GHD was retained by CPKC to provide environmental emergency response and consulting services associated with an incident resulting in the release of grain and diesel fuel, that occurred in February 2024, near Revelstoke, British Columbia. As a result of the incident, four grain hopper railcars and two locomotives partially or fully released their contents to the ground surface. An estimated 17,500 L of diesel was released.

A portion of the diesel travelled through drainage ditches adjacent to the rail line, along a stream down a steep embankment, into a wetland. Drainage from the wetland flows to the Illecillewaet River.

Project objectives included:

• Prevention of migration of impacts to the Illecillewaet River.
  
• Recovery of product to the extent practicable.
  
• Achievement of net environmental benefit in the wetland.
  
• Effective communication with regulators and stakeholders.
  
• Prevention of safety incidents.

Key challenges included:

• Site and wetland access. The nearest road access is approximately 3 km from the site, meaning the only access for personnel and equipment is the rail line. The wetland is located at the base of a steep embankment (approximately 35 m in elevation) vegetated with mature trees.
  
• Winter conditions. The wetland was frozen when the incident occurred, posing both logistic and safety challenges.
  
• Working in/near water. As the ice melted, working in the wetland remained a logistic and safety challenge.

There was a rapid, coordinated response to the diesel release from CPKC and their contractors that prevented product and associated dissolved phase impacts from migrating downstream into the Illecillewaet River.

A multi-faceted product containment and collection strategy was implemented quickly despite very challenging access and winter conditions. Product containment included deployment of marine boom, and installation of underflow sumps and weirs. Product recovery strategies included both skimming using a vacuum truck, as well as absorbent materials. When the bulk of the product had been recovered, additional recovery methods were employed, such as simulating rainfall to flush residual product from ballast and vegetation, and removal of select vegetation that was heavily impacted.

Following recovery of product to the extent practicable, GHD conducted a risk evaluation to determine the feasibility of additional remediation in the wetland. Based on the premise of net environmental benefit to the wetland (i.e., impact of further disturbance by equipment and personnel), GHD and CPKC are proceeding with monitored natural attenuation and a detailed risk assessment. The detailed risk assessment is currently in development.

There was no migration of impacts to the Illecillewaet River, as demonstrated by analytical results and visual observations.

Product was recovered to the extent practicable including product that was inaccessible due to ballast and vegetation, as demonstrated by analytical results and visual observations.

Net environmental benefit was achieved in the wetland by recovering product to the extent practicable while minimizing additional anthropogenic impact to the wetland.