Hydrocarbons and aquatic quality
Background: In the early 1940's, Standard Oil of California constructed a refinery near what is now the Marwell Tar Pit to refine crude oil piped from Norman Wells, NWT. The Refinery operated during 1944 and 1945. It was then shut down and sold. The Refinery and all its contents was purchased by Imperial Oil Ltd., who then dismantled the refinery and moved it to Leduc Alberta. When it was shut down, the hydrocarbon waste from the tanks and the refinery was deposited in a pit in the Marwell area and covered with a shallow layer of soil.
In 1958, a man walking through the Marwell Tar Pit became trapped in the semi-liquid tars and died of exposure. The coroner’s jury ‘strongly recommend that the oil pool, which has proven to be a hazard to life, be removed by whatever means necessary as soon as possible.’ Following this death, the Marwell Tar Pit was fenced. There was some dispute about who was responsible for this hazard. More extensive commercial development occurred along both sides of Mountain View Drive starting during this period. The South Access Road was re-routed and paved and Marwell creek was confined to storm sewers during these times.
In 1989, Environment Canada staff conducted a site investigation and collected water and soil samples from the pit and adjacent creek. The report found," Contamination from the tar pit was migrating in the direction of the creek, which flows into the Yukon River, but had not yet reached the creek. Soil in and near the pit was contaminated with a mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons." It was noted that “oil and grease” are considered a deleterious substance under the Fisheries Act and that the Marwell Tarp Pit should be cleaned up in order to prevent the creek and groundwater from becoming contaminated.
The Marwell Tar Pit Site was operated as a petroleum refinery, built on behalf of the United States Corp of Engineers, to process crude oil extracted from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories. The refinery operated between 1944 and 1945 after which it was subsequently closed and dismantled. Waste products from the refinery operations were deposited in what is currently referred to as the Marwell Tar Pit. These activities were directly related to Canada`s national security efforts in its role in supporting the Allied Forces during World War II.
For the past 20 years or so, a number of developments has occurred on the upper reaches of Marwell Creek. The Canada Games Center was constructed, The City of Whitehorse dumped snow and gravel from winter snow clearing activities into a gully the flows into Marwell Creek. This has been accumulating through out this time span along withe 10% salt that has been mixed with the gravel when it is spread on roads. This salt is dissolved and washed into Marwell creek. The escarpment along the study area has shown a number areas of soil instability, with slump occurring in at least two occasions.
In Budget 2004, the federal government set aside $500 million to cost-share the remediation of certain contaminated sites located on non-federal land, with provincial and/or territorial governments. In 2005, the federal government established Policy Framework for Shared-Responsibility Contaminated Site Project Funding which set out criteria for funding a portion of clean up costs for certain contaminated sites on non-federal lands, to the extent the contamination is a direct result of federal government activities or where the contamination resulted from the Government of Canada's national security efforts.
The Marwell Tar Pit Site is clearly an exceptional case since the Government of Canada neither directly or indirectly contributed to, nor mandated, the activity that created the contamination. At the request of Environment Canada, DIAND`s Northern Affairs Organization has taken the lead role on this project on behalf of the federal government because of its experience in dealing with contaminated sites in the North.
In order to discharge the Government of Canada's obligations arising from the cost-sharing agreement with another level of government, a separate Authority for the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is necessary which would guide making and monitoring transfer payments to the Yukon Government. The overall objective and expected outcome of this authority would be to remediate the Marwell Tar Pit Site which is a contaminated site on non-federal land for which the Yukon Government will be the project proponent. Although the Marwell Site is not located on federal lands and DIAND is not the custodian department its remediation will make a direct contribution to DIAND's Northern Affairs Organisation's Strategic Outcome - “The North”:
The objectives are:
Routine monitoring of the surface flow of heavy tar-like substances by the Yukon Department of Renewable Resources was undertaken in the late 1990s. Staff marked the known extent of contamination with pegs and then documented the movement of the tar-like substances over time. In 1997, this monitoring showed that the tar-like substances were seeping out of the bank of the creek northeast of the Marwell Tar Pit. The Yukon government excavated a 1-metre deep by 30-metre long interceptor trench parallel to the creek between the creek and the tar pit. A cross section of the tar plume could be seen along the interceptor trench wall. It did not appear that the plume had reached the creek. The interceptor trench has subsequently been effective as an interim measure to prevent contamination of the creek.
The questions ES students explored related to the possibility of hydrocarbons seeping into Marwell creek.
Samples of creek water were taken both up and down stream from the tar pit area.
