Clover Bar landfill capping would be a 'significant reduction' in Edmonton's emissions
Thirteen years after closing to the public, Edmonton's Clover Bar landfill continues to release methane fumes, with plans to implement capture technology converting them into renewable biogas moving ahead.
First opened in 1975, the Clover Bar landfill was the city's first engineered sanitary landfill featuring groundwater diversion and leachate treatment.
It was able to operate for 20 years longer than planned after recycling programs were brought online, finally closing in August 2009 after reaching full capacity.
According to the city's proposed waste services capital funding request for this budget cycle, safety and environmental enhancements to the landfill site need to be constructed, including erosion controls and a cutoff wall to prevent leaks into the North Saskatchewan River.
City council's utility committee met privately Friday to discuss the landfill-gas-to-renewable-gas conversion project. That was approved, also privately, in February 2021.
A landfill gas collection system has been in place since 1992, the capital profile report for the project notes. It is currently owned and operated by Capital Power under a contract that ends in 2024.
The city will take back control of the gas conversion site, but a condition assessment shows it needs upgrades to meet minimum environmental regulations.
The proposed utility budget calls for $16.7 million to upgrade the landfill gas collection and flare system. Capital Power will fund $4 million of that project and the city will leverage a provincial grant for $10 million.
The city will contribute $2.7 million, with the remaining $14 million will be "funded externally."
Once operational in 2024, the city anticipates it will produce approximately 325,500 gigajoules of renewable natural gas annually.
According to city administration, council heard about the project in private since disclosure of discussions could harm "economic and other interests of a public body."
While specifics of what was discussed at that meeting are not known, some form of the project update required council approval.
When asked by Mayor Amarjeet Sohi during open utility committee proceedings what actions the city could take any action to "expedite" progress on addressing the city's climate change and resiliency goals, Denis Jubinville, waste services manager, pointed to capping the landfill.
"Likely the largest impact we can have on our region is capping the Clover Bar Landfill," Jubinville told the committee.
"We know there's very harmful landfill gas that's able to escape through the top of it," he added. We need to cap it. We need to put three feet of clay on top of it. And so that's what we are doing with our, I guess, landfill gas system that we are putting in place in the coming two years."
"That will be a significant reduction in greenhouse gas."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.