March 3, 2008

Technology

Insitu Contractors Inc. primes the pump for growth

Firm asks Ministry of the Environment to approve use of mobile sewage works

MARY BAXTER

correspondent

Guelph-based water treatment contractor is priming itself for more business by asking the Ministry of the Environment to approve its use of six mobile sewage works for the treatment of groundwater at sites that require excavation.

And although the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) say there’s no growing trend towards these types of units to treat water, others in the industry say they have become a necessity to ensure timely response for water treatment on construction sites.

Harry Oussoren, owner of Guelph-based Insitu Contractors Inc., says the decision to apply for a certificate of approval from the MOE for the units has in part to do with what the company anticipates to be a growing trend in brownfield development. The public consultation period for the approval closed earlier this month and the MOE decision is still pending.

“The market is going to open up,” Oussoren says, pointing to stricter provincial development rules such as its Greenbelt Act, intended not only to preserve green spaces surrounding the GTA but also to encourage developers to consider infilling as a viable option.

Tighter regulation on the establishment of wells is another factor, he says, explaining that Regulation 903 of the Ontario Water Resources Act now requires licensed water-well technicians and contractors for this type of work conducted on construction sites.

“The regulation governing the construction of wells has been changed once and it is currently being changed again,” he says, pointing out that the province has maintained a focus on water conservation since the contamination of Walkerton’s water system with E. coli in 2000.

That focus has also meant changes in other water regulations, having to do more studies and more testing. “It’s had a major impact on work we do,” says Oussoren.

Oussoren says that having mobile units will help his company to streamline its response time for projects because they involve a different method of obtaining approval from the MOE.

The approval process to create a treatment system for a specific site can take up to nine months to obtain. That time lag can make it a challenge to respond if contaminated water is discovered on a site.

Nick Gannon, Insitu’s environmental project manager, says certification of the mobile units offer a “level of flexibility that we wouldn’t previously have had.”

While site approval must be obtained from the ministry for their use each time, this approval process requires significantly less paperwork than that required for operating the water-treatment system, he explains.

Jeff Westeinde, chief operating officer of Quantum Murray, agrees. The company is a partnership between B.C.-based Quantum Environmental Group and Ontario-based Murray Demolition. It provides demolition, decommissioning and environmental remediation services.

Westeinde says Quantum, which has been operating in Ontario since 2002, was among the first to offer mobile treatment systems in the province.

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