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DETERMINATION OF REGIONALBC BACKGROUND METALS CONCENTRATIONS IN GROUNDWATER UPDATE
BC EIA BEST CONFERENCEMAY 10, 2018, WHISTLER, BC
Heather OsachoffMinistry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Stephen MunzarCore6 Environmental Ltd.
0UTLINE
• Background Groundwater Policy Fundamentals
• Methodology• Regional Background Groundwater
Policy Development • Interim Cobalt Background Groundwater
Estimate released Nov 2017• Regional Background Groundwater Estimates
Development (currently working on)
• Regional Background Groundwater Project
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REGULATORY AUTHORITY
Subsection 11(3) of the Contaminated Sites Regulation states that:A site is not a contaminated site with respect to a substance in the soil, surface water or groundwater if the site: does not contain any substance with a concentration greater than the local background concentration of that substance in the soil, surface water or groundwater respectively.
Subsection 17(2) of the Contaminated Sites Regulation in part states that:A contaminated site is considered to have been satisfactorily remediated if:(b) the soil, surface water or groundwater at the site does not contain any substance with a concentration greater than or equal to the local background concentration of that substance in the soil, surface water or groundwater respectively.
BACKGROUND GROUNDWATER POLICY FUNDAMENTALS
• “background concentration”means the concentration of a substance in an environmental medium in a geographic area, but does not include any contribution from local human‐made point sources.
• “local human ‐made point source”means a location or area at a site where, as a result of human activity, a substance was introduced into the environment causing the substance concentration to exceed the local background concentration.
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BACKGROUND GROUNDWATER POLICY FUNDAMENTALS
Plain Language Policy Intent:• To establish a procedure for determining the local
background concentration of a substance;
• Avoid remediating a substance that is naturally present;
• Creates a site specific standard for the parameter of interest at the Site; and
• Fundamental implications to issuance of legal instruments such as Determinations and Certificates of Compliance.
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EXISTING PROTOCOL 9 METHODOLOGY
Key Components• High Level Approach;• Minimum of 3 wells sited in areas away from
human‐made point sources of contamination• Avoid fill areas of unknown soil quality;• Minimum of 2 groundwater sampling events
during different seasons;• Calculate the 95th percentile; and• Submit a Background Groundwater
Investigation Report.• Receive a Decision from the ministry (ENV)
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PROTOCOL 9 METHODOLOGY
Background Groundwater Characterization:• Part of the DSI process• Assessment groundwater chemistry• Lines of evidence approach:
• Historical Site Use (APECs/PCOCs)• Hydrogeology• Geochemistry• Mineralogy
• Ultimate goal is a conceptual site model for natural groundwater quality at a site.
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CURRENT PROTOCOL 9 METHODOLOGY
Key Components Summary:• PSI‐Stage 1, Desktop research• Install/select wells representative of
natural groundwater chemistry• Define and understand the
hydrogeology/geochemistry at the site• Collect and use enough data from lines
of evidence to build your conceptual site model; and
• Calculate Background Concentration
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REGIONAL BACKGROUND GROUNDWATER POLICY DEVELOPMENT ‐ PROJECT
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Regional Background Groundwater Project
• Contaminated Sites Approved Professionals Society of BC (CSAP) 2017 metals assessment indicated potential implications for CSR Stage 11 drinking water standards (mainly cobalt and lithium)
• Multi‐phase project designed and led by ministry to address the issue• CS e‐link Nov 2017: interim cobalt estimate• Competitive bid process for ministry contract to
address this potential issue:‐Core 6 Environmental Ltd. was successful bidder
REGIONAL BACKGROUND GROUNDWATER POLICY DEVELOPMENT
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• Nov 7, 2017 CS‐elink extending the cobalt interim background groundwater concentration estimate of 20 µg/L established in 2002;
• Responsible persons may use the interim background groundwater concentration estimate for cobalt of 20 µg/L when assessing the presence of contamination at sites in the Province; and
• Applications for a Director’s decision under Protocol 9 are not required for cobalt. Rather, a statement in the site investigation report that cobalt concentrations in groundwater do not exceed the referenced cobalt interim background groundwater concentration estimate will suffice.
