Restoring Tuk Base to its Natural State

WSP has undertaken the comprehensive remediation of a former staging and storage site near Tuktoyaktuk, a hamlet of some 1000 people in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region on the shores of the Arctic Ocean in northern Canada. The site is leased by Imperial Oil Limited, an affiliate of ExxonMobil, and was used to support exploration drilling in the Beaufort Sea in the 1970s and 1980s.

Tuk base, which had been used for the storage of fuel and materials as well as a transport hub for Imperial Oil, was closed when the drilling ceased. Imperial Oil, committed to mitigating the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of their operations, began environmental assessment efforts at Tuk Base in 2001 to understand the nature and extent of the required remediation. This was followed by decommissioning work from 2006 to 2018, and in 2019 they hired WSP to restore Tuk Base to its natural land use.  

WSP Restoration Work

WSP has a long-lasting relationship with Imperial Oil in providing ground engineering, environmental, remediation and reclamation across the world. Our mandate at Tuk base was to design an overall management strategy focusing on restoring the area to its original land-use. Our work includes permitting, demolition and remediation services.

We are contributing technical oversight for the treatment and disposal of contaminated soil, the removal and disposal of debris and other hazardous and non-hazardous materials, and completing any remaining demolition activities. In addition, we are overseeing the rehabilitation of one of three of the site’s docks, for use by the local community.

Benefits for the Inuvialuit Community

In addition to restoring the land, the focus throughout the project has been to ensure the Inuvialuit community derives benefit from it. “We have worked with local contractors, businesses and individuals on every aspect of the project from the outset,” says project director, Lenz Haderlein. “During the summer we have around 40 folks in camp on site at any one time, of which at least two thirds are Inuvialuit. We have also been collaborating closely with the local regulators and Water Board as well as engaging with the local people, keeping them informed through regular public consultations.”

The remediation works have included marine shore stabilization and the restoration of a dock, a long-term benefit for the locals to use for fishing, storage and other purposes. Further improvements for seafarers include the removal of wooden pilings from another old dock that were presenting a navigational hazard.

The community is also making good use of the concrete that was left on site. Climate change and rising sea levels are causing coastal erosion and increasing flooding in the village of Tuktoyaktuk. With local support, rather than dispose of the concrete we have been cutting it into slabs to haul over to the village to create flood defences.

Reducing climate risks

Working in such a remote area in the Canadian Arctic presents many challenges, particularly in the context of climate change and the necessity to preserve the precious, but fragile, tundra environment.

Protecting permafrost is critical, since any damage to permafrost has serious environmental implications. Already vulnerable due to global warming, permafrost is essential to maintain the stability of the tundra ecosystems yet is itself a significant contributor to global climate change if it melts. Permafrost also takes a long time to repair itself from physical disturbance.

A rigorous permafrost protection plan is in place throughout the excavation effort, covering and protecting the permafrost with clean soil as soon as impacted soil and debris is removed.

Biodiversity and restoration of the ecosystem

To restore the ecosystem and create the right conditions for biodiversity on the remediated site, we have taken measures to improve the water quality and drainage and to begin the replanting of the area with indigenous plants. This is the start of a long process, as Lenz explains:

‘You can’t just go to a store to buy indigenous seeds that will grow in the tundra. One innovative scheme we have instigated involves local community members harvesting seeds from off-site locations. We’re also doing live staking – taking cuttings from trees and bushes and replanting them on site. This is a very sensitive ecosystem. Seed takes much longer to grow here and it will be a long time before the tundra is fully re-established but we are already seeing plants starting to grow.”

In the meantime, the local community can start to use the land again for traditional activities.

Our Pride in leaving a lasting legacy

Once the project to remediate Tuk Base is complete, monitoring permafrost and water quality on site will continue.

We at WSP are extremely proud to support Imperial Oil and the Inuvialuit community in the clean-up of Tuk and our people involved in the project have found it extremely rewarding, as confirmed by Lenz Haderlein:

“For me personally, the remediation of Tuk Base is a high point of my career. It is a privilege to work with the Inuvialuit community on the remediation of their land. We’ve become friends with the local people during our time here – they’ve been so appreciative of our efforts, and it’s wonderful to be able to leave them with this land restored to its natural state for the benefit of both the community and their environment.”