the need for Council to have an opinon on bacterial contamination it would be best to
use the actual sampling results, coupled with an examination of the property and well in question.
Access tOthe information and property would have tVbearranged for, |nthe absence ofaccess
tOthis information, egeneral Vp)nonaaexpressed above can beprepared with existing knowledge
of bacterial distribution patterns and CharGctoriGtins, and a sense Of the lay of the land and
hYdnJQeo|Vgio properties, such as is contained /n the existing reporting and other technical
sources.
The estimated cost to provide general opinion would be in the order Vf $5.0OO p|US HST. If
specific landowners were willing to participate, the general cost per well to neV|evv the data,
examine the wellhead and Op8rati0D, and provide a written opinion in the context of the physical
setting and relationship to the Tn3Oufo[08r Site vVnU|d be about $1.500 per well plus HST.
Assuming 10 vve||ovvnerS with b8otm[i@ problems C8[De funward, this would total $15'000 (plus
HST). The estimated cost od do this work would therefore he about $20,000 plus 'ST,
dependant upon the degree ofparticipation.
We trust this submission provides the inh][[nati0D you were SeekiOg.
Yours sincerely,
SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd'
Steven UsMmr,K8.Sc'`P.Eng,P.Gao~FGC
88niro HydmgeVkmist
sj0su
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To be olenr, Hydro One endeavours to sample the raw well water at each residence, which is normal
practice. That is, the sample is taken from o tap prior to the water entering the homeowner's particular
treatment system. In this way potential changes to the natural water quality can be properly assessed.
Attachment 3
Municipality of Clarington Report PSD-008-16
FA"ai
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Background
Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen that is created naturally in the environment,and is also released in very
small amounts by Canadian nuclear facilities as tritiated water.
Since radioactivity poses a health risk,the Ontario government has placed limits on the allowable amount of tritium
in drinking water.
Tritium levels in drinking water obtained from Lake Ontario are very low and have never exceeded the Provincial
limit.
How does radiation affect my health?
Exposure to any radiation source can result in an increased risk of cancer,genetic defects and reproductive
effects.Since we are exposed to radiation from many natural(e.g.,radon gas in soil)and human sources(e.g.,
medical x-rays),it is important to control our total radiation exposure, not just our exposure to one source.
We can be exposed to tritium by eating and drinking contaminated food and water, and breathing contaminated air.
Where does tritium come frons?
Tritium is produced naturally when cosmic radiation and gases in the atmosphere interact.
Tritium also originates from human activities such as nuclear weapons testing which has slightly contaminated all
surface water supplies around the world.
Canadian designed nuclear reactors(e.g.,CANDU)also produce tritium.An accidental release of"heavy water"
used to cool the reactors can result in the release of tritium into the environment.Small amounts of tritium are also
released into Lake Ontario during the normal operations of the nuclear generating facilities.
How much tritium is in my drinking water?
In Canada,the average tritium concentration in drinking water ranges from 5 to 10 becquerels per litre.The
Becquerel is an international measure of radioactivity.
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Water samples taken near Pickering and Darlington Nuclear Generating Facilities occasionally have a tritium
concentration of approximately 20 becquerels per litre which is well below the interim Provincial limit for tritium of
7,000 becquerels per litre in drinking water.
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What is beim done to make sure tritium levels stay low?
Ontario Power Generation in association with Provincial and Regional authorities has developed a comprehensive
emergency response plan in the event of an accidental tritium release to protect the health of the residents of
Durham Region.
Daily samples of drinking water are obtained from all water treatment plants within 20 kilometres of the two nuclear
generating stations on Lake Ontario.The Radiation Protection Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Labour tests these
samples for tritium content. Ontario Power Generation(formerly Ontario Hydro)also tests water samples as part of
its own monitoring program and the Health Department closely monitors the results.
More information can be obtained from
Durham Region Health Department, Environmental Help Line 905-723-3818 or 1-888-777-9613
http://www.durham.ca/health.asp?nr-/departments/health/f"acts_about/tritium,htm&setFooter=/includes/health/healt
hFooter.inc
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Attachment 4 to
Municipality of Clarington Report PSD-008-16
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Tritium
December 2012 Quick Facts
Tritium is a radioactive form, or"isotope", of hydrogen. It has two e Tritium is a radioactive form
neutrons where regular hydrogen does not have any, which makes of hydrogen that occurs both
tritium unstable and therefore radioactive. It is produced naturally naturally and as a by-product
from interactions of cosmic rays with gases in the upper of the operation of nuclear
atmosphere. It is also produced as a by-product of nuclear reactors. reactors.
Like all radioactive isotopes, tritium decays. As it decays it gives One of the more common
off, or emits, beta radiation. uses of tritium involves glow-
in-the-dark lighting and
One of the more common uses of tritium involves glow-in-the-dark signs.
lighting and signs. Tritium gas is combined with phosphor to
create luminescence. The light source does not require electricity . Tritium exposure can pose a
or electrical wiring,making it ideal for exit signs, emergency health risk if it is ingested
lighting in commercial buildings and airplanes and for airport through drinking water or
runway lights, food, inhaled or absorbed
Tritium is also used as a tracer in biomedical and academic through the skin in largequantities.
research. Some countries use tritium as fuel for thermonuclear
weapons, although Canada is committed to nuclear non- • The CNSC regulates releases
proliferation. In the future, tritium may also be used to generate of tritium by nuclear reactors
electricity in fusion reactors which are currently under and tritium processing
development. facilities to ensure the health
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)regulates and safety of workers and the
releases of tritium by nuclear reactors and tritium processing public, and the protection of
the environment.
facilities to ensure the health and safety of workers and the public,
and the protection of the environment.
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Canadian Nuclear Commission canadienne
4
NO Safety Commission de aurete nueldaire t.,mada
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Trithon
Tritium in Drinking Water
The most common form of tritium is tritiated water(HTO). This happens
when a tritium atom replaces a hydrogen atom in water(1420)to form HT0. '
HTO has the same chemical properties as water and is also odourless andks"!
:
colourless.
The standard international unit for measuring radioactive decay or � �
radioactivity is the becquerel (Bq). The amount of tritium in water is _. N
measured in becquerels per litre (Bq/1). Water with a tritium activity of I Bq/1,
contains less than I tritium atom per 100,000 million million (1 in 1017)
molecules.
The highest average annual tritium level measured in the drinking water of Canadian communities neighbouring
nuclear facilities is about 18 Bq/1. This is well below drinking water limits recommended by Health Canada of
7,000 Bq/1.
Tritium in the Body
Some of the tritium released into the environment will be naturally incorporated into nutrients such as
carbohydrates,fats, or proteins. This is called organically bound tritium (013'1'). OBT can enter the body directly
by eating tritiated food. OB'h poses a slightly greater health risk because as an organic material, the body will
retain it longer than tritiated water. This means that there is a greater likelihood that the tritium atom will decay
while in the body and possibly cause damage. Generally speaking, OB`I' is at much smaller concentrations in the
body than tritiated water.
Health Effects
Tritium is a relatively weak source of beta radiation. The beta particle itsel f does not have enough energy to
penetrate the skin. However, it can pose a health risk if taken directly into the body in extremely large
quantities; for example, a person would need to take in billions of becquerels before seeing a health effect.
Tritium molecules can enter the body by breathing air containing tritium, or by ingesting tritiated food and
water. Tritiated water can be absorbed through the skin like regular water. Most tritium leaves the body as
tritiated water in urine, breath moisture and perspiration. Most inhaled tritiated hydrogen gas is exhaled
immediately.
A radiation dose from tritium is like a radiation dose from any other type of Radiation Dose
radiation, including natural background radiation and doses received during The effect of the
medical procedures. In Canada, members of the public receive annual doses of radioactivity on the body is
radiation from tritium of 0.0001 to 0.013 millisieverts (mSv), although very few, called a radiation dose and
if any, members of the public receive doses in the upper end of this range.Near is expressed in
nuclear facilities, where tritium levels are slightly higher, the average annual sieverts(Sv),or more
dose to adults is about 0.0015 mSv. These doses are well below the public dose commonly,in millisieverts
limit of 1 mSv as set in the Radiation Protection Regulations, and the average (mSv);.`Which are one one-
Canadian dose due to natural background radiation of 1.8 mSv, thousandth in size,
2 Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
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Trilimn
Studies have not shown health effects at a chronic exposure below about 100 mSv. The regulatory public dose
limit of I mSv is equivalent to I% of this amount.
