August 2, 2005
Project 05*2984

Attn: Mr. Werner Leuschner

Leuschner Enterprises Limited
407 Spice Bush Street,
Waterloo, ON
N2V 2V6

Dear Sir,

Re:     Subsurface Investigation, East Portion of the
Alyea Farm, 545189 Pattullo Avenue, City of Woodstock
Part of Lot 14 & 15, Concession II, formerly
Township of East Oxford

1.0     Introduction

Bruce A. Brown Associates Limited completed a subsurface soil quality/ preliminary geotechnical investigation at 545189 Pattullo Avenue, in the former Township of East Oxford  (City of Woodstock).  Onsitel investigations included a program of test pits with a local rubber tire tractor-mounted hydraulic backhoe to determine soil and groundwater conditions.

The purpose of these investigations was to provide base information for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement, as required by the policies set out in the Official Plan with regard to development proximate to wood lots and Provincially Significant Wetlands.

2.0     Site Location

The subject site is located on the north side of Pattullo Avenue, about 0.5 km east of the Pattullo Ridge Business Park, and extends north to Highway 401. The total 80.94 Ha holding includes agricultural land improved with two residences and farm buildings to the west of a central wood lot and wetland feature, the woodlot itself, and additional lands to the east of the Downie Drain, which flanks the east side of the woodlot. The site under investigation comprises the eastern component only. It is bounded by the beginning of the Highway 401-403 interchange to the north and other lands in agricultural production to the east and by Pattullo Road to the south.  Lands to the south and east are of agricultural use and are presently located in the adjacent Township of Norwich.

The central 17 Ha of the Alyea property is part of the Oxford Centre Swamp, a northern adjunct to a much larger feature extending to the south, and designated as a Provincially Significant Wetland by Ministry of Natural Resources. A municipal drain known as the Downie Drain is located along the east side of the wetland.

2.1     Previous Reports
                                                                  
A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and Preliminary Geotechnical Investigation was completed in June 2005 for the portion of the Alyea Property situated on the west side of the forest by Bruce A. Brown Associates Limited.  The geo-environmental technical investigation involved excavating four test pits along the west edge of the forest area.

A Scoped Environmental Impact Study for the central and western portion of Alyea Property was completed in July 2005 by Dance Environmental Inc.  The report included records of vegetation, wildlife, wetland, soils and topographic conditions to establish relationships between the central wood lot and the potential development lands to the west.

An Opportunities/Summary Report was completed in April 2004 for this same portion of the Alyea property by Planners Consulting Engineers & Landscape Architects.

A records review was completed as part of this Opportunities/Summary Report and the findings were recorded as follows:

• The western portion of the Alyea  property has been identified by the City of Woodstock as an area of potential future industrial growth
• The Oxford Centre Swamp, a Provincially Significant Wetland is contained within the wooded area that exists on the property.  This swamp has also been identified as one of the only major swamps located on the upper reaches of Cedar Creek, which is important for maintaining water quality.  The Oxford Centre Swamp is sustained by the Downie Drain which acts as the outlet for storm water management from lands north of Hwy. 401.

2.2      Subsurface Conditions

Review of the Quaternary Geology of Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources map number P. 2281 for Southern Ontario indicates that overburden in this area is classified as glaciofluvial outwash gravel and gravely sand frequently overlain by several metres of sand or silt.  Overburden near the central woodlot portion of the property is classified as bog deposits of peat, muck or marl.  Also in the immediate area are silt tills which may include older drift in valley walls, as well as glaciofluvial outwash sands.

2.3     Groundwater Conditions

Regional ground water flow is generally to the south and west, following the pathways of surface topography to the wetland on the subject property, eventually flowing to Cedar Creek and north through the Woodstock urban area to the Thames River.

No water well records for the site itself were available from the Ministry of the Environment from 1946-1979.  Ministry of Natural Resources Granular Resources Map number P 2282 indicates the presence of two bedrock wells in the vicinity of the subject property, located south of Pattullo Road and about 400m to the west.

The Thames River Basin Study, by Ontario Ministry of the Environment, did not show any wells on the subject property nor any potential for shallow, intermediate or deep overburden wells. The bedrock aquifer is noted as the Amherstburg Formation, of Middle Devonian age, which is grey to dark brown limestone with dolomite and locally cherty, biostromal or bituminous.

