CORAL HARBOUR SITE REMEDIATION PROJECTNON-TECHNICAL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY1.BACKGROUNDThe Government of Canada has implemented the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP) to clean up federally owned contaminated sites which pose risks to human health and the environment. Coral Harbour Site, Nunavut, is one of those sites. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) is the custodian of several such sites and sometimes the contamination of some of those sites could be linked to the past years of military operations by CIRNAC or Crown. Past legal opinions suggest that the Crown might have caused the bulk of the contamination on Coral Harbour Site. Consequently, CIRNAC applied for, and received funding approval under FSCAP, to clean up the Coral Harbour Site.Coral Harbour Site consists of areas around the Hamlet of Coral Harbour used between the 1940s to the mid 1950s as training areas and base for Northern operations by the US and Canadian Militaries. These areas were used as staging areas support operations (including the construction of DEW Line Sites) across Northern Canada. In the 1970s, military operations ceased in these areas, the airfield became the municipal airport and the rest of the site was abandoned. Coral Harbour Site is about 10 km northwest of the Hamlet of Coral Harbour. Past legal studies indicated that, though the Land regimes around the Coral Harbour Site belong to a number of organizations, a large amount of contamination on the site could be traced to Crown’s military operations on the site between 1940s to 1970s. The areas of environmental concerns identified at the site are: area of Tar Barrels, area of Full Barrels, a Barrel Cache, a Former Amy Base, area of the debris of the Former Airport and the Former Farm Tank area. These areas contain non-hazardous wastes (barrels, structures and surface debris); hazardous wastes (batteries, asbestos, lead paint, gas cylinders and contents of barrels); contaminated soils (soil exceeding human health and ecological risk assessment targetsand petroleum hydrocarbon stained surficial soils); and Waste Disposal Areas (containing buried debris). Works started on the site with site investigation conducted in 2020 followed by a supplemental site assessment in 2021. Based on the reports of the site assessment and the supplemental site assessment, an human health and ecological risk assessment report was developed together with the remedial action plan for the clean up of the site. Also developed was the project proposal report to identify the effects of the proposed remediation plan on the Coral Harbour site and its environs. The site remediation field work is planned to commence in October 2022 and will be completed about September/October 2024. 2.SITE LOCATION/ACCESSCoral Harbour site is located at approximate latitude, 64 11’ 30.257” N; and Longitude, 83 21’ 0” W and it is at about 10 km northwest of Coral Harbour (the nearest Nunavut community to the site). The site is accessible by ATV, snowmobile, airplanes, helicopter, and CAT train. Heavy equipment and materials can be moved to and out of the site by sealift or a combination of sealift and CAT train while personnel movement and supplies/resupplies can be done by helicopter, airplanes, or ATV. The proximity of the site to the Hamlet of Coral Harbour is an asset with regards to accessing the site.3.PROJECT ACTIVITIES & SCHEDULEEnvironmental site assessment (ESA) activities were carried out to identify and estimate the quantities and extents of contaminants of concerns on Coral Harbour site. Reports of these assessment studies were produced by Earth Tech (2008); WESA (2012); and by Stantec (2020 and 2021). Based on these site assessment studies, a site clean plan was developed for the cleanup of Coral Harbour site. Following the development of the draft of the plan, a community consultation, in the form of public meeting, was held in Coral Harbour on March 2, 2021. The meeting was well attended by members of the communities and feedbacks from the meetings were considered when the plan was finalized.The cleanup of the Coral Harbour site is planned for the years 2022 to 2024. Summary of tasks to be completed at the site include: mobilization to site; improvement of site access routes, site internal roads and airstrips; Camp set-up and operation; and the actual remediation of the site. Full details of works to be completed are contained in the remedial action plan (RAP) previously submitted to the regulatory bodies via Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC) with a copy attached to this application. Final demobilization from the site will take place by September/October 2024.Prior to the start of the remedial works, authorizations will be obtained from the following regulatory bodies: Nunavut Planning Commission NPC (Conformity Check – already granted); Nunavut Impact Review Board (Screening); CIRNAC Land Administration for the Land Use Permit and Quarrying Permits; and Nunavut Water Board (NWB) for Water Use Licence.Following the completion of site remediation at Coral Harbour site, CIRNAC will embark on up to 25 years of long term monitoring of the site to ensure the stability of the non-hazardous landfill facility that will be built on the site. Any problems discovered during the post-remediation monitoring shall be fixed. This monitoring procedure is in accordance to CIRNAC’s Abandoned Military Sites Remediation Protocol (AMSRP).4.SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROJECTAs much as possible, the project has adopted and will continue to adopt solutions tailored to the northern environment and its inhabitants, by using local knowledge and including the unique needs of northerners and their environments in the remediation work plan.Public community consultation meetings will continue to be held in Coral Harbour as the site cleanup activities progress to discuss employment and sub-contracting opportunities and the progress of site works from time to time. The meetings will invite community members, members of the Hamlet Council and local Inuit organizations. The contracting/procurement procedure that will be adopted for this project will maximize the benefits of the project to the closest northern community (Coral Harbour) by employing local and northern employees and engaging the services of local and northern sub-contractors.