South Tailings Pond Wetlands Project
Wins 2007 Canadian Consulting Engineers Award of Excellence
October 2007
The Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine and the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada (ACEC) 2007 presented Klohn Crippen Berger with an Award of Excellence for the South Tailings Pond Wetlands, Millennium Mine, Alberta on October 23rd. The award is in the category of “Natural Resources, Mining & Industry”.
Klohn Crippen Berger prepared detailed construction design and provided construction assistance for the Suncor South Tailings Pond at the Millennium Mine in northern Alberta's oilsands. Construction on this project began in late 2004 and was completed in early 2006.
As part of this project, Klohn Crippen Berger, in association with subconsultant Riparia, prepared a plan to compensate for wetlands habitat affected during the operational and closure phases of the tailings pond.
The new tailings facility had a 20 km2 footprint that required diverting 5 km of a creek and creating stream and wetland habitat in compensation. The drainage plan was designed to reflect the evolving footprint of the tailings pond and dyke design. The plan maintains natural watershed boundaries wherever possible and mitigates the impact of the tailings pond on local creeks.
Klohn Crippen Berger chose an environmental approach that would produce a sustainable and naturally integrated wetlands system. This concept was a conscious change from the conventional "ditch and constructed wetlands pond" approach presented in the environmental impact assessment. The natural design was less than half the cost of the previous concept and was well supported by the provincial and federal regulators.
