May 27, 2010
The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment
77 Wellesley Street West
11th Floor, Ferguson Block
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2T5
Dear Minister:
I am writing in response to an article in the May 27th issue of the Canadian Gazette which reported that officials from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) “… told a delegation from Mississippi Mills town council that it was not able to say for sure what action it could take on the issue of septage spreading”. The same article reported that MOE officials suggested Mississippi council use the political route, curious given that the Mayor of Mississippi Mills, Al Lunney was previously directed by provincial politicians to contact MOE staff.
In June 2001, the Ontario government made a commitment to phase out the land application of septage over a five year period. One of the key provisions to take place once regulations were in place was that, “ …all requests for renewed approval of existing Certificates of Approvals for septage application would be reviewed to determine whether the materials could be accepted by local sewage treatment plants or another treatment facilities”. At the same time, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario in his Annual Report 2000/2001 stated that, “… the ECO’s review of existing policies and regulations for the land spreading of sewage sludge and septage has concluded that they are not adequate to protect the environment, even if they were consistently and firmly enforced” and that, “… even though septage presents a greater risk of introducing pathogens into the environment, Ontario’s septage spreading rules are weaker”.
On November 20, 2004, Leona Dombrowsky, then Minister of the Environment, in a speech to the Ontario Association of Sewage Industry Services, said “…I believe that ending the practice of land disposal of untreated septage will benefit the people of Ontario. It will help protect public health and it will help protect the environment.” In that same speech, Minister Dombrowsky stated that the establishment of the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund was, “… good news for your industry because it means more municipal systems will be able to accommodate septage in the future”.
I am surprised then, given these statements, that this provincial government and its officials can still not to say for sure what action can be taken when it responds to the Mayor and council of Mississippi Mills. Although provincial politicians have done very little over the past nine years on fulfilling promises to ban land application of untreated septage and have not provided leadership or direction on resolving the issue, thankfully, Mayor Lunney and Mississippi Mills council have shown leadership in providing a solution. A design for septage handling facilities was added to the Mississippi Mills Sewage Treatment Plant Upgrade, which was subjected to a provincial environmental assessment and discussed and presented at many open houses within the community.
There is one outstanding issue however. With the increased provincial tax burden, I am sympathetic to the recent concerns raised by rural residents that they will be exposed to the costs of operating the new septage handling facility if septage haulers are still allowed to spread septage within Mississippi Mills. What Mayor Lunney was seeking from MOE officials and you was a commitment to following the provisions of your own strategy, an end to Certificate of Approvals within Mississippi Mills once the septage handling facility is in place thereby ensuring septage haulers will be responsible for all of the operational costs for the facility. I find it puzzling that it is already prohibited to spread untreated septage on fields within the City of Ottawa given access to the capacity at the Robert O. Picard Environment Centre and treatment facility. One result of the Ottawa prohibition is that a large percentage of septage from the City of Ottawa is currently being spread on Mississippi Mills’ farm land. Why would the approach taken for Ottawa be different and thus why can you not provide the same assurances to the Mayor and council of Mississippi Mills once the septage handling facility is in place?
I have already written on many occasions to your predecessors on why banning land application of untreated septage is a good policy and regulations enforcing that policy are long overdue. Your predecessors and senior MOE officials have already stated publicly that this ban is in the public interest and will help protect human health and the environment. You only have to consider the many published studies including the study published in the British Medical Journal and reported in the National Post some years ago, “… people exposed to fields fertilized with human excrement run an increased risk of developing untreatable, potentially deadly viral and bacterial infections and cancer”.
Mayor Lunney is doing the right thing, not the politically safe thing. He and Mississippi Mills council deserve answers to two questions: is the Provincial Government of Ontario still committed to banning the land application of untreated septage, and; will you as Minister of the Environment terminate existing Certificate of Approvals for septage application within Mississippi Mills once the septage handling facilities are in place in 2012?
The newspaper article in the Canadian Gazette reported that the Mayor and his delegation did not get answers or direction from MOE officials at a meeting on May 19, 2010. As Minister of the Environment, I expect you to show leadership on this issue, provide the answers and let the Municipality get on with its work.
Yours sincerely,
Bruce Young
Mississippi Mills
cc. The Honourable Dalton McGuinty, MPP, Premier of Ontario
Al Lunney, Mayor, Town of Mississippi Mills
Tim Hudak, MPP, Leader Official Opposition for Ontario
Norm W. Sterling, MPP
Andrea Horwath, MPP, Leader New Democratic Party of Ontario
Denzil Ferguson, Councillor Town of Mississippi Mills
Editor Canadian Gazette (by e-mail)
Posted in Mississippi Mills, Waste Water Treatment Plant |
