The former Cypress Agri Services Inc. (CASI) site is located adjacent to the junction of First Avenue East and the Canadian National (CN) rail line in Carberry and is one of five designated contaminated sites in Manitoba. The site is owned by CN and was historically used by CASI as a fertilizer blending and warehouse facility. Fertilizer products known to have been handled by CASI included urea, ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate, potassium chloride, zinc oxide, boron, copper oxide and sulphur.
In 1996, groundwater contamination (ammonia and nitrates) resulting from activities at the subject site were first identified. The site is located above the Assiniboine Delta Aquifer, which is a very large unconfined sand aquifer from which the domestic water supply in the Town of Carberry is provided via private wells. Due to the potential effects of the contaminated groundwater at the site on nearby domestic water supplies, the site was designated as a Contaminated Site in 1997.
Groundwater sampling conducted by Sustainable Development in 2008 confirmed that contamination at the site was still present and ammonium and nitrate concentrations in residential water supplies adjacent to the site remained below the allowable limits. In 2017 and 2018, CN conducted two environmental assessments to further delineate the extent of groundwater contamination. Additional residential water monitoring also revealed that groundwater contamination was not confined to the site and concentrations in residential groundwater supplies were approaching the maximum allowable concentrations for nitrates, nitrites and sulphates for drinking water guidelines.
The Province of Manitoba is seeking a professional consultant to provide remedial options and associated cost estimates to mitigate the risk to human and environmental health and safety at the site.
Inquiries related to this RFQ are to be directed, in writing, no later than 4:00 pm CST on December 12, 2018. For further information or to obtain copies of the tender documents, contact:
Darrell Ouimet, Environment Officer
Sustainable Development
1007 Century Street
Winnipeg, MB R3H 0W4
Fax No: 204-945-2338
E-mail: Darrell.Ouimet@gov.mb.ca
Tender packages must be downloaded from the MERX Website. Tender packages are available ONLY on MERX and are FREE OF CHARGE. Should you require assistance downloading the document from MERX please call MERX at 1-800-964-6379 for assistance.
