An Environmental Appeals Board hearing regarding the approval of construction, operation, and reclamation of the Pembina Area Landfill near Drayton Valley, will no longer be taking place this week as previously scheduled.
Previously slated for Sept. 29-30, officials with Alberta’s Environmental Appeals Board say the two parties involved have now reached an agreement following a Board-appointed mediation process, negating the need for a hearing. Those parties include the approval holder – Secure Energy Services Inc., and the appellant, Normtek Radiation Services Ltd.
Officials say the hearing was in regards to a September 30, 2021 decision of Alberta Environment and Parks, to issue an approval for Secure Energy Services Inc. to build, operate and reclaim the Pembina Area Landfill, consisting of a Class 1 and Class II landfill, where more than 10,000 tonnes per year of hazardous waste and nonhazardous waste are disposed of.
Board officials acknowledge this was the second approval issued for the Pembina Area Landfill, with the first approval amended on July 14, 2016 to allow for the acceptance of NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) waste. The Board’s approval allows for the disposal of NORM waste below a certain level of radioactivity.
The appellant, Mr. Cody Cuthill and Normtek Radiation Services Ltd. (Normtek), claimed in the appeal that its main concern was the acceptance of NORM waste at the Pembina Area Landfill.
Naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) waste is described as a byproduct of certain industrial activities.
According to Alberta Labour:
“Although the concentration of NORM in most natural substances is so low that this risk is generally regarded as negligible, higher concentrations may arise as the result of industrial operations such as:
• mineral extraction and processing – NORM may be released or concentrated in a process stream during the processing of ore…;
• oil and gas production – NORM may be found in the fluids and gases from hydrocarbon‐bearing geological formations;
• metal recycling – NORM‐contaminated materials are redistributed to other industries…;
• forest products and thermal‐electric production – mineral ashes left from combustion may concentrate small amounts of NORM naturally present in plant material and coal;
The Environmental Appeals Board is an independent quasijudicial body that hears appeals of certain decisions made by Alberta Environment and Parks.
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