Science, industrial sectors converge at CLRA event.

Industrial and environmental sectors are increasingly working together as more countries begin to demand that industrial companies conform to environmental requirements and regulatory approval.

An upcoming Ottawa conference on land reclamation represents a place where corporate and scientific worlds are able to find common ground.

The 31st Annual Meeting and Conference of the Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA) and 9th Meeting of the International Affiliation of Land Reclamationists (IALR) takes place Aug. 20 to 23.

More than 150 attendees, ranging from academics, consultants, as well as representatives from industries and governments from around the world, are set to make their way to Ottawa's Crowne Plaza Hotel, where the event is being hosted.

The conference will feature approximately 80 technical presentations, covering a broad spectrum of topics related to land reclamation, including revegetation strategies, city stream restoration and erosion control, mine rehabilitation and the use of biomass in mine recovery.

Northern Ontario will be well-represented at the conference. Representatives from Inco Ltd. will be on hand to discuss their work on the decommissioning of the Whistle Mine near Sudbury. Other presentations will deal with reclamation studies being undertaken by Laurentian University on behalf of De Beers' Victor project at Attawapiskat, as well as metal availability in Sudbury soils.

While there will be a number of Canadian speakers, the discussions will not be limited to a strictly North American perspective.

"We have a plenary speaker from Australia who will talk about advances in mine site rehabilitation in that country," says Bryan Tisch, conference chair and co-president of the Ontario chapter of the CLRA. "We also have a speaker from Britain who will be discussing survey results on the current state of closure practices within the mining industry, as well as two speakers from Montana who will talk about their experiences in community involvement in the reclamation of environmental sites and the effect of smelter emissions and tailings deposition, respectively."

An industry tradeshow and student paper and poster competition will also be featured at the conference.

On Aug. 24 and 25 delegates can partake in a field trip to the Deloro mine site, a multimillion-dollar initiative of the Ministry of Environment to clean up the abandoned mining and manufacturing site in Deloro, Ont. Participants will have a chance to examine various reclamation scenarios and successes, and examine its impact on the Moira River watershed.

Heading up the post-conference field trip is Bill Mackasey, a consultant with Sudbury-based WOM Geological Associates. Mackasey, who is also one of the Ontario directors of the CLRA and a member of the conference's organizing committee, says that the diversity of speakers and attendees is necessary in order to find solutions to this increasingly important environmental issue.

"To solve problems and challenges like those posed by land reclamation, you need people from all backgrounds, like biologists, chemists, civil engineers, and so on," he says. "At a conference like this, it's sometimes like a three-ring circus, but there are so many people there who think outside the box. It offers a different way of looking at things, and if you go in with an open mind, you can always learn something."

Tisch agrees, pointing out that with the growing need for companies, governments and environmentalists to be mindful of reclamation-related regulations, conferences such as those hosted by the CLRA-IALR offer the opportunity to interact with like-minded colleagues, as well as movers and shakers from alternate sectors.

"One of the keys for us is that we are not focused on a particular area of sectors, such as mining, but rather on several areas, which allows for some good discussion of issues and solutions across these sectors," Tisch says.

"There are things that the one sector can learn from another. For example, techniques and land use issues in the reclamation of aggregate pits and quarries is sometimes applicable to reclamation of base metal mines."

While this cross-sector co-operation has helped to find more effective means and methods for implementing land reclamation, growing numbers of companies are becoming concerned with learning even more about the issue.

"There have been many environmental and social horror stories that industry has had to deal with," Tisch says. "Knowledge levels of the public have certainly increased dramatically, which has resulted in increased pressure on industry to address environmental issues. Companies that are head and shoulders above others are the ones that now put a lot of emphasis on good planning and communication up front."

http://www.clra.ca

By Nick Stewart

For Northern Ontario Business