Yellowknife (Oct 18/06) - The City of Yellowknife now can now treat contaminated soil.

The new treatment facility, built by the environmental remediation company Biogenie, breaks down hydrocarbons in contaminated soil by using a method called "bioliquidation," said Yvan Pouliot, the company's Northern Canada general manager.

The system consists of an asphalt pad, a runoff collection system and a lagoon. It has the capacity to handle 2,000-2,500 cubic metres of contaminated soil at a time, he said.

A bacteria solution is sprayed on earth spread on the pad, actively releasing the pollutants from the soil. The resulting runoff is then contained in the lagoon, he said.

"After the process, 90 to 95 per cent of the contaminant in the soil is gone."

After two months, most of the soil can be used for landfill needs, he said.

This year, 2,223 metric tonnes of soil are being remediated at the dump, with it costing $60 to dispose one metric tonne, he said.

The City of Yellowknife provided the land and Biogenie paid "less than half a million" to construct the soil treatment facility, said Pouliot. Biogenie contracted Camco Construction to build the asphalt pad.

The company expects to have a full-time employee working in Yellowknife between May and October, said Pouliot.

The new facility will help to deal with the stockpile of contaminated soil currently at the landfill site, said Dennis Kefalas, manager of public works and engineering with the city.

"We're trying to be proactive," he said.

Most of the contaminated soil is coming from commercial and industrial properties while some is from spills from oil trucks, said Bruce Underhay, landfill manager.

"This joint venture certainly made the city more environmentally responsible for contaminate."

The soil treatment facility is also capable of remediating any contaminated snow in its lagoon facility, he said.