22
Geotechnical News • September 2016
WASTE GEOTECHNICS
stormwater catch basin. There was no
requirement to hold and test the water
prior to release.
The stormwater pond within Ogden
was part of the final closure plan
approved by The Province when the
site was operated and closed under a
Provincial Board of Health permit.
That pond is an evaporation pond with
no release to the watershed.
A review of the stormwater pond con-
struction and authorizations provided
clarity on their environmental require-
ments and details necessary for plan-
ning the intrusive investigation.
Buried waste may not be a
municipal landfill
The program included a detailed
review of available municipal records
dating back to the first public scaven-
ger hired in 1885. Annual engineering
reports and historical drawings were
particularly valuable in document-
ing the locations and disposition of
municipal wastes and rubble over the
years. From this work, The City of
Calgary has increased confidence in
knowing the location and operating
periods of closed landfills managed by
the municipality.
Buried waste has been encountered at
locations other than Calgary’s known
municipal landfills. Under historic
provincial regulations land own-
ers were allowed to dispose of their
own rubble and inert waste on their
property, and to fill in low lying areas
with inert waste and rubble. (Province
of Alberta, 1936). Also, like many
cities, Calgary has grown through a
series of annexations (City of Calgary,
2016) including the towns of Forest
Lawn, Bowness, Montgomery, and
Midnapore, and rural lands annexed
from both Rockyview County and the
Municipal District of Foothills.
Conclusion
A program to re-assess The City of
Calgary’s landfills provided clarity
regarding the environmental require-
ments and financial costs of ongoing
landfill management. It resulted in a
more extensive groundwater, leachate
and landfill gas monitoring networks
to assess potential environmental
impacts, and a searchable electronic
catalogue of records to support knowl-
edge transfer to future projects.
Given that municipalities must
account for the long term financial
costs associated with closure and post-
closure care of solid waste landfills,
more studies will likely be undertaken
by other municipalities to better docu-
ment the environmental condition of
those sites. When undertaking such
studies it may be useful to question
what proof of evidence exists for
any assumptions made when scoping
investigations. Establishing solid lines
of evidence to test such assumptions
will support the development of a
comprehensive conceptual site model.
References
City of Calgary (1990) Annual Report,
Sanitation Division.
City of Calgary (2009) Annual Report.
Retrieved from
.
calgary.ca/CA/fs/Documents/
Plans-Budgets-and-Financial-
Reports/Annual-Reports/Annual-
Report-2009.pdf
City of Calgary (2015) Annual Report.
Retrieved from
.
calgary.ca/CA/fs/Documents/
Plans-Budgets-and-Financial-
Reports/Annual-Reports/Annual-
Report-2015.pdf
City of Calgary (2016) History of
Annexation. Retrieved from
http://
ments/pdf/history-of-annexation.
pdf
Davis, G. (2011) Information Update
to City Council: City of Ham-
ilton Closed Landfills (City
Wide). City of Hamilton Public
Works Department. Retrieved
from
/
NR/rdonlyres/59E2A203-11FB-
4CC1-B6E9-A4B3F8CA8973/0/
Mar03EDRMS_n141285_
v1_7_1b__Memo__Closed_Land-
fill_Sites.pdf
Financial Reporting & Assurance
Standards Canada (n.d.) About
PSAB. Retrieved from
http://
-
accounting-board/what-we-do/
about-psab/index.aspx
Geddes, G. (2004) Report on Old
Landfill Management to the Plan-
ning and Environment Committee
and Council. The City of Ottawa
Chief Corporate Services Officer’s
report dated 1 November 2004
(ACS2004-CRS-RPR-0009).
Retrieved from
ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/
occ/2004/11-24/pec/ACS2004-
CRS-RPR-0009.htm
Griffiths, J. (2011) Review of the
Management and Funding for
Inactive Landfill Sites. City of
Toronto Auditor General’s Office.
Retrieved from
.
ca/legdocs/mmis/2011/au/bgrd/
backgroundfile-35909.pdf
Province of Alberta (1936) Public
Health Act Regulations Respecting
Nuisances and General Sanitation
O.C. 823-36
Province of Alberta (2007) Contami-
nated Sites Management: Tier 1
and 2 Soil and Groundwater
Remediation Guidelines Facts at
Your Fingertips. R&R/07-01
Rush, B. (1996) Correspondence
Notice to All Owners and Opera-
tors of Waste Management Facili-
ties Re: Approval and Operation
of Waste Management Facili-
ties. Alberta Environment. Date
stamped 13 September 1996.
Carol Kehoe, M.Sc., P.Eng.
The City of Calgary
Waste & Recycling Services
PO Box 2100, Station M, #27
Calgary, Alberta T2P 2M5
E-mail:
