Regina's Co-op refinery spending $200M to recycle its own water

Regina's Co-op Refinery Complexspent $200 million on what it's calling an "environmental mega-project."

Its 'Wastewater Improvement Project'plans to clean and recycle all of itswastewater for the purpose of steam production. Co-op said,according to industry experts, it is thefirst project of its kind in North America.

"FederatedCo-operatives Limited has invested more than $200 million in ensuring the sustainability of our water resources for both the refinery and the City of Regina," said Scott Banda, CEO of FederatedCo-operatives Limited in a news release.

"This is a significant investment that helps us realize our long term vision focussed on sustainability and environmental stewardship," Banda said.

• Regina Co-op Refinery shows off new expansion

Co-op said its Section V expansion in 2013, which produced 30,000 more barrels a day, increased itswater usage. This prompted the refinery to draw on more water from the city, which it said was not sustainable.

Co-op saidby recycling its wastewater, Regina's water supply will be positively affected. Reducing itsfreshwateruseby an estimated 28 per centor the equivalent of about 3,100 Regina households on annual basis.

Co-op says emissionsfrom ponds will be reduced

The refinery saidit will clean 100 per cent of wastewater onsite. Doing so willdecreaseVolatile OrganicCompound (VOCs)emissions from its wastewater ponds, reducingnuisance odours.

"We know what the ponds were before. Now that we're sending clean water out to the ponds,then we'll re-test the ponds and we'll actually be able to give very quantified numbers of how we've reduced our VOCs,"saidGil LeDressay,Vice- President of Refinery Operations.

Last June,according to data the company provided to the federal government,theCo-op Refinery Complexreleased far more VOCsand hydrogen sulphide (H2S or sour gas) into the air than any other refinery in Canada.

• SPECIAL REPORT:Co-op Refinery VOC emissions 10x higher than average of other refineries

Some VOCs are harmless, while others, according to Environment Canada's website, are toxic air pollutants that can cause cancer and other serious health problemsat high levels.

LeDressay said the refinery has plans to reduce its emissions further and the Ministry of Environment is aware of those plans but he would not elaborate.

Project not complete

Co-op said up to three-quarters of its wastewater is moving throughthe new system. It will commission the final phase, which is recycling the water, but will not go ahead with that until its new system can manage 100 per cent of the water.

"We're removing all of the volatileorganic compounds from the water," saidLeDressay."The other thingsthat have to be removed are the brine and the salts to get it ready. That part of the project hasn't been commissioned yet, so that's the recycle portion."

The refinery hopes to have the project operational by this fall.