This study maps a band of aggregate flanking the west side of the central wetlands, extending north nearly to Highway 401.

2.4     MOE Records

A review of available Ministry of the Environment inventories and records found no evidence of any municipal landfill, PCB storage facility or coal gasification plant within 1 km of the subject property. No enquiry to MOE under the Freedom of Information Act was made as part of this investigation.

3.0     Subsurface Investigations

Eleven test pits (TP 1 - TP 11) were advanced in the general area where fill was noted at grade on the east side of the forest on July 20, 2005. Test pits were advanced using a tractor mounted backhoe operated by a local contractor.  All of the test pits were terminated at depths ranging from 2.1 m to 3.7 m below present grades.  Test pits were backfilled and compacted to grade on completion of testing.  The locations of test pits are identified on the enclosed drawing. Lands farther to the west of the investigation area demonstrated soft or surface wet conditions which would not permit passage with the available equipment.

All retained samples from the borehole program were examined in the field by our environmental technologist and were then placed in sterile bags and transported to our laboratory for further examination and physical testing.

Representative samples were recovered in order to facilitate quality testing and will be retained at an ambient temperature in the sealed sample bags for a period of 120 days from the date of the report, unless additional instructions are received.

3.1     Summary of Field Investigation Findings

The following provides a brief summary of the subsurface conditions found at the site. For a more detailed description, the reader is referred to the individual test pit logs found in the appendices.  The reader is cautioned that the soil description applies only at the test locations and may vary across the site as a consequence of either natural conditions, or human intervention. The discussion below is based upon the inferred relationship between the soils encountered in excavating, although the reader is cautioned that log descriptions are valid only for locations tested and subsurface conditions may vary between test locations.

Test pits 1,  5, 7, 8 and 11 were found to have a layer of silt with gravel fill which was generally, dry, uniform light brown, and which was underlain by dark brown peat at depths ranging from approximately 1.5 m to 3.4 m.  Test pits 5, 7 and 11 contain light grey marl below peat at depths ranging from 2.4 m to 3.4 m below adjacent grades.   Test pits 6, 9 and 10 were found to have a layer of silt and clay-sized soil  with gravel, which was dry, non plastic, non cohesive, hard, dark brown in colour which was in turn underlain by native peat at depths of approximately 1.5 m to 3.4 m below surface elevations.  Test pits 6 and 10 had a layer of light grey marl beneath the native peat.  These three test pits remained dry on completion.

Test pit 2 contained silt and some gravel which was uniform brown, moist, non plastic, slightly cohesive and compact to the completion of the test pit.  Test pit 3 intersected a layer of sand and gravel which was brown, moist, and non plastic underlain by native peat between 0.6 m and 1.1 m.  From 1.1 m to the completion of the test pit, sandy gravel was found which contained some rootlets.  On completion, the test pit contained 0.15 m of water.  Test pit 4 intersected a thin layer of native peat underlain by sand and gravel from 0.6 m to 2.3 m.  Upon completion of the test pit there was rapid accumulation of water to equilibrate at 2.1m depth where the colour change from brown to grey was noted.

There was no evidence of any unusual odours, discolouration or evidence of any macrowastes or contaminants noted in any test pits, or at grade across the site.

4.0      Laboratory Characterization

Soil samples retained in the field were examined in the lab and no deleterious materials or odours were found and as such, no soil samples were sent to the laboratory for further chemical characterization. Gravimetric moisture determinations were made on representative materials.

5.0      Discussion

The area of investigation included the accessible portion of the site on the north side of Pattullo Road in the Downie Drain watershed. Farther to the east lands slope toward the Sullivan Drain which is parallel and also runs south.

This area does not have any significant overstory and most of the investigation area was disturbed by a recent commercial program for removal of peat used to manufacture landscape-garden products.

The zone of peat was removed and the disturbed area has been backfilled and rough graded with a predominantly gravelly silty sand or gravelly silt material and graded level. No topsoil has been reinstated on most of the backfilled area.  The zone west of test locations 1,2,3 and 9 exhibited soft wet conditions at or near grade. Peat tapers to nil at approximately the limit of agricultural land which was under soya bean production at time of investigation.

