Residents fight proposed soil treatment facility near Haines Junction, Yukon

Alida Thomas, pictured here, lives in the Bear Creek subdivision where she's building a house. Local residents have petitioned to move the site of a new proposed land treatment facility. (Submitted by Alida Thomas - image credit)
Alida Thomas, pictured here, lives in the Bear Creek subdivision where she's building a house. Local residents have petitioned to move the site of a new proposed land treatment facility. (Submitted by Alida Thomas - image credit)

If you ask the people who live in the Nygren subdivision outside Haines Junction, Yukon, why they live there, they'll tell you it's because of the beauty of the natural world that surrounds them.

"This is a treasure probably in the world," says resident Bryan Crow.

Also known as the Bear Creek subdivision, it's located in the pristine Alsek Valley, 11 kilometres outside Haines Junction. The residential properties back on to the Kluane National Park and Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

For the last six months, residents have been fighting against a proposed land treatment facility that would be built just shy of a kilometre from their homes. The facility would treat soil that's been contaminated by hydrocarbons, using a bioremediation process that uses bacteria and not chemicals.

Crow says he's worried his well could be contaminated.

"You know, psychologically, every time I drink from this well, every time I wash my baby in this water, I'm going to be concerned and disturbed," said Crow.

Alida Thomas also lives in the subdivision.

"The groundwater table here is pretty high. All of our wells are at 40 feet," Thomas said.

Local residents have started a petition to move the proposed site, and say they've collected more than 300 signatures so far.

Alida Thomas and her nephew in the Alsek Valley.
Alida Thomas and her nephew in the Alsek Valley.

Alida Thomas and her nephew in the Alsek Valley. (Submitted by Alida Thomas )

Not against a facility

The project is led by Castle Rock Enterprises, part of the business development arm of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. The treatment facility would be on the First Nations' traditional territory.

CBC reached out to the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations for comment. They directed all questions to Castle Rock spokesperson Shawn Hall.

Hall says the project is important because there are a number of historic contaminated sites in the Haines Junction area that need to be remediated.

"If you're redeveloping a site, you might be putting a new business there, or home, or really any structure, [so] you want to be putting that in a clean location," Hall said.

He says having a land treatment facility in the Haines Junction area reduces costs for potential developers. Right now, he says, the contaminated soil would need to be trekked to Whitehorse.

Nygren residents agree that such a facility is needed in the area, but Crow argues that there are plenty of other options.

"There is a legacy in the Yukon that needs to be addressed ecologically. And we have never, ever opposed that," said Crow.

"There's 14 empty kilometres between us and the next residence, and to my best count, there's five unused quarries, most of which are already contaminated and could be remediated themselves," he added.

'The bank won't give us a mortgage'

For Thomas, her fears aren't just about what could happen to the environment. She also has more practical concerns. For the last four years, she and her husband have been building their home.

"We've just now got it to a point where the bank will mortgage us so that we can finish building it. And now the bank says they won't give us a mortgage if this happens," said Thomas.

Local real estate agent Tom Luxemburger says residents have reason for concern. He says it could be a challenge to sell their homes in the future if the project goes ahead.

"Just having something like this so close to your property… Some people don't mind, but the more you portion off and limit your purchaser base, the less leverage you have as a seller," said Luxemburger.

Alida Thomas took this photo near the proposed site of the land treatment facility, about 11 kilometres outside Haines Junction.
Alida Thomas took this photo near the proposed site of the land treatment facility, about 11 kilometres outside Haines Junction.

Alida Thomas took this photo near the proposed site of the land treatment facility, about 11 kilometres outside Haines Junction. (Alida Thomas )

Taking precautions

Hall says Castle Rock has been listening to residents' concerns and has adjusted its plans.

Yukon regulations require the facility to be at least 60 metres away from other property. Castle Rock agreed to move the facility 800 metres back, following public consultation.

The company has been operating a number of land treatment facilities across the Yukon for years without issue. Hall attributes their success to using the latest technology.

"The geosynthetic liner will effectively protect the material from coming into contact with the ground," said Hall.

In Castle Rock's proposal to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB), it commits to installing groundwater monitoring wells, testing groundwater regularly, and collecting surface runoff in a sump where it will be treated.

"There's a lot of regulation around environmental protection and the like, that appropriately dictates how these sites need to happen," said Hall. "And we're going to meet and exceed all of the environmental standards."

Hall says a number of these facilities in Dawson City, Watson Lake and Whitehorse are within a kilometre of residential neighbourhoods.

Luxemburger, however, says it's not an equivalent comparison.

"Are those residential areas reliant on well water? Or are they getting municipal water from elsewhere?" Luxemburger asked.

The Nygren area as seen from Google Earth.
The Nygren area as seen from Google Earth.

The Nygren subdivision, also known as Bear Creek, is labeled on this image from Google Earth. (Google Earth)

'Hard for anything to go wrong,' expert says 

Erica Pensini is an associate professor at Guelph University's school of engineering. She specializes in soil remediation and has also worked as an environmental consultant in the industry.

Pensini says the methods outlined in Castle Rock's proposal are common and effective.

"If you've excavated the soil right, and you make sure that it's isolated from the rest of the environment while you're treating it, it's hard for anything to go wrong," she said.

She says containment sheets can rupture, but it's very uncommon.

Pensini also raised concerns about the potential of material moving by wind. The Castle Rock proposal outlines how contaminated material will be treated by spraying water onto the soil piles.

"So evaporation is OK, but do you collect the vapours? It's good practice if you're vapourizing the pollutants, which can be done, to collect those vapours," Pensini said.

Bryan Crow argues that any level of risk is "reckless and it's unnecessary."

"The issue isn't how great their Titanic is. The issue is that they are running around telling everyone it's unsinkable …when there are other options that present zero risk," he said.

YESAB is still evaluating the project before making a recommendation on whether it should go ahead.