Hussar landfill back on the table

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A Calgary-based company may be applying to Wheatland County for an industrial landfill near Hussar again, after a similar proposal last fall failed.

RemedX Remediation Services, an environmental remediation and reclamation company, has designed a Class II waste disposal facility to be located about three kilometres east of the Village of Hussar. The company has operated a similar landfill in Breton, Alta. since 2018.

Last October, Wheatland County council rejected a land designation bylaw for the proposed landfill. The vote came following a public meeting in which some residents and councillors voiced concerns about the proposed facility.

But now it looks like RemedX will once again apply to the county for approval. Barrie Flood, RemedX CEO, presented information about the proposed facility to Wheatland County on April 6. The company stated it has developed some solutions to make the proposal more attractive to the county and residents.

Flood said that if approved, the site will receive no municipal waste, hazardous materials or liquids. About 95 per cent of materials received at the company’s Breton site is contaminated soil from oil and gas sites, and the proposed landfill would likely receive similar materials. But it would be open to other industrial materials, under its Class II designation.

As there are about 2,500 contaminated sites within one hour’s drive of the proposed facility near Hussar, there is potentially a large client base. Flood noted this market is underserved, with only high-cost options for disposal, which discourages cleanup of contaminated sites around the county.

“If you’re hauling three hours to a site, it’s not going to happen,” he said.

The landfill is designed to have an engineered, line containment system, known as a “dry tomb,” which Flood described as a big bathtub. This system has multiple and overlapping measures to ensure waste is contained and the surrounding environment is protected, he said.

The site is technically strong, added Flood. “The geotechnical conditions (and) the groundwater conditions are prime.” But the company has also assessed alternative sites in the area.

The landfill is designed to provide about 30 years of service based on local waste disposal needs. Once the facility closes, it would be covered and monitored for 25 years and would eventually be returned to a hay field. Upon completion, it would be about 20 metres tall, but the company is proposing planting tree breaks around it.

Flood maintained the facility would provide benefits to surrounding communities, both direct and indirect. RemedX estimated that for every dollar spent on disposal, around $3 is invested on the front end, on such things as planning, excavation, trucking and reclamation. The project would provide tax revenue to Wheatland County and would contribute to the local economy, he added.

If the project was approved, an environmental monitoring program would be implemented. This would include lab and site analysis of incoming materials, groundwater and gas monitoring, and yearly reporting to Alberta Environment. The site would have full-site security camera coverage, including truck loads material check.

RemedX has discussed establishing a host agreement arrangement with Wheatland County, likely based on hauled tonnage. 

“We’re still in the early formation of that, but we think it makes sense that we share the wealth,” said Flood, adding grants or a similar arrangement could also be established with Hussar. The company could also lend trucks to the community to respond to emergencies.

One of the concerns of residents in the October 2020 meeting was traffic impacts of the facility. There could be 50 to 60 trucks on some days, but Flood said they would expect about 10 to 12 trucks per day on average.

Matthew Boscariol, Wheatland County’s general manager of community and development services, advised council to hold discussion on the planned development until future public hearings, should an application from RemedX be brought forward.