Regulating Tritium
Small amounts of tritium are released to the environment mostly from reactor operation and maintenance and
during the manufacture of tritium light sources. The CNSC imposes Derived Release Limits (DR-Ls)that restrict
the amount of radioactive material that may be released. Releases must also be "as low as reasonably
achievable"—a concept known as ALARA—and as a result, actual releases of tritium from nuclear facilities
have typically been less than 10% of the DRL.
The CNSC requires all Canadian nuclear operators to provide quarterly reports on monitoring results for routine
radioactive discharges, and annual reports on environmental monitoring programs.Licensees are also required
to report any accidental or unmeasured releases of nuclear substances into the environment.
Tritium Studies Project
In 2007,the CNSC launched
the Tritium Studies Project, a
d
multi-year research project
on tritium releases in Canada
and an evaluation on the best
practices of tritium
processing facilities around
the globe.
The project has expanded the body of knowledge on tritium. Six studies have been published, as well as a
synthesis report that rolls up the conclusions and makes recommendations for regulatory improvements. These
include actions to make the regulation of tritium even safer, protect future drinking water resources and enhance
environmental compliance monitoring. All of the studies are available on the CNSC Web site, in the Reading
Room.
To better regulate tritium releases in Canada,the CNSC continues to conduct research on tritium environmental
behaviour and health effects in technical collaboration with several national and international partners.
For more information;
1-800-668-5284 (in Canada)
613-995-5894(outside Canada)
info nt�cnsc-ccsn.c�c.ca n udea rsafety.g C.Ga
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 3
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Attachment 5 to
Municipality of Clarington Report PSD-008-16
5 January 2016
Ms. Faye Langmaid
Municipality of Clarington
40 Temperance Street
Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3A6
Projposal No.: 209.40542
Dear Ms.Langmaid:
RE: North Clarington (in Proximity To The Clarington Transformer Station)
- Tritium Assessment
In the summer of 2015, members of the Enniskillen Environmental Association sampled three
water wells for analysis of the tritium content in the wells. The three samples provided
snapshots of the tritium content in the shallow subsurface, in the Mackinaw horizon (at about 20
m depth) and in the Thnorncliffe aquifer. Tritium presence in the first two are explainable as the
groundwater in these horizons have local recharge areas and represents recent water. The
presence of tritium in the deep well, although at a lower concentration than the others, indicates
post 1950's water, and there has been some debate as to its origin. The possibilities include:
1) Lateral subsurface flow from the Oak Ridges Moraine some 6 km to the north.
Independently calculated groundwater velocities support this possibility, however it is was
one point in distance and in time, and spatially offset samples are needed to assess this.
2) Poor well construction could cause a pathway from surface with the leakage of more tritium
concentrated water from above, mixing with the natural water at depth. An assessment of
the well casing and of other geochemical parameters to assess mixing are needed to assess
this.
3) Leakeage through discreet fractures in the dense Newmarket Till aquitard. Water quality in
the aquitard itself would be needed to assess this, and a calculation of the pathway
characteristics to see if it is plausible should be undertaken with this.
Based on the request from Council whereby Resolution #PD-079-15 was referred to staff to
provide a report n the estimated cost for a consultant's report regarding the source of
contamination and cost of tritium samplinglanalysis, SLR has been asked to provide a cost
estimate to address the presence of tritium in the aquifer. (A separate cost for bacterial
assessment is provided under separate cover.) We propose a staged exercise to address the
most defineable items first which will in turn shed light on how to approach the more expensive
and less easily defined issues.
Prior to giving the reasoning and listing the tasks,we wish to ensure that the objective of this
work be clearly understood. If the objective is to identify if there is a linkage with the Hydro One
Transformer site, an analysis of tritium alone in the private wells may not be the way to assess
this. This is because the work done by Hydro One in response to Clarington's and MOECC
questions has established that there is little likelihood of a connection. This was reported by
SLR to Clarington in our report of late September, 2015 based on solid hydrogeologic and
physical evidence. Tritium was one minor line of evidence in that report that supported the
SLR Consulting(Canada)Ltd. 200-300 Town Centre Boulevard,Markham,ON L3R 5Z5
T.905.415.7248 F:905.415.1019
Attachment 5 to
Municipality of Clarington Report PSD-008-16
Municipality of Clarington Proposal No. 209.40542
Clarington North Tritium Study January 2016
interpretation of well safety from the Transformer Station, Point 1) above was deemed by SLR
to be the most likely possibility, although we did verbally recommend municipal support for the
requested tritium study at that time to close some of the other questions off. If on the other
hand, the objective is to provide insight as to well performance and to help assess the subtly
different conceptual hydrogeologic models proposed by SLR and Stantec, then the following
work is worthwhile.
