GPro Talks

Upcoming Talks

• Sep 25

  Environmental Assessment and Permitting Requirements for Construction De-wateringkeyboard_arrow_down

  The planning and environmental permitting for construction of a deep underground electrical distribution line presented unique environmental challenges with respect to groundwater management. Recent changes to the Water Sustainability Act and constraints in sewer capacity have made the planning & permitting process and water management during construction significantly more complex. This presentation presents one such project of a recently constructed underground distribution line in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, BC. The presentation will cover the regulatory framework, the permitting process, groundwater assessment, options for groundwater management and how groundwater was ultimately managed with close involvement of the local First Nation during construction. The presentation will focus on key challenges that project proponents face in light of the recent changes in the Water Sustainability Act, how the challenges were overcome, and what the future holds for these types of project moving forward.

  John Taylor

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• Oct 2

  Electro-Coagulation for Groundwater Treatmentkeyboard_arrow_down

  Now EC is seeing increasing use in another world entirely – the treatment of contaminated water including groundwater, landfill leachate, industrial wastewater, oily bilge water, greywater and blackwater from ships, municipal sewage, and household domestic greywater for reuse. Recently, Golder has started to apply this technology in the mining, solid waste and transportation sectors. Recent research has shown the ability of EC to be modified to remove specific contaminants in the water – anodes made with magnesium, for example, have been shown to be successful in removing ammonia nitrogen during an EC-assisted struvite (a molecule made of equimolar concentration of orthophosphate, ammonium and magnesium) formation process. Also, major improvements have been made in recent years in anode and cathode cleaning methods in order to displace contaminants and debris from the anode and cathode surfaces, so that they retain their abilities to release cations, hydroxyl and hydrogen bubbles. EC can remove contaminants that are soluble as well as in suspension, and it works with a wide range of contaminants. That includes many contaminants that are difficult to remove by other methods, including cyanide, fluoride, sulfur and phenols. This makes EC a good solution particularly when there is a waste stream with many different contaminants, and where there is a need to treat the water with a single process.

  Éric Bergeron

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Past Talks

• Sep 18

  The use of In-situ high resolution site characterization (HRSC) tools to support Remediation/Site-closures.keyboard_arrow_down

  It is much easier to make good decisions if you have good quality data. Remediation/Site closure programs can fail from the lack of a thorough understanding of subsurface conditions. Contaminant distribution can be complex and traditional sampling techniques can result in high variability and large data gaps. The use of In-situ high resolution site characterization (HRSC) tools have become a key component of site assessment and decision making in support of remediation/Site closure. Mr. O’Neill is a project manager at Vertex Environmental Inc., manages the high resolution site characterization division, and has years of experience designing and implementing high resolution site characterization programs targeting chlorinated solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons. Mr. O’Neill holds a Master’s degree from the University of Waterloo where he studied groundwater modeling of the Grand River watershed and how climate change scenarios will affect the watershed.

  Patrick O'Neill

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• Sep 11

  Intro to 2019/2020 GPro Talks Seasonkeyboard_arrow_down

  Join us on September 11th at 10 am, where you will hear an intro to what is planned for the 2019/2020 season.  The GeoEnviroPro Training partners are excited to share the upcoming topics and other learning opportunities with you.

  N/A

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• May 29

  The Permeable Reactive Barrierkeyboard_arrow_down

  A rerun of last winter's webinar - Since everyone seems to be including PRBs in their remedial options assessments (usually by asking an innocent, guileless contractor to do a free "budgetary" estimate), let's take 20 minutes to review how they work, how you build them, and what drives the costs.

  Pete Craig, M.Sc., PChem (BC)

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• May 22

  Re-purposing Soil Contamination at the Source Site: Case Studieskeyboard_arrow_down

  The use of conventional ‘dig and dump’ as a sole method for soil remediation has been on the decline for some time. In British Columbia, the majority of sites are now being remediated using risk-based methods. For sites with contaminated soil, this means that contamination is now often being managed in place. As an extension to strict in-situ soil management, certain sites are amenable to purposeful re-location and consolidation of waste soils, often in conjunction with site redevelopment. This talk will present on how consolidation of waste soils can be achieved at sites when supported by risk assessment. Three case studies will be presented illustrating a range of examples where this approach has been applied.   Bio: Stefan Quaglia has been conducting Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessments (HHERAs) throughout BC at Contaminated Sites for over 18 years. In 2013 Stefan started a consulting firm, Trillium Environmental, specializing in providing risk-based solutions. He is a registered professional biologist and a CSAP Risk Assessment Approved Professional in BC. Stefan has enjoyed the opportunities he has had to work with a wide range of talented professionals to develop risk-based remediation solutions at contaminated sites.

  Stefan Quaglia, RPBio, CSAP; Trillium Environmental Ltd.

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• May 15

  Groundwater Quality vs Groundwater Quantity: An Emerging Industrykeyboard_arrow_down

  Well installation and annular seal construction techniques that are widely accepted may not be working as constructed. The importance of isolating the primary producing aquifer cannot be stated strongly enough - an effective annular seal above and below the aquifer needs to be established. For any new well construction or well rehabilitation, the importance of understanding the complete hydrostratigraphy cannot be understated. It is and never should be a question of groundwater quantity over groundwater quality. Proper and effective well workover technique includes the incorporation of a thorough evaluation of well construction details, borehole geophysical logs, geochemistry of the aquifers penetrated, and historical well data. This talk continues the discussion on being the solution - help preserve groundwater and the future of the industry. This issue and corresponding corrective actions represent new business opportunities/markets for the established water well professional. BIO: Bruce Manchon is a California, Nebraska and Texas Professional Geologist with over 35 years of professional experience in the environmental and petroleum industries.  He received a B.A. in geology from the University of Colorado and is a senior hydrogeologist and owner of Janeil Environmental Solutions in Boulder, Colorado. Currently, he is responsible for oversight of the technical aspects within the project scope relating to geology and hydrogeology, remediation and ensuring that the technical objectives of the scope of work are met for a variety of commercial clients. Bruce has direct experience with metals contaminated soil and ground water projects in many varied hydrogeological settings, including sand and clay terrains as well as karst (epikarst), hard rock and fractured rock environments. Scope of experience includes field investigation, extensive hydrostratigraphic analysis to define the effects of hydrogeology on contaminant fate and transport, geochemistry and contaminant recovery for vadose and saturated zone remediation programs. Bruce is part of a team in Nebraska, that is evaluating municipal wells for the improvement of groundwater quality.

  Bruce Manchon, P.G. of Janeil Environmental Solutions

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