The Sydney tar ponds: Lessons learned from Canada's first superfund level project

Abstract

The paper traces the history of the Sydney Tar Ponds Clean-Up project from the first announcement in 1986 to the present, including comments on the more than $560M (USD) spent or committed to date. During this period the project generated thousands of headlines in print, television and radio media; and created significant grief for the community, elected officials, public servants, consultants and others. This paper examines the different attempts to clean-up the tar ponds and scopes out lessons learned related to organization structure, public engagement, risk communication, innovation and other areas. © 2010 WIT Press.