LOCATION: Fort Chipewyan, Alberta
ISSUE/SOURCE: Concerns raised regarding contamination at port facility
DATE: November 28, 2024
SUGGESTED RESPONSES
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Transport Canada is aware of concerns raised by three Indigenous communities regarding contamination at the Fort Chipewyan Port Facility.
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Transport Canada is committed to managing its sites responsibly and addressing contamination appropriately. Transport Canada has retained a qualified environmental management professional through Public Services & Procurement Canada to review and update previous studies to allow field work to commence as early as spring 2025.
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This work will inform the path forward for remediation or risk management of the contamination found in both the uplands and waterlot portions of the Transport Canada-owned port facility at Fort Chipewyan.
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Transport Canada has reached out to Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Metis Nation to share information and previous reports and is committed to work collaboratively on next steps to address contamination at the facility, including scoping of upcoming studies, under the guiding principles of open, transparent communication.
IF PRESSED
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Information about the presence of contaminants at the Port Facility has been publicly available on the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory since 2014.
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In 2017, a Phase III environmental site assessment and a related Human Health Preliminary Quantitative Risk Assessment & Ecological Risk Assessment concluded that the contamination at the Fort Chipewyan Port Facility is not likely to pose any immediate risks to human health or the environment.
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Currently, there is no information to suggest that this assessment is not still valid. Notably, contaminated sediment is not uncommon at port facilities across the country – it typically poses little or no risk if it remains undisturbed.
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Transport Canada will collaborate with Environment and Climate Change Canada on a recently announced community-led health study in the Athabasca oil sands region.
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The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is responsible for drinking water for the community. They advised that drinking water is tested extensively, and it is safe to drink.
BACKGROUND
Transport Canada owns a local port facility at Fort Chipewyan, AB and a small surrounding waterlot in Lake Athabasca (i.e., submerged lands). The Fort Chipewyan Port Facility (“Port Facility”) was constructed in 1925 by the Department of Public Works and transferred to Transport Canada in 1987. Since that time, it has been an active facility with multiple users and uses. Environmental contaminants are present in the uplands adjacent to the Port Facility and waterlot. Based on multiple Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), this pollution may have resulted from a variety of sources, including from an off-site bulk fuel storage facility as well as the creosote-treated lumber at the Port Facility itself.
The site has been subject over the years to multiple studies by qualified environmental professionals, beginning in 1997 with a Phase I ESA. Subsequently, results from a 1998 Phase II ESA found indications of contamination in soil samples but below commercial criteria, so no further investigation was recommended at the time. In 2005, given the passage of time, another Phase I ESA was completed; the report did not identify any new areas of significant environmental concern, and no new work was recommended. A Phase I ESA update was completed again in October 2013 due to the passage of time and renewed interest to prepare the site for a potential transfer; however, this report identified areas of potential environmental concern and recommended further work to assess.
A limited Phase II ESA completed in February 2014 identified contamination in the soil and sediment so additional work to delineate the impacts was recommended. The report ranked the site as a medium priority for action using the National Classification System for Contaminated Sites. “Medium priority” means that threats to human health are not imminent, but action may be required to address contamination. A Phase III ESA was initiated in 2016 and completed in 2017; it sought to delineate the extent of the contamination and also updated the site classification using the new information where it was reconfirmed as a class 2 medium priority site.
Based on the results of the Phase III ESA, in 2017, Transport Canada commissioned a Human Health Preliminary Quantitative Risk Assessment & Ecological Risk Assessment (RA).
The RA was completed by a qualified environmental professional, with appropriate certifications, following industry standards, including guidance published by Health Canada and the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan. The RA also considered a variety of uses such as swimming and fishing. The RA investigated risks to human health and wildlife, and the study determined that the site was not likely to pose any risks to human health.
Given the results of this assessment and the findings that the site was not likely to pose any immediate risks to human health, Transport Canada determined that no follow up investigations or action was required. The RA also updated the National Contaminated Site Classification System score and again reconfirmed the site to be a class 2 medium priority site. Additionally, an Aquatic Sites Classification System score was determined for the in-water portion only of the site identifying the site as a Class 3 low priority site.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo pulls its drinking water from Lake Athabasca. It is treated extensively in multiple stages at the water treatment plant and tested to ensure it meets all the parameters in the Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines. They published a community notice on August 28, 2024, stating that the quality of drinking water is rigorously monitored and tested, and it is safe to drink.
Representatives of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation approached Transport Canada in May 2024 seeking to dredge the TC waterlot to assist with community evacuations due to wildfires in the area. As part of these discussions, Transport Canada provided a copy of the 2017 Risk Assessment and Phase III Environmental Assessment to Delta Contracting Ltd (the consultant retained by the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation to prepare a dredging plan) in May.
Media reports beginning the week of September 30th have highlighted concerns by three Alberta Indigenous communities, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis, alleging that Transport Canada failed to previously notify them of contamination at the Fort Chipewyan Port Facility, including in the context of engagement on a potential transfer of the Port Facility.
In the context of negotiations for the potential acquisition of the Fort Chipewyan Port Facility, some of the environmental reports were previously shared with the Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis Local 125 in 2016 and 2018. More specifically, the 2013 and 2014 Environmental Site Assessment reports were made available to the Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis Local 125 in 2016. The 2017 Environmental Site Assessment and 2017 Risk Assessment reports were subsequently shared with the Mikisew Cree First Nation in 2018.