Tervita Markets Innovative Technology for Environmentally Responsible Waste Disposal

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - July 5, 2012) - Tervita Corporation has entered into an agreement to license and market a new technology that will treat evaporator blowdown in a more responsible, sustainable and cost-effective way for steam assisted gravity drainage operators (SAGD).

The technology, called THi-pHEC™ (Treatment of High-pH Evaporator Concentrate) was developed by Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies, an international provider of water and wastewater management solutions.

"Tervita is constantly looking for ways to innovate and improve how we protect and clean our earth," said John Gibson, Tervita president and CEO. "This agreement helps ensure we are in a position to offer our oil and gas customers technologies and solutions that help facilitate sustainable and responsible development."

Evaporator blowdown is the remaining waste solution after produced water has been treated. Previously, evaporator blowdown was injected into caverns as waste. The new technology will create two waste streams where there was previously one, providing producers with more environmentally-appropriate disposal.

Many SAGD operations produce wastewater that contains dissolved silica maintained in a high pH solution. This waste solution is not suitable for typical deep well injection and is currently disposed of in caverns. Tervita's new treatment will remove silica from the wastewater and create a solution that will meet criteria for Class 1b disposal and a dry solid suitable for Class 2 landfill disposal.

"Tervita and Veolia have a mutual goal to minimize waste from production," said Jim Brown, CEO of Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies Industrial Markets in North America. "THi-pHEC™ technology is an ideal fit with the energy solutions and capabilities that Tervita offers. This collaboration helps ensure responsible and sustainable treatment and disposal of waste."

Tervita is currently engineering a pilot plant for this technology and expects construction to be complete by April 2013, with plans to move to a SAGD operation later in the year.

"This technology is mobile, which will cut costs for producers, save time and transport, and will improve safety by keeping more trucks off the road," said Dave Tyson, Tervita's director of onsite environmental solutions.

In addition to evaporator blowdown treatment, Tervita offers a number of onsite services to SAGD operations including centrifugation of slop oil production, off-spec production and lime sludge. The company is currently commissioning two onsite centrifuge pilot plants to demonstrate and quantify the value to industry. The pilot plants are expected to be fully operational by August 2012.

ABOUT TERVITA

Tervita is a leading North American environmental and energy services company. Our 4,600 dedicated employees partner with natural resource and industrial companies who share our values, and work with them to create a sustainable future. Safety is our highest priority: it influences our actions, guides our decisions and shapes our culture. We maintain a strategically located network of more than 95 state-of-the-art waste management facilities and a fleet of specialized equipment and assets to help customers address production and operational waste challenges. Our highly effective, convenient and environmentally sound solutions help minimize environmental impact and maximize returns.