Apache prepares to treat contaminated soil as Pointed Mountain cleanup continues

Apache Canada recently capped four long-abandoned natural gas wells at the shuttered Pointed Mountain production site inN.W.T.'s Dehcho region, and is now planning to treat and remove enough contaminated soil to fill London's Royal Albert Hall(and then some).

Former operator BP Energy Canada stopped producing natural gas from six wells atPointed Mountain in 2001 after nearly 30 years of production. The site is located about 30 kilometres northwest of Fort Liard, and west of the Liard River in the Liard Range of the Franklin Mountains.

Apache acquired the project from BP in 2010 and is responsible for the site's cleanup.

Paul Wyke, a spokesperson for Apache, said the company capped four wells earlierthis month.

One of the next phases of the cleanup,slated to begin in2017, will involve on-site treatment of soil contaminated by hydrocarbons, possibly through aeration, as well as removing other soil suspected of containing contaminants of concern, such as chlorides, to a licensed landfill outside of the territory.

Altogether, about 135,000 cubic metres of soil needs to be treated andremoved.

A consultant'sreportcommissioned by Apache and released in 2012 said the site was home to an estimated 266,363 cubic metres of contaminated soil and debris.

Cleanup to be finished in 2019, saysApache

The ultimate goal is to restore the land so that people can use it for harvesting, farming, plant gathering and camping.

The remediation work is slated to wrap upin 2019.

Fort Liard Chief Harry Deneron has previously voiced frustration with how long it's taken to clean up the site.

He could not be reached for comment.

The territory's Department of Lands holds $400,000 in securities in the form of a irrevocable letter of credit from the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Canada) on behalf of Apache for the Pointed Mountain cleanup.