Case study: Remediation of a former landfill protects the Saint Lawrence and improves an urban area in Montreal
The City of Montreal’s Rehabilitation of the Pointe-Saint-Charles industrial park project is the 2020 winner in the brownfields category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards.
LAND USE
The City of Montreal’s Rehabilitation of the Pointe-Saint-Charles industrial park project is the 2020 winner in the brownfields category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards.
The Pointe-Saint-Charles industrial park is built on part of a 123-hectare former landfill site. When contamination from the site was observed in the Saint Lawrence River, temporary containment and pumping measures were put in place until a more permanent, sustainable solution was identified. Now an impermeable barrier prevents further leakage, and an innovative treatment process is being used to remediate the site.
Project creates permanent barrier while toxins are removed
Since the project site was used as a landfill for 100 years, the contaminated material was as deep as 16 metres. To fully stop contaminant migration into the Saint Lawrence, the project team built an impermeable cement-bentonite wall to permanently block the flow of groundwater and associated contaminants and hydrocarbons. To remediate the brownfield site, water is pumped from a network of wells and directed to the appropriate treatment method for the type of contamination. This process is designed to limit the use of raw materials and generate less waste.
Remediation of the brownfield improves the area for residents, businesses
The environmental impacts of the project are being carefully measured to ensure the groundwater levels remain similar to what they were before the impermeable barrier was built, and to monitor contamination levels in the water being pumped. The system has the flexibility to automatically adjust the pumping rate as well as the treatment process. In addition, the project contributes to improving the living environment in the business park as part of the City’s urban development plan.
By remediating the site, the City will be able to improve residents’ access to the Saint Lawrence by redeveloping an expressway into an urban boulevard along the river and adding a bike path connecting the downtown area to the West Island and the South Shore. Over 200 trees will be planted on the site to foster ecological diversity and migratory bird nesting. With these improvements to make the industrial park more appealing, the City hopes to attract new businesses to the area, and in the coming years the City will be able to sell several lots, both economic benefits of the project.
Technical challenges led to innovative solutions
One of the challenges the project faced was the presence of ammoniacal nitrogen, which can be toxic to wildlife and contributes to deteriorating health of waterways. Few treatments exist, and the most common one is sensitive to changes in temperature, pH and effluent. The innovative struvite precipitation treatment that the project team used is less sensitive to change and produces a salt composed of nitrogen, phosphorus and magnesium that can be used as fertilizer, creating a virtuous circle. It is a new technology that can easily be replicated in other communities.
Another challenge the project faced was the construction of the barrier wall itself. Extensive investigative work and detailed plans were required to mitigate the risks of building among waste materials in an urban area with sensitive underground infrastructure, such as fibre optics.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
Related Resources
See All
Community efficiency financing
Land Use
Webinar recording: Making sustainable land use decisions in your municipality
Watch our webinar to explore tools for sustainable land use decision-making. Learn to assess financial and climate impacts and apply practical strategies for your municipality.
Land Use
Toolkit: Making sustainable land use decisions in your municipality
Solutions for Canadian communities to achieve significant GHG emissions reductions in buildings and meet long-term sustainability objectives.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: How to get a project started, tips for small francophone communities
If you’re a small francophone municipality looking to develop sustainability projects and access funding, watch this webinar to learn how others overcame common challenges.
Land Use
Learning Journey: Brownfields Redevelopment in your community
Find out how to rehabilitate and redevelop brownfields
Land Use
Webinar recording: Benefits of integrated intensification for sustainable community development
This webinar teaches participants how land use decisions are tied to the fiscal health of a municipality and its ability to achieve climate targets.
Land Use
Video: new purpose for a 20-year-old brownfield site
Tara Tran, Senior planner, shares tips on how to sustain your efforts and progress in brownfield (or others) projects.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: Take your project from study to capital
Watch this webinar recording and discover how others have successfully converted studies into a capital project that provides social, economic and environmental benefits.
Energy
Webinar recording: The 5 keys to a green municipal project business case
Watch this webinar recording and discover the five critical focus areas you need to address to get your project started, from financing and partnerships to integrating a triple-bottom-line approach.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmaps
GMF's Brownfield Roadmaps provide a detailed overview of the process of bringing contaminated or abandoned sites back into productive use in your province or territory.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recordings: Best practices in municipal sustainability
How are cities and communities of all sizes tackling their environmental challenges? Find out from our five-part webinar series on innovations and opportunities in municipal energy, waste, water, transportation and land use initiatives.