Workplan
To reliably understand the tritium results to date, values must be reproducible and a spatial
pattern developed. The current three results are single points in time and geometry. We
propose first to do a "snapshot" of several strategically placed private wells in each aquifer
layer. Wells that are upgradient and wells that are downgradient in each layer should be
sampled and analysed. In the case of the Mackinaw and Thorncliffe aquifers there are many
private wells that qualify. The upgradient wells should be at least one half life away. At the
estimated flow rate of 100 m/year in the Thorncliffe this would be just over 1200 m to the north.
And downgradient it would be a similar distance. Some private wells not presently on the
program may have to be solicited to accomplish this. In fact all well owners will have to be
approached for their participation. We suggest doing this along three different north-south
transects to provide reproducible results. In the mackinaw the flow paths are shorter and locally
water travels at different rates and in different directions. In these cases wells upgradient of
Concession Road 7, along Concession Road 7 and downgradient of Concession Road 7
should be selected. Again three separate flow lines should be sampled. In the case of the
shallow dug wells, where the water source is at surface and near the well, six geographically
diverse wells should be selected, and it would be reasonable to assume that their measured
tritium values will be largely similar. This workplan does not include monitoring wells from the
site, as Hydro One has indicated they will not participate.
The above program is suggested as a starting point. It would be advisable to convene a
technical meeting of the parties (G360, CLOCA, Clarington, Hydro One, and MOECC) to refine
this design and ensure as reasonable a program is conducted from day one as possible. Once
the private well locations are selected and all are in agreement from a technical perspective of
what to expect, this sampling will then become the baseline from which to work. Once G360
has drilled their rotosonic boreholes and installed the multi-level monitors, further aquitard
sampling can be done(not costed here)for comparison and all parties can share data. We also
wish to point out that tritium is time sensitive, due to its half life. The logical future step would be
to resample this suite in 6 and 12 years to determine the rate of tritium concentration decay
which would provide insight into any mixing of water. (Future samples are not costed here.) It
would also be adviseable, as part of the baseline to capture and sample precipitation for tritium
analysis at the site to provide a realistic value for recharge water for at least the shallow wells.
Therefore a total of 19 samples plus two QA/QC samples (ond duplicate and one field blank),
totalling 21 samples have been budgeted for. The estimated cost' to do this first phase
would be$22,800 plus HST.
1 It is unknown if the four experts would charge to attend a scoping session, or would even agree to
attend. We have assumed four outside experts at a nominal$1000 a day retainer, that is, $4,000.
SLR 2
Attachment 5 to
Municipality of Clarington Report PSD-008-16
Municipality of Clarington Proposal No. 209.40542
Clarington North Tritium Study January 2016
Once the basline data has been collected and collated, the advisory group would reconvene.to
interpret the results and advise on supplementary testing. This second phase would include
integrity testing of deep wells (assume four for costing purposes)with abnormally high tritium
values, including geophysical logging, casing tests, video televiewer logs, and wellhead
inspections. Consideration on the need to include the helium testing discussed previously
would be given, however this has not been costed at this time. In addition, analytical scenarios
of leakage rates needed to influence water quality would be performed on agreed to wells. This
analytical assessment would also be applied to the more remote possibility of aquitard leakance
through undetected fracture networks, as postulated by G360. The cost2 to do this second
phase would be$26,000 plus HST. (This includes a budget for$10,000 for geophysical
testing.)
Once these steps have been completed, the advisory group should be reconvened to determine
if additional analytical scenarios would necessitate the use of a three dimensional groundwater
flow model, such as the one currently operated by CLOCA staff as part of the Oak Ridges
Moraine Coalition. Modelling is beyond the scope of this proposal. It is our understanding that
this model has the capability of running contaminant scenarios for a variable source such as
tritium. It should also be be able to assess longitudinal contaminant dispersion along any given
flow path. Confirmation of this would be sought from Dr. Gerber. The use of a groundwater
flow model allows one to explore differing scenarios, such as aquitard leakance, or the
coefficient of dispersivity, or the soil hydraulic conductivity. Once these aspects have been
considered, the results will be assembled in a comprehensive summary report. Review
comments will be collected from the advisory group and appended to the document, including
dissenting opinions. The cost2 to do this third phase would be $14,000 plus NST.
