Using microbial diversity to better inform best management practices at EVRAZ Regina's hydrocarbon waste remediation facility

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Bioremediation exploits naturally occurring processes to dispose of harmful waste products and can be an effective, less costly, and more environmentally friendly mechanism of waste disposal. The most important processes in the breakdown of contaminants are biodegradative processes that are mediated by microbial organisms, most notably bacteria. An adequate understanding of these microbial communities is important for optimizing functioning of these facilities. The proposed ENGAGE grant will establish a collaborative research partnership between the Department of Biology at the University of Regina and leading steel manufacturer EVRAZ Inc. North America (hereafter EVRAZ). EVRAZ Regina has maintained a "landfarm" which has allowed for systematic application, and subsequent breakdown, of hydrocarbon wastes since 1994. Soil sampling over a number of years post application of waste has shown that toxic hydrocarbons in the first few centimeters of soil are degraded, in a large part due to EVRAZ's diligence in stimulating and managing bacterial processes by fertilizing, aerating (through tilling), and pH control. However, the nature and capabilities of the bioremediating bacterial communities in the landfarm are unknown, and we are partnering to establish 1. which bacterial species make up the bioremediating communities that inhabit the surface of the landfarm and 2. how does bacterial community composition respond to management approaches such as tilling and fertilization? We will also examine how communities are distributed spatially across the farm and the changes in the community in the presence of standing water. Our work in identifying the organisms in land-farm soils can better inform the management of these operations and allow for not only the development of best practices but also for better marketing of its operation to potential customers.