Land Use
Report: Sustainable land use practices in Canadian municipalities
A snapshot of emerging trends, key issues and best practices in sustainable land use.
Land Use
Guide: LiBRe best practices framework
The LiBRe program is structured around a best practices framework for becoming a municipal leader in brownfield renewal.
Land Use
Guide: Getting started on your brownfield sites
Discover how to raise awareness and secure a formal commitment to support brownfield redevelopment in your municipality. Read the guide.
Land Use
Guide: Developing a municipal brownfield inventory
Free guidebook. 10 steps to creating your brownfield inventory. Libre Guidebook series.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: How to prepare a GMF capital project application
Need advice for preparing your GMF capital project funding application? Watch our webinar recording to hear tips from our staff and find out what reviewers are looking for.
Land Use
Guide: Evaluate and improve your municipal brownfield programs
See how two communities benefit from evaluating their brownfield programs and find tips you can use in your municipality to enhance your offering.
Land Use
Tool: Benefits of Sustainable Brownfield Activities
Cleaning up contaminants and redeveloping a brownfield site can bring communities a number of environmental, economic and social benefits. You can achieve even greater benefits by incorporating sustainable approaches throughout the site remediation and risk management activities.
Land Use
Tool: Sustainable Remediation and Risk Management Options
Any technique that remediates or manages the risk of contamination at a site has an environmental benefit as it eliminates or reduces exposure to contaminants. Some techniques, however, are more sustainable than others.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Manitoba
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Manitoba.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: British Columbia
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in BC.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Nunavut
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Nunavut.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Alberta
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Alberta.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Nova Scotia
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in Nova Scotia.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Ontario
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Ontario.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Newfoundland and Labrador
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Prince Edward Island
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in Prince Edward Island.
Land Use
Tool: Sustainable Site Assessments
You can use various techniques to find out whether a suspected brownfield site contains contaminated soil or groundwater.
Land Use
Tool: Finding Remediation Service Providers
Get a sense of the services required at different project stages and find providers using various directories.
Land Use
Phase II Environmental Site Assessment and Remedial Action Plan, Cooper Site
As part of a plan to build a University of Waterloo satellite campus next to its downtown core, the City of Stratford completed a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment and Remedial Action Plan for the Cooper Site, a 7-hectare former industrial site.
Land Use
Case study: Ladysmith Waterfront Brownfield Study
The Town of Ladysmith commissioned three studies of contamination at a former industrial site on its waterfront, to review options for remediation.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Quebec
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Quebec.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Northwest Territories
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Northwest Territories.
Land Use
Tool: Sustainable remediation
Almost every Canadian municipality is home to a brownfield site.
Land Use
Webinar recording: How to build partnerships to help revitalize your brownfields
Waterfronts were once bustling engines of a past industrial economy; some now sit vacant — void of the productivity that once supported their communities.
Waste
Six sustainability ideas that have gone mainstream in Canada: Article series
In a series of six articles, we explore inspiring projects and sustainability solutions being implemented in cities and towns of all sizes across Canada.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Fostering brownfield redevelopment
Learn best practices in brownfield revitalization you can apply in your municipality, and understand FCM's brownfield funding opportunities and resources.
Land Use
Tool: Evaluation tools for sustainable remediation and risk management
Browse through a range of tools to help you evaluate your options and compare potential benefits.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: New Brunswick
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in New Brunswick.
Land Use
Report: Leadership in Brownfield Renewal Program Annual Review
Discover brownfield redevelopment initiatives and advancements in Canadian municipalities made during the Leadership in Brownfield Renewal program's inaugural year.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Ideas to move brownfield projects forward
Join this webinar to get practical ideas for working with partners and community groups to bring abandoned properties back into productive use.
Waste
Guide: Sustainable Neighbourhood Development
This guide, Sustainable Neighbourhood Development: Practical Solutions to Common Challenges, is designed to help you re-imagine your municipality's approach to planning, development and regulation.
Land Use
Guide: Promoting brownfield programs and opportunities in Canada
Read this step-by-step guide to marketing brownfield redevelopment opportunities to local developers and property owners.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Introduction to the brownfield redevelopment process
Watch this webinar recording for an introduction to the process of developing a brownfield site in your community, from the environmental assessment to site remediation.
Land Use
Guide: Tendering a municipal brownfield project
Conducting an efficient tendering process is a key step in managing a successful brownfield redevelopment project.