REGIONAL BACKGROUND GROUNDWATER POLICY DEVELOPMENT
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Phase 1 Contract Scope
• Develop a methodology for establishing regional numbers
• Create a database of background groundwater chemistry for two regions: Lower Mainland and Okanagan
• Data collected from various sources: Existing studies, provincial wells data, ENV SITE Database
• Determine if sub‐regions are appropriate• Calculate a 95th percentile concentration for each
parameter of interest; and• Ultimately could use this data to develop look‐up
tables for regions ‐ potentially similar to Protocol 4: “Establishing Background Concentrations in Soil”.
REGIONAL BACKGROUND GROUNDWATER POLICY DEVELOPMENT
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Phase 1 Contract Results
• Preliminary findings were received for the Lower Mainland Region, Kelowna and Kamloops
• Additional work required to finish these regions
• CSAP provided funding to finish these regions and
• Phase 1 is now complete.
REGIONAL BACKGROUND GROUNDWATER POLICY DEVELOPMENT
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Phase 2 Contract Scope
• Based on CSAP survey of their members and existing Determinations, other areas of the province have now been targeted, including:o Victoria/Nanaimo (Southern Vancouver Island)o Prince George (Central BC)o Fort St. John (Northeastern BC )
• Contract with Core6 Environmental Ltd. continued in order to fund other regions – Southern Vancouver Island, Northeastern BC, and Central BC.
• Stephen Munzar, Core6 Environmental Ltd.
REGIONS STUDIED
1. Lower Mainland Vancouver2. Southern Vancouver Island
(Victoria to Nanaimo)3. Okanagan (Kamloops and Kelowna)4. Central BC (Prince George)5. Northeast BC (Fort St. John and
Dawson Creek)
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3.
4.
1.
5.
2.
SCOPE OF CONTRACTS
1. Research representative groundwater data sources2. Develop with MOE a well selection criteria to filter out potential bias
from anthropogenic sources3. Define geology in regions of interest4. Statistical analysis5. Select appropriate boundaries for each region6. Define regional background groundwater concentration estimates7. Provide findings to ENV for consideration
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DATA SOURCES
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Contaminated Sites:• P9 Approvals• Determinations• CofC
RESULTS
SORRY
COMING SOON!
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WHERE ARE WE AT?
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1. Data for each region has been obtained and processed2. Regional background groundwater concentrations have been estimated
based on the following regional divisions:a. Lower Mainland Region: divided into two subregionsb. Southern Vancouver Island: likely to encompass area between
Victoria and Nanaimo c. Okanagan Region: likely to encompass area between Kamloops and
Kelownad. Central Region: currently will include Prince Georgee. Northeast BC Region: likely to encompass area between Fort St. John
and Dawson Creek3. Draft report of results in progress
LOWER MAINLAND REGION
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180 Files reviewed, 85 sites retained for use
SOUTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND REGION
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79 Files reviewed, 36 sites retained for use
OKANAGAN REGION
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Kamloops: 46 Files reviewed, 10 sites retained for use
Kelowna: 40 Files reviewed, 13 sites retained for use
CENTRAL BC REGION
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6 Files reviewed, 4 sites retained for use
NORTHEAST BC REGION
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10 Files reviewed, 7 sites retained for use
• Regional Ground Study
SUMMARY
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• Protocol 9 remains available for site‐specific background decisions• The project results could inform updates to ministry guidance• Development of regional background groundwater estimates for five
regions are currently underway• The results of the regional project will be considered by ENV for
addressing the issue• Additional studies or supplemental work may be completed in the
future
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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Special thanks to:
1. Kalina Malowany (Core6 Environmental Ltd.)2. CSAP (Catherine Schachtel)3. George Sun (Co‐op Student)4. Mark Apduhan (Hemmera)5. Steve Dankevy (Ministry of Environment and Climate
Change Strategy)
