Keele Valley Landfill Amendment to

Consulting Agreement with Golder Associates

 The Works and Utilities Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (July 7, 1998) from the General Manager of Solid Waste Management Services:

 Purpose:

 To seek authority to extend the agreement and to update the authorized expenditure between the City of Toronto and Golder Associates Limited (Golder) for consulting services with respect to liner monitoring and reporting at the Keele Valley Landfill Site.

 Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

 On April 29, 1998, City Council approved the Capital Works Program thereby authorizing expenditure of $3,693,000.00 after the G.S.T. rebate to continue ongoing development of the Keele Valley Landfill Site in 1998, including consulting services for liner monitoring. Funds are available in the approved 1998 Capital Works Program under the Solid Waste Management Account No. C-SW165, Keele Valley Development, Clay Liner Consultants.

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended that:

(1)authority be granted to increase the approved amount of the contract for consulting services for Golder Associates Limited by an amount of $69,000.00 from $6,907,983.00 to $6,976,983.00 after the Municipal Goods and Services Tax Rebate to provide consulting services in 1999 with respect to liner monitoring and reporting at the Keele Valley Landfill Site;

 (2)the term of the agreement be extended to December 31, 1999; and

 (3)the appropriate City of Toronto officials be authorized to amend the existing agreement between the City of Toronto and Golder Associates Limited to give effect thereto.

 Council Reference/Background/History:

 On August 13, 1997, Metropolitan Council approved Clause No. 5 of Report No. 11 of The Environment and Public Space Committee extending the agreement between the Metropolitan Corporation and Golder to December 31, 1998, and raising the limit on the approved expenditure by $60,255.00 to $6,907,983.00 after the Municipal Goods and Services Tax Rebate.

 Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

 Golder has been directly involved with the development of the Keele Valley Landfill Site since the site's inception. Golder has provided consulting services with respect to design of the final cover, supervision of liner construction, borrow pit development and extraction, geotechnical testing both in the field and laboratory, design and installation of monitoring devices in and under the clay liner, interpretation of data generated, devising geotechnical programs as required, and reporting on a semiannual and annual basis to the satisfaction of this Department and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE). If the City of Toronto were to hire a new consultant, that consultant would be required to become completely familiar with the ongoing projects as well as the history of the site before being able to participate effectively in the ongoing dialogue presently underway with the MOE. This would result in additional costs to the City of Toronto, especially in view of significant ongoing design and operations developments at the site.

 Golder's current agreement for consulting services in relation to the Keele Valley Landfill Site expires on December 31, 1998. The request to extend the agreement date and increase the approved level of expenditures for consulting services is due to the following:

 (1)services under this agreement are mandated by conditions of the provisional Certificate of Approval governing the development and operation of the landfill. Included in these services is the interpretation of data generated from liner monitoring devices installed in and under the clay liner and presenting the interpreted data in reports to the MOE;

 (2)the MOE's approval process which requires a response to the MOE's third party consultant's (Trow Limited) review of the landfill liner reports is lengthy. This long delay time in finalizing reports increases Golder's costs, since files must be reviewed when assessing the validity of changes requested by Trow Limited;

 (3)due to the large size and prominence of the Keele Valley Landfill Site, the MOE has paid particularly close attention to the site's design and operation and environmental impact and control. It is the only active site in Ontario requiring ongoing approvals by the MOE. When we were originally considering consultants to provide engineering services for the Keele Valley Landfill Site, the MOE encouraged us to hire our present consultants, including Golder, because of their knowledge of the site; and

 (4)staff of the MOE recognize the existing consultants at Keele Valley as being fully qualified to carry out the work, and have verbally encouraged the City of Toronto to retain the same consultants in order to provide continuity and consistency of approach. The MOE, who have similar hiring practices with respect to engaging consultants, have maintained their same consulting team at the Keele Valley Landfill Site by rehiring their own third party consultant, Trow Limited, for the reasons stated in (1), (2) and (3) above.

 It is in the City of Toronto's best interest to extend Golder's engagement and ensure continuity through this time period because of the sensitivity of the issues and cost implications of effectively meeting the requirements of the Certificate of Approval.

 Since 1983 to date, all major stakeholders involved in the approval and development of the Keele Valley Landfill Site have remained the same. These stakeholders include key decision-makers at the MOE and the MOE's prime consultant, community members of the Keele Valley Landfill Site Liaison Committee, representatives of the City of Vaughan, and others, including Golder. The MOE approval and review process for significant engineered systems and/or site operations of the Keele Valley Landfill Site is ongoing. By retaining the same consultant, potential disputes with respect to any future undertakings will be avoided in regard to the respective responsibility between two different consultants who have worked on the same project. Golder has continuously provided excellent quality and cost-effective project engineering and design services to the City of Toronto.

 An extension of Golder's agreement to December 31, 1999, would ensure that the City of Toronto is provided the necessary continuity required for the development of the Keele Valley Landfill Site in a cost-effective manner.

 Conclusions:

 A consultant is required for consulting services with respect to liner monitoring and reporting at the Keele Valley Landfill Site. Extending the agreement between the City of Toronto and Golder for these services has many advantages. It is therefore recommended that authority be granted to increase the approved amount of the contract for these consulting services by $69,000.00 after the Municipal Goods and Services Tax Rebate.

 Contact Name:

 Lou Ciardullo, Sr. Eng. - Keele Valley Landfill

Solid Waste Management Services, Keele Valley Landfill Site

Phone: (905) 832-0682 (235); Fax: (905) 832-4944

E-mail: Lou_Ciardullo@metrodesk.metrotor.on.ca.