Background: In the early 1940's, Standard Oil of California constructed a refinery near what is now the Marwell Tar Pit to refine crude oil piped from Norman Wells, NWT. The Refinery operated during 1944 and 1945. It was then shut down and sold. The Refinery and all its contents was purchased by Imperial Oil Ltd., who then dismantled the refinery and moved it to Leduc Alberta. When it was shut down, the hydrocarbon waste from the tanks and the refinery was deposited in a pit in the Marwell area and covered with a shallow layer of soil.
In 1958, a man walking through the Marwell Tar Pit became trapped in the semi-liquid tars and died of exposure. The coroner’s jury ‘strongly recommend that the oil pool, which has proven to be a hazard to life, be removed by whatever means necessary as soon as possible.’ Following this death, the Marwell Tar Pit was fenced. There was some dispute about who was responsible for this hazard. More extensive commercial development occurred along both sides of Mountain View Drive starting during this period. The South Access Road was re-routed and paved and Marwell creek was confined to storm sewers during these times.
In 1989, Environment Canada staff conducted a site investigation and collected water and soil samples from the pit and adjacent creek. The report found," Contamination from the tar pit was migrating in the direction of the creek, which flows into the Yukon River, but had not yet reached the creek. Soil in and near the pit was contaminated with a mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons." It was noted that “oil and grease” are considered a deleterious substance under the Fisheries Act and that the Marwell Tarp Pit should be cleaned up in order to prevent the creek and groundwater from becoming contaminated.
The Marwell Tar Pit Site was operated as a petroleum refinery, built on behalf of the United States Corp of Engineers, to process crude oil extracted from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories. The refinery operated between 1944 and 1945 after which it was subsequently closed and dismantled. Waste products from the refinery operations were deposited in what is currently referred to as the Marwell Tar Pit. These activities were directly related to Canada`s national security efforts in its role in supporting the Allied Forces during World War II.
For the past 20 years or so, a number of developments has occurred on the upper reaches of Marwell Creek. The Canada Games Center was constructed, The City of Whitehorse dumped snow and gravel from winter snow clearing activities into a gully the flows into Marwell Creek. This has been accumulating through out this time span along withe 10% salt that has been mixed with the gravel when it is spread on roads. This salt is dissolved and washed into Marwell creek. The escarpment along the study area has shown a number areas of soil instability, with slump occurring in at least two occasions.
In Budget 2004, the federal government set aside $500 million to cost-share the remediation of certain contaminated sites located on non-federal land, with provincial and/or territorial governments. In 2005, the federal government established Policy Framework for Shared-Responsibility Contaminated Site Project Funding which set out criteria for funding a portion of clean up costs for certain contaminated sites on non-federal lands, to the extent the contamination is a direct result of federal government activities or where the contamination resulted from the Government of Canada's national security efforts.
The Marwell Tar Pit Site is clearly an exceptional case since the Government of Canada neither directly or indirectly contributed to, nor mandated, the activity that created the contamination. At the request of Environment Canada, DIAND`s Northern Affairs Organization has taken the lead role on this project on behalf of the federal government because of its experience in dealing with contaminated sites in the North.
In order to discharge the Government of Canada's obligations arising from the cost-sharing agreement with another level of government, a separate Authority for the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is necessary which would guide making and monitoring transfer payments to the Yukon Government. The overall objective and expected outcome of this authority would be to remediate the Marwell Tar Pit Site which is a contaminated site on non-federal land for which the Yukon Government will be the project proponent. Although the Marwell Site is not located on federal lands and DIAND is not the custodian department its remediation will make a direct contribution to DIAND's Northern Affairs Organisation's Strategic Outcome - “The North”:
The objectives are:
- To eliminate, reduce or manage long-term risk to human health, safety and the environment at the Marwell Tar Pit Site in a cost effective manner;
- To implement a time-limited monitoring of the Site; and
- To maximize social and economic benefits that may accrue to First Nations and Yukoners, within the overall project cost.
Routine monitoring of the surface flow of heavy tar-like substances by the Yukon Department of Renewable Resources was undertaken in the late 1990s. Staff marked the known extent of contamination with pegs and then documented the movement of the tar-like substances over time. In 1997, this monitoring showed that the tar-like substances were seeping out of the bank of the creek northeast of the Marwell Tar Pit. The Yukon government excavated a 1-metre deep by 30-metre long interceptor trench parallel to the creek between the creek and the tar pit. A cross section of the tar plume could be seen along the interceptor trench wall. It did not appear that the plume had reached the creek. The interceptor trench has subsequently been effective as an interim measure to prevent contamination of the creek.
The questions ES students explored related to the possibility of hydrocarbons seeping into Marwell creek.
Samples of creek water were taken both up and down stream from the tar pit area.