It is anticipated that this work could be completed in 6 months. The total cost will depend upon
participation by the various experts and their respective per diems and travel costs. We have
budgeted for 18 well samples, however this costs can be lower if the advisory group determines
a more streamlined program is possible, or they could be higher if more are technically
advisable. Therefore the total estimated cost of$62,800 is simply an estimate at this time to
provide the municipality some guidance of potential cost.
We trust this submission provides the information you were seeking.
Yours sincerely,
SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd.
, t
Steven Usher
Project Manager
SJUlsu
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2 It is unknown if the four experts would charge to attend a scoping session, or would even agree to
attend. We have assumed four outside experts at a nominal$1000 a day retainer, that is, $4,000.
SLR 3
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Attachment 2 to
Municipality of Clarington Addendum to PSD-008-16
January 18, 2016
Municipality of Clarington
40 Temperance Street
Bowmanville, ON
LIC 3A6
Attention: Mayor Foster and Members of Council
Re: Tritium/He-3 Testing for Municipality of Clarington
Mayor Foster and Members of Council:
I strongly recommend that a comprehensive tritium study be conducted at and near the
Clarington Transformer Site as I have advocated for the past two years. However, because six
tritium values have already been obtained by the local residents and because these values raise
important unresolved questions about the understanding of the site hydrogeology, there is even
more urgency now to proceed with a comprehensive tritium study. Given the SLR conceptual
model, if flow is coming from 6 km north and age of water is approx. 75 years, tritium value in
the deep well should be below the detection limit of 0.8 TU. The study is needed to improve and
verify the site hydrogeological model. The current version of this model is preliminary and needs
better verification that requires tritium and some other types of data mentioned below.
Phase 1
The local residents have, on their own initiative, collected and paid for six tritium analyses done
at the U-Ottawa lab. These results have provided a good start to a comprehensive study. These
six values can be referred to as Phase 1 tritium study.
Phase 2/Stage 1
Phase 2 study can be done in stages; each would be designed based on the results of the
previous stage. Steve Usher has proposed 20 samples for the next stage and that may be
appropriate at this point in time if the selection of sampling wells is properly designed. Therefore
I will assume 20 wells sampled for Phase 2/Stage 1. All tritium analyses should be done in the
U-Ottawa lab along with other isotopes (oxygen-18 and deuterium).
I recommend that the next stage involving these 20 samples be designed by an expert team
comprised of Clark, Cherry and Gerber. Doug Taylor would be an ex officio member because he
has exceptional local knowledge and is most helpful in tracking down information from the local
residents about their wells. He can represent the EEA. If there is any disagreement about any of
the details, the decision should be majority vote including Clark, Cherry and Gerber. When the
analysis results are available from the laboratories they will be provided to Steve Usher and
Hydro One in a timely manner for their reconsiderations. Clark, Cherry and Gerber will provide a
report to Clarington Council that indicates what the results mean for the understanding of the
site groundwater conditions.
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There are three categories of wells that should be included in this stage; the 20 wells would be
selected from these three categories:
1. Local residents' wells-the wells selected should have good information about their
design and locations to avoid wells that are most likely to give results influenced by
wellbore leakage. If need be, to keep cost down, these wells can be sampled by a team
of local residents as was the case for the six resident wells already sampled (good notes
and photos can be made part of the official records).
2. Monitoring wells at the deep-hole site-the cluster of 5 wells referred to as the MW5-14
wells, each of these wells is at a different depth. The sampling of these wells will require
some purging. The procedure for this should be specified by the tritium expert team.
3. 12 wells that are part of the Stantec quarterly groundwater monitoring program-the
samples can be taken at the same time as the quarterly so that the sampling cost will be
nearly zero. These wells are all shallow, less than about 50 feet, so only a few of these
would be included as representative wells of the 12. The sampling can be done by
Stantec when the quarterly sampling is done and therefore the extra cost for sampling
should be minimal.
