Thompson-Nicola Regional District has picked Clearwater's Black River Contracting Ltd. to remove 24,000 cubic meters of mineral soil from the Bear Creek gravel pit and stockpile it at the Clearwater Landfill for final closure.
Total value of the contract is $157,000, excluding HST.
Clearwater Landfill is scheduled to be closed in 2012. To accomplish the closure a large volume of mineral soil is needed for a one-meter thick final cover layer. This soil is an integral part of the evapotranspirative final cover system that has been approved by the Ministry of Environment. The closure system, combined with methane oxidation beds, was provided a grant of $2.1 million under the Gas Tax Agreement's Innovation Fund.
Suitable soil was located for the project in an area of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) Bear Creek gravel pit. The soil is too fine for use by MOTI but ideal for use as landfill cover. MOTI agreed to allow TNRD to excavate the required 24,000 cubic meters of soil from its reserve at no material cost to the TNRD, provided the environmental and archaeology assessments required to develop the pit and all other required consultation were done by the regional district.
The studies and consultation were completed in 2010-2011. Bear Creek pit was logged and cleared in 2011.
Nine bids were received in response to the tender call, with Black River Contracting being the lowest.