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3TuesdayOctober222013FosterFamilyAppreciationWeekOctober21-272012ToFortSmithFosterFamiliesTheSocialServicesstaffattheFortSmithHealthSocialServicesAuthoritywouldliketotakethisopportunitytosaythankyoutothefosterfamiliesinFortSmithwhoprovideday-to-daycaretochildren.AsafosterparentyouareanintegralpartofourSocialWorkTeamandyourservicesplayasignificantroleinkeepingchildrensafe.Yourwillingnesstoopenyourhomesandheartstofamiliesandchildreninneedisgreatlyappreciated.Itiswiththeexcellentsupportandcaregivenbypeoplelikeyourselvesthatchildreninourcommunityareabletoremainsafeandsecure.Thankyou.October20-262013thatraisedconcernatthesiteandthereforewellbeputtingintheproposaltodothethirdphasenextsummer.Zinchasshownupasthepri-maryconcerninsamplestakenfromthetop30cmofsoilwithanaveragelevelofover2700partspermillionppm-eighttimestheindustrystandardof360ppm.Leadtooexhibitedanele-vatedpresenceintheareawithameanconcentrationof570ppm.Thoughjustundertheindustryguideof600ppmtheaverageindicatesmanysitesareaboveacceptablelevels.Initialtestingofwaterinpondsadjacenttotherailbedatsevenrivercrossingsandatseverallakesshowedgen-erallyverygoodsurfacewaterqualityPikesaid.Themetallevelswerenotelevatedwithinthosewaterbodies.Wedidndhoweverthatthereweresomeelevatedmetalconcentrationsinthesedimentimmediatelyadja-centtotherailbed.Alongwithmetalsthestudyalsolookedintothepresenceofpolycyclicaromatichydro-carbonsPAHsalongtherailbed.Thosewereprimarilyfoundtobeaconcernalbeitasmallonearoundoldbridgestotalingabout25cubicmetresofcontaminatedsoil.Someoftheoldrivercross-ingstheabutmentsthatwereusedtosupportthebridgesusedcreosote-treatedtimberPikesaid.Whatwerendingisverylocalizedhydrocarbonimpactaroundthoseabutments.Soitsaprettyminorissuebutonethatsonourradar.Anothersmallerissueisthatoflead-basedpaintontheoldbridgeacrosstheBuffaloRiverwhichPikesaidwouldEnvironmentContaminantsGridconnectionwouldseeTaltsonexpansionContinuedfrompage1.ThetechnicalcaseisnottheproblemweknowitcanbebuiltsaidtheministerwhoisalsoresponsiblefortheNWTPowerCorp.WiththebusinesscasewehavetoconvinceOttawathatwereamatureenoughjurisdictionthatwehaveaverygoodcreditratingthatwererec-ognizedasbeingwellrunthatwerescallyprudent.FederalFinancespokes-personDavidBarnabesaidhewouldntbeabletospec-ulateonwhetherornotthedepartmentwouldconsiderraisingtheborrowinglimit.Miltenbergersaidthedia-mondmineshavealreadyin-dicatedtheywouldconnecttothegridinaheartbeatifitwasavailableandwouldbuildtheirownlinesthe100-kmdistancetomeetthenewspurasoneyearofextendedminelifeisworthover250million.AnexpandedgridwouldalsologicallyleadtothelongawaitedTaltsonhydroexpansionoriginallypro-posedtopowerthediamondminesviaasinglelinenorthMiltenbergersaid.Compa-niesthatbalkedatthepriceofpowerfromtheTaltsonalongwithnewcompaniesthatcouldcomeaboardwithaSaskatchewanintertiewillnowrequiretheaddedpowerwhichwouldcomeatalowerprice.Wewanttobringthepowertowheredevelopmentwillbehappeningsothatwecanpromotedevelopment.TheresapotentialforninenewminesintheNorthwestTerritoriesby2020andeveryoneofthemwantscheaperpowerPremierBobMcLeodsaidintheHouseontherstdayoffallsessionlastThursday.WerealsotalkingwithourcolleaguessouthofusSaskatchewanAlbertaBCwhoareveryinterestedinpower.ForexampleSaskatch-ewan-totieintoTaltsonitsonly119kmaway.Sowedonlyneedtobuildatransmis-sionlineofthatmagnitude.NeitherMcLeodnorMilt-enbergergaveacostestimateforthepotentialSaskatche-wanintertie.PhotoDonJaqueTheTaltsondamexpansionprojectwilllikelymoveforwardoncethehydrogridsarelinkedaccordingtoMichaelMiltenbergerministerresponsiblefortheNTPowerCorp.HighlevelsofmetalsfoundonoldPinePointrailbedMoreresearchneededtounderstandpossiblehealthimpactsByMEAGANWOHLBERGElevatedlevelsofleadandzincpresentinandaroundtheoldrailbedfromHayRivertothedefunctPinePointminesitecouldbecauseforcon-cernaccordingtofederalsci-entistswiththedepartmentofAboriginalAffairsandNorth-ernDevelopmentAANDC.Arecentstudylookingintothepresenceofmetalsandhydrocarboncontaminantsalongthehistoricraillineshowsheightenedlevelsofbothleadandzincataround200sitesstringingthe70-kmstretchwithsomeareaspre-sentinglevelsfarexceedingindustrialguidelines.Accordingtoprojectman-agerEmmaPikewhoworksinAANDCscontaminantsandremediationdivisiontheelevatedlevelsraiseconcernsandwarrantfur-therresearchintopossiblehealthandenvironmentalimpactsnextsummer.WhatwehaventdoneyetistolookatwhatthatmeansisthismetalbioavailableorisitkindofboundwithinthematerialIsitarisktopeopleWedontknowthatyet.Thatwillbethenextstageshesaid.Itdenitelyissomethinghavetobeconsideredinthenalremediationplan.TheraillinebetweenHayRiverandPinePointoperatedforabout25yearswhenitwasdecommissionedinthemid-1990sfollowingtheminesclosurein1988.Theinfrastructurewasre-movedanderosioncontrolmeasuresputinplacebyCNRailafterwhichthelandwasrelinquishedtothefederalgov-ernmentwhichbeganlookingintocontaminantsfollowingre-centinterestintherailwayex-pressedbyminingcompanieseyeingupthePinePointsite.Wheninitialtestingre-vealedelevatedlevelsofthemetalsamorethoroughas-sessmentwaslaunched.Scientistsmadeapointoffocusingonsitesidentiedbythenearbycommunitiesorthroughhistoricdocumentationasparticularareasofconcernsuchasplaceswheretraincarsderailedorspilledorwherethereweresignsofissueslikegroundstainingorunusualfea-tureslikestressedvegetation.Pikesaidthepresenceofcon-taminantsalongtherailbedislikelytheproductofdustthathadblownoffcarsduringtrans-portfromthemine.Weanticipatethatwastheresultofuncoveredrailcarsleavingdustonthesoil.Itswhatwecallfugitivedustitwouldhavejustblownoutoftherailcarsandlandedontherailbedshesaid.Thereslikelydustim-pactsasyouheadawayfromtherailbedbutitseemstobewhatyouwouldexpectfromdustdeposition-con-centratedontherailbedandasyoumoveawayyoullndalowerandlowervalue.Pikesaidthendingsfromnextsummerssamplingwilldeterminewhatcourseofre-mediativeactionthedepart-mentwilltakewithrespecttothesite.Resultsareexpectedsometimein2015.Wewouldlookatallop-tionsbasedontherisklevelshesaid.Iftheremediationismorealongthelinesofariskmanagementapproachwhereitsperhapsnotdoneinphasesthenwemightcontinuemonitoringforalongerperiodoftime.Iftheremediationismorealongthelinesofremov-ingcertainhotspotsorcertainareasofhighercontaminationthenitjustmightbeashort-termmonitoringsituationuntilweknowtheriskismitigated.PhotocourtesyofColumbiaEnvironmentalConsultingLtd.EnvironmentalconsultantstakesoilsamplesatasiteadjacenttothedefunctPinePointminerailbed.