Port Hope dredging program starts

The Municipality of Port Hope, Ontario, is conducting a suction dredge program on the Port Hope outer harbor.

According to their latest release, the dredging operations started earlier this week.

The Municipality and Cameco Corporation have been working collaboratively to resolve issues related to Cameco’s cooling water intake, located along the west harbor wall, which has been impacted by sedimentation deposits.

To conduct this operation, municipal staff have consulted with experts in the field of hydrology and have obtained permits/permission from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority.

In coordination with Cameco Corporation and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, the following work will be carried out:

• Suction dredge of approximately 20,000m³, including areas south of the center pier and along the west harbor wall;

• Temporarily store the dredged material on municipal property, west of Cameco;

• Coordinate the independent testing of the sediment to ensure that it conforms to the standards of the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP) for use as beach supplement.

Furthermore, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories will support the dredge operation through the Construction Monitoring Program and test for the presence of historic Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW).

Also, any contaminated materials detected will be transported to the Long-Term Waste Management Facility located in Port Hope, said the Municipality.