NCC progressively closing Victoria Island for site remediation
Press Release
October 03, 2018
Canada’s Capital Region—The National Capital Commission (NCC) will be progressively closing Victoria Island—a place of special significance to the Indigenous peoples in Canada’s Capital area. Starting today, the island will be gradually closed to the general public, as well as to tenants, and will be completely closed on December 31, 2018. Soil samples taken on Victoria Island reveal an elevated level of contaminants, which requires immediate site remediation to ensure the long-term safety of both human health and the environment.
A temporary capping and fencing program on the west side of Victoria Island was undertaken in spring 2018. As this temporary cap does not satisfy long-term requirements for the protection of human health or the environment, the NCC is undertaking additional environmental remediation work, and will progressively close the island.
Work is planned to begin in the fall of 2018 and will be undertaken in two phases:
Phase 1 of remediation work on Victoria Island will be complete by spring 2020, and will include the following:
- remediation of the slope on the west side;
- supplemental environmental site assessment activities on the east side; and
- development of a remedial action plan for the east and west sides.
- full-depth remediation or installation of an engineered cap on current commercial areas on the west side where remediation is not technically feasible; and
- installation of an engineered cap on current parkland areas on both the east and the west sides.
Phase 2 of remediation work on Victoria Island will be undertaken between 2020 and 2025, and will include the following:
Additional information, including a map of the progressive closure of Victoria Island, is available on the NCC’s website.
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