Construction of a berm and extension of landfill gas management systems at the Cedar landfill are among elements in an impending Regional District of Nanaimo project.
The regional district has issued a request for qualifications on a project that includes deconstruction of a garage building, relocation of a sewer line, clearing of land and expansion of the landfill, and a leachate collection system.
Larry Gardner, regional district solid waste services manager, said it is the culmination of 15 years of planning.
“In early 2000, it was identified that in the event of a seismic event, we could see some movement of the landfill and damage some of the landfill infrastructure, the liner system and leachate containment gas system, so what we need to do is we need to build this berm to buttress the landfill in the event of seismic activity,” said Gardner.
He said the berm will also provide 10 years of capacity. When it is built, it will allow the regional district to build the landfill “a bit higher.”
Within the area on the landfill side of the berm will be a “trough area” that the regional district can fill and tie into the overall slope and grade to the landfill, he said.
“Within that area, once the berm’s built, we put in a liner system and our leachate collection and as we develop the site, we build in our landfill gas collection and all the other infrastructure that’s associated with proper containment of waste in a landfill,” Gardner said.
He said the price tag for the project is between $3 million and $4 million and is a big-ticket item on the 2016 budget.
The request for qualifications deadline is Friday (Feb. 26) and it serves as a shortlisting process for the eventual request for proposals.
It will ensure that qualified proponents will be available when the regional district goes to tender, which Gardner expects will be late spring.