The Phase 2 study should include re-sampling of some of the six wells done previously. This
resampling would provide samples for tritium-helium analysis to better determine the age of the
groundwater in these wells.
I expect that it will not be difficult to get agreement on which wells out of these three categories
should be included in the next phase.
There are two parts to all tritium studies. The first part is the sample collection and the second is
the lab analyses. A good approach can be to sample some extra wells beyond the 20 budgeted
for analysis. The lab analyses can be done in stages to optimize cost of the lab analyses which
is likely the most important part of the budget. For example, the lab could do 10 tritium samples
first and based on the results from these, the other 10 samples would be selected from say the
remaining 15 samples available because " extra " samples were taken. The tritium-helium
sampling will need to be done by a University of Ottawa technician.
However, there is an important additional action that should be part of the tritium study which is
the collection of water samples in other bottles so that other analyses can be done for the same
well. In other words, when the tritium sampling is done, additional bottles should be filled for
analysis of:
■ oxygen-18 and deuterium (stable isotopes of water; tritium is the radioactive isotope of
water)
■ chloride, nitrate and sulphate
■ dissolved organic carbon (DOC)
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Before it is finalized, we propose that the report on this work to be prepared by the tritium study
team with review and input from the University of Guelph and McMaster research group and
Steve Usher. We review this endeavor as a collaboration between University of Guelph,
McMaster University, University of Ottawa and Cloca and Clarington Municipality.
These constituents are needed to help discern the origin of the water, in particular, to discern
whether or not the water is consistent with groundwater that has gotten into the well by normal
groundwater flow or by leakage down along the well casing because the well is not properly
sealed. Also, these constituents are indicators of the presence of water impacted by human
activities such as road salting, agriculture and others and therefore they are indications of well
vulnerability. The cost of the analyses is low if appropriate labs are selected. Instructions will be
provided by the tritium study team concerning the bottles and related procedures. We estimate
that the total cost of this proposed study should be in the range of 20-25K. The professional
time of Cherry, Clark and Gerber will be contributed at no charge. This estimate can be fine-
tuned when the tritium study team prepares a detailed work plan.
In Mr. Usher's report to Clarington on January 11, 2016 PSD-008-16; Section 3.5, he quotes the
Ministry of Environment& Climate Change as follows " ...the current program is satisfactory
and [MOECC] does not consider the tritium levels found in the local wells to be unexpected ...
the tritium concentrations indicated that the groundwater recharge, corresponding to the lower
concentration of tritium found in the wells, is likely coming from up-gradient sources a number of
kilometers to the north of the site. "
My colleague, Dr. Clark and I strongly disagree with this interpretation of the initial tritium
results. This interpretation is incorrect. We believe the tritium tests conducted on the local
private wells, to date, do not support the current conceptual model.
This clearly points to the need for further tritium and also tritium/helium testing to develop a
conceptual model that supports the data.
John Cherry, Ph.D, P.Eng
Distinguished Emeritus Professor, University of Waterloo
Director, University Consortium For Groundwater Contamination Research, University of Guelph
Cc Dr. Ian D Clark, P. Geo.
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Attachment 3 to
Municipality of Clarington Addendum to PSD-008-16
Hydro One Networks Inc.
483 Bay Street
South Tower,4h floor
Toronto,ON M5G 2P5 h d ro
www.HydroOne.com �/
one
Brad Bowness
Vice President,Construction Services
Brad.Bowness@HydroOne.com
January 29, 2016
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Faye Langmaid, Manager Special Projects
Municipality of Clarington
40 Temperance Street
Bowmanville, ON
L1 C 3A6
Dear Ms. Langmaid:
RE: Municipality of Clarington Council Resolution #PSD-008-16
Thank you for forwarding a copy of the above resolution. I am respectfully providing a response from Hydro
One to assist in the preparation of a staff report to Council.
Please be advised that Hydro One will not support any activities related to Dr. Cherry's most recent proposal
referenced in the Municipality of Clarington's Council Resolution #PSD-008-16 dated January 11, 2016.
While Hydro One appreciates that the scientific community and local residents see the value in conducting
regional research, we don't believe undertaking additional studies as proposed would provide any further
information beneficial to Hydro One's approved Groundwater and Surface Water Monitoring Program for
Clarington TS or relevant to the use of this property as a transformer station.
