Sediment Profile Imaging of Disposal at Sea Sites

Disposal at sea is the disposal of a substance at sea from a ship, an aircraft, a platform or another structure.  Disposal at sea is permitted by Canadian law under Part 7, Division 3 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999).  These permits allow Canada to meet international obligations to prevent marine pollution by regulating the disposal of wastes and other matter in accordance with the London Convention and subsequent London Protocol.  Acceptable substances are listed in Schedule 5 of CEPA 1999.  In British Columbia (Environment Canada – Pacific and Yukon Region), the permitted substances consist primarily of dredged material from river or marine sources or inert, inorganic geological material from land based excavation.

Disposal site monitoring is an integral part of Environment Canada’s disposal at sea program.  Monitoring helps ensure permit conditions are met and that assumptions made during the application review were appropriate to protect human health and the environment.  Monitoring techniques include sediment sampling, multi-beam and backscatter acoustic surveys, Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) seafloor video surveys, laboratory analyses to identify physical and chemical constituents, as well as benthic community analysis.

Environment Canada proposes to incorporate Sediment Profile Imaging (SPI) into the spectrum of monitoring techniques.  Sediment Profile Imaging provides high-resolution profile pictures of the sediment / water interface (upper ~20cm of seafloor), and plan view pictures of the seafloor surface at each station location.  The addition of SPI will supplement Environment Canada’s ability to assess the physical and ecological impact of disposal activities.

PERIOD OF CONTRACT:
The contract will commence on April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 with the option to extend the contract by four (4) additional periods of one (1) year each. 

•	Initial Contract Period = April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015

o	Option Year 1 = April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016
o	Option Year 2 = April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017
o	Option Year 3 = April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018
o	Option Year 4 = April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.  Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.