Port Of Halifax Starts Major Infill Project
HALIFAX — The Port of Halifax is about to begin a major infilling project in the Halifax Harbour.
On November 7 the port will start the process of dumping an estimated 500,000 cubic metres of material into the ocean. The infill is happening between two of the Port’s existing piers that sit directly north of the South End Container Terminal, near the Halifax Grain Elevator.
The goal is to create about eight acres of new yard space that will eventually house a new deep-water terminal. Initially, the new space will be used for temporary container storage. However, the deep-water terminal will come after the port fills in a second basin.
The port says the first infill project will take anywhere from three to five years.
While the project will give the Port the room it needs to expand its operations, it’s also a way to deal with some of the difficult-to-dispose-of debris created by Halifax’s construction boom.
That’s because the port is relying on discarded material from development projects as its infill material.
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Halifax is built atop bedrock that contains something called pyritic slate. This material creates an acidic runoff when it rains so it can’t be left out in the open or put in a typical landfill.
But the material is safe when it’s not exposed to oxygen (like when it’s submerged and made into an artificial land structure). In fact, the Port of Halifax has been submerging this slate for years at its Fairview Cove facility, which is quickly running out of space.
With the amount of development occurring in Halifax, there is a higher demand for slate disposal.
“I’ve been with the Port for eight years and it’s just been one long construction boom in the downtown for most of that time,” Port spokesperson Lane Farguson told Huddle in February when the infill project was first announced.
“When the opportunity came up to use the material, it made sense [to start now].”
Farguson also claimed the overall environmental impact of the infill will be limited because it’s happening within the existing footprint of industrial cargo operations.
“In terms of wildlife, there wouldn’t be much marine habitat now because it’s already being used for industrial purposes [for nearly 100 years],” he said.
The Port was granted a Fisheries Act authorization in 2018 for the project. It also plans to create new marine habitat through 260 artificial reefs, also known as reef balls, it will install as a method of marine environmental remediation.