Deeper accumulations of peat are also uniformly underlain with marl, which is noted at about 2.7m below grade, and increases in depth slightly toward the west.  The thickness of marl was not established in any test pit. Where peat was selectively removed, it was not excavated to the full depth to intersect the underlying marls.

Where a thin mantle of peat is found near grade, at Test Pit 4, it is underlain by sand and gravels. Outwash sand and gravels are anticipated from the limit of cultivation across to the Downie Drain north of the area of investigation and in a thin transitional zone between plough and the Downie Drain north to Highway 401 and are anticipated at depth between marl and underlying tills which form a natural depression centered on the wetland to the west.

Although fill materials remain brown in colour, indicative of dry conditions, the material has not been in place for a long time. We would anticipate significant seasonal variation in water table and springtime temporary surface water as may be controlled by the submerged corrugated metal culvert beneath Pattullo Road.

The area underlain by peat, and the narrow triangular zone of outwash sand located between the limit of plough and the forested area, store and seasonally discharge to contribute to base flow in the Downie Drain.  The balance of site underlain by tills, does not have potential for any significant shallow aquifer or base flow contribution. The extraction of peat resulting in local depressions which were backfilled with a granular fill which has water holding capacity in its interstices. Therefore the shallow groundwater hydraulics are not likely to have significantly changed, although recharge and discharge functions may take place more rapidly.

6.0     Environmental Issues

There are no buildings and structures on or near the subject property nor any indication of any former buildings and structures, according to George Aylea. There is no history of land filling of wastes or site manipulation other than construction of the municipal drain and the recent peat extraction.

There are presently no industrial uses on any surrounding lands, including those located in the City of Woodstock north of Highway 401, where industrial uses are proposed.

Fill material introduced to this site to level peat extraction zones, appears to be from a clean, pit run source only. No evidence of any debris, wastes or other potentially impacted fill was noted on inspection of the broad area which has backfill exposed or in any test pit. We do not believe that it is necessary to undertake any chemical characterization of backfill on the subject property.

7.0  Geotechnical Considerations

Tills within the zone under agricultural production are likely to support conventional buildings and structures, using standard bedding and backfill requirements for services and road construction, and standard strip perimeter footings and slab on grade building construction methods.

Tills can be re-graded and engineered in place by compaction in minimal lifts using large self propelled vibratory sheepsfoot equipment.

The area of peat including area of extraction and backfilling is suitable for conventional foundations. Any building on this zone would require deep footings such as driven piles, and would require support on grade beams joining pile locations. In the alternative an engineered structural slab is possible, but not recommended with any variation in depth of residual peat and marl, because there could be differential settlements.

If part of the lands were to be urbanized, an assessment of the environmental quality of the seasonally wet area underlain by peat would be required, with consideration to its role as contributing to base flow. A part of this area may be considered for use as a storm water detention facility. The best design for such a facility would be to construct a perimeter berm above the present grades, so that a blue-green type detention pond would initially hold back water which would gradually exfiltrate through the existing underlying peat and granular soils, contributing to base flow rather than peak runoff. A detention pond might be an appropriate use for any established buffer along the east side of the woodlot and municipal drain, and could be constructed in an area with peat and marl at depth or in the thin strip of sand outwash which forms a small triangle north of the zone of peat.

8.0     Qualification

Brown Associates Limited is a full services geo-environmental consultant which has carried out more than twenty eight hundred environmental site evaluations in Ontario over the past 34 years. The firm is also qualified to conduct Phase II and supervise Phase III  Environmental Site Assessments, underground storage tanks removals, manage asbestos and PCB and other abatement programs and to design and supervise demolition, subsurface soil and groundwater remediation programs and to assist in the assessment and approvals process for management of solid waste liquid waste streams and for air emissions.

9.0      Closure

We trust that this information is sufficient for your present requirements. Should any questions arise, please do not hesitate to call. Thank you again for this opportunity to be of service.

Yours very truly,

BRUCE A BROWN ASSOCIATES LIMITED

Bruce A. Brown, Ph.D., RPP,  P.Eng.                                        

BAB*tms

For report enclosures please email: Werner Leuschner