We remain committed to protecting the quality and quantity of groundwater and surface water in the
Clarington TS project area through the Monitoring Program. We believe that the extensive field program
undertaken to date has gone above and beyond Condition 1 of the Minister's Decision (dated January 2,
2014) with respect to the hydrological and hydrogeological characterization of the project area.
Additionally, as outlined in our response to the Municipality of Clarington on December 18, 2015, we
remain of the opinion that undertaking tritium analyses would not provide additional information relevant
to the monitoring program or the construction and operation of Clarington TS.
In an effort to ensure the community has resources available to review and interpret Monitoring Program
results, Hydro One provided funding of up to $250,000 to the Municipality to select and retain a third
party expert. The objectives of selecting a third party were outlined in Hydro One's proposal to Mayor Foster
and members of Council dated June 11, 2014. These objectives were also outlined in the Municipality of
Clarington's Request for Proposal No. 2014-11 in section 3.03 on page 18.
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The allocated amount of funding was derived by determining an approximate number of hours per month
at an assumed rate the peer review would require, for the expected duration of the Monitoring Program.
It is Hydro One's expectation that the entirety of this funding be used to undertake the mutually agreed
upon scope of work used to select the third party expert through the procurement processed managed by
the Municipality of Clarington. Hydro One will not provide any incremental funding beyond $250,000,
as this amount and the remaining balance is seen as reasonable to complete the scope of work and terms
as originally agreed to.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond. I trust this clarifies Hydro One's position with respect to
Resolution #PSD-008-16.
Yours truly,
�t
Brad Bowness
Attachment 4 to
Municipality of Clarington Addendum to Report PSD-008-16
1 February 2016
!) LR
Ms. Faye Langmaid
Municipality of Clarington
40 Temperance Street
Bowmanville, Ontario L1 C 3A6
Projposal No.: 209.40542
Dear Ms.Langmaid:
RE: North Clarington (In Proximity To The Clarington Transformer Station)
- Tritium Assessment
On January 5, 2016, SLR provided an estimate of the cost of a three step tritium study to the
Municipality of Clarington. Subsequently, G360 provided a proposal to carry out the first step of
that program with some modifications. On January 18, 2016, Council asked staff by resolution
to determine what cooperation between parties would be needed to conduct a tritium
investigation. SLR was invited, along with Dr. Gerber of CLOCA to participate in technical
scoping exercise with Drs. Cherry and Clarke, which we attended on January 26, and which
was chaired by you.
The following two step program has been agreed upon. We expect that should funding be
approved and it proceed, that there may be minor adjustments once all parties share their
knowledge. In general, nine selected private wells in the deep aquifers will be sampled for
tritium and some support parameters (deuterium, oxygen-18, DOC). Four of the five
groundwater monitors in the deep cluster at MW5-14 on the Hydro One site will also be sampled
for the same parameter suite. The participating groups wil convene to examine and interpret
the results collectively. From this, a second phase of sampling to include helium isotopes will
be performed on up to 10 samples. Reporting will be done collectively by Drs. Cherry, Clark
and Gerber with contributions from SLR. It is our understanding that the Enniskillen
Environmental Association EEA) have confirmed they will be a resource to the study team to
help determine well construction details, and in contacting residents.
Attached is the list of proposed monitoring points (Table 2), including the rationale for their
selection, and preliminary tritium results from previous sampling. The following table (Table 1)
summarizes the activities and anticipated costs. (Please note that in the table, the acronym
"UoO" refers to University of Ottawa, and "QA/QC" refers to Quality Assurance and Quality
Control procedures.)
I
SLR Consulting(Canada)Ltd. 200-300 Town Centre Boulevard,Markham,ON L3R 5Z6
T:905.415.7248 F:905.415.1019
urrv�°r.slr;:arrstdti��ci.com
Attachment 4 to
Municipality of Clarington Addendum to Report PSD-008-16
Municipality of Clarington Proposal No. 209.40542
Clarington North Tritium Study February 2016
Table 1. Summary of Activities and Anticipated Costs
Task Anticipated Cost Comments and assumptions
1. Private Well and $2,800 (UoO - Stantec to provide additional water sample
Monitor labroratory: 13 during their routine sampling event
Sampling samples plus one - Alternately, Resident's to sample
QA/QC Blank) independently.
