20 July 2010 – The Sydney Tar Ponds Agency has released a tender for the construction of a protective cap over treated tar ponds sediment.
“Today is good news for the people of Sydney,” said Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services. “This tender for the Tar Ponds cap will lead to the reclamation of nearly 240 acres of land and a cleaner and more sustainable future for residents.”
It’s the third step in a series of projects leading to the future development of the remediated site.
“The Tar Ponds cap is an extremely important part of an overall project that is not only creating good jobs but also making life better for families,” said Bill Estabrooks, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. “This is the connecting contract between the remediation work on the project, and future use of the former Tar Ponds site.”
Construction of the multi-layer protective cap will begin in the fall, and is scheduled for completion in summer, 2013. It will include a grading/bedding layer, a geosynthetic clay layer, a geocomposit drainage layer, protective fill, topsoil and hydroseed. The cap is designed to direct rain and groundwater into an engineered channel that will also carry brook water to the mouth of Sydney Harbour. The tender closes August 10.
More than 70 per cent of the south pond, located between Prince Street and the Ferry Street Bridge, has been solidified and stabilized. Treatment of the entire pond is expected to be completed in August. It will be followed by the construction of a channel to allow brook water and groundwater to flow through the site and into the harbour.
In January 2007, the government of Canada and province of Nova Scotia committed $400 million to ensure the Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens cleanup is completed by 2014.
Media Contact
Tanya Collier MacDonald
Sydney Tar Ponds Agency
+1 902 567 2344
Cell: +1 902 578 1904
E-mail: tanya@tarpondscleanup.ca