$1,500 (SLR - G360 to provide sampling and chain of
coordination, chain of custody monitor
custody) - Dr. Clark's isotope lab in Ottawa to be used
- SLR to coordinate
2. Data Analysis $0 (G360 donated - Collation of results
and time) - EEA to assist with well details and
Interpretation $1,500 (SLR neighbour contact
Coordination, - Dispersion modelling with Clark model
explanation of results - Geologic sections by Dr. Gerber
to Clarington) - Comparison to conceptual models by all
- SLR to coordinate
3. Helium $7,000 (U0O - UoO to sample
sampling labroratory: 10 - G360 to provide sampling and chain of
samples analysed for custody monitor
helium, tritium, - Dr. Clark's isotope lab in Ottawa to be used
deuterium and -
Oxygen 18) including
one QA/QC Blank)
4. Data Analysis $0 (G360 donated - Collation of results
and time) - Comparison to conceptual models by all
Interpretation $1,500 (SLR - SLR to coordinate
Coordination,
explanation of results
to Clarington)
5. Reporting $0 (G360 donated - Cherry, Clark, Gerber, Usher to collaborate
time) - SLR to coordinate report
3,500 (SLR
Coordination of
authors, preparation
of report, explanation
of results to
Clarington)
SLR 2
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Attachment 4 to
Municipality of Clarington Addendum to Report PSD-008-16
Municipality of Clarington Proposal No. 209.40542
Clarington North Tritium Study February 2016
The total cost will be $17,800 plus HST, composed of$9,800 laboratory costs, and $8,000 in
Professional fees for SLR. We wish to clarify that Dr. Cherry had earlier provided a cost
estimate of approximately$8,000, however this was for the first Phase and did not include
helium sampling, nor SLR involvement. We also note that SLR had provided an earlier cost
estimate to Clarington (which we emphasized was to provide the Municipality some guidance of
the potential cost) examining a three step study which was substantially more, however that did
not have the benefit of in-kind donation of time by G360 members, Dr. Clark and Dr. Gerber.
The refined approach described above fits within the original estimated range. Actual integrity
testing of well conditions is not included, and would be extra should it be deemed necessary
(anticipate $5,000 per well). No groundwater modelling is presently planned. It is anticipated
that this work could be completed in 6 months.
We trust this submission provides the information you were seeking.
Yours sincerely,
SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd.
Steven Usher
Project Manager
SJU/su
I
SLR 3
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Attachment 4 to
Municipality of Clarington Addendum to Report PSD-008-16
Municipality of Clarington Proposal No. 209.40542
Clarington North Tritium Study February 2016
Table 2. Proposed Sampling Locations
Proposed Bottom of Source of Well
Soil Unit Sample Screen (ft) Information Reason for Sampling
Locations
Weathered MW5-14S(2) 13 Stantec 2015 Sampling a shallow onsite well.
Halton Till Report
Mackinaw MOECC Well Re-sample of a Mackinaw well.
Deposit PW-02 62 Record Previous tritium value was
38 TU.
Newmarket Stantec 2014 Sampling an onsite well in the
Till MW5-14(I) 131 Report competent Till Aquitard.
MW5-14D 177 Stantec 2015 Sampling an onsite,
Report Newmarket Sand Horizon well.
MOECC Well Re-sampling of a Newmarket
PW-06 188 Sand Horizon Well. Previous
Record tritium value was 2.1 TU.
Newmarket MOECC Well Re-sample of a high tritium
Sand Horizon PW-10 212 Record well. Previous tritium value was
( within the 21 TU.
Newmarket Homeowner Re-sampling of a Newmarket
Till ) PW-12 190 Evidence Sand Horizon well. Previous
tritium value was 1.5 TU.
MOECC Well Sampling of a new Newmarket
PW-21 200 Record Sand well that has a well
record.
PW-22 161 MOECC Well Sampling of a down-gradient
Record well from the site.
PW-05 235 MOECC Well Sampling a down-gradient well
Record from the site.
Thorncliffe PW-17 342 MOECC Well Sampling an up-gradient well
Aquifer Record from the site.
Deposit Homeowner Re-sampling of a Thorncliffe
PW-18 250 Evidence well. Previous tritium value was
0.8 TU.
Beneath the Stantec 2015 Sampling an onsite well below
Thorncliffe MW5-14D(2) 373 Report the Thorncliffe Deposit.
Depost
SLR 4