Sep
20
2009
Update on Sewage Treatment Plant
Author: AlDesign of the sewage treatment plant is progressing well and the plant is currently scheduled to go to tender in February 2010. The plant is being designed in separate components, thereby allowing for flexibility to delete components should the tender come in higher than initially proposed.
We are continuing to work on a business plan for the septage component of the plant and, as I have stated on numerous occasions, we will hold a public meeting(s) when we have more specific information prepared.
At the Eastern Ontario Development conference in Kingston last week, the CAO, Councillors Edwards, Ferguson, Torrance and I met with Ministry of the Environment officials to seek clarification on their position on spreading untreated septage on fields in the province and, in particular, fields within Mississippi Mills. I will speak more about that later.
There seems to be some confusion as to why we are building a sewage treatment plant and also, further, why we are including a septage receiving component.
The plant itself is being built for a number of reasons. The lagoon system is old and failing; it cannot meet the level of phosphorus requirements and provincial orders were placed on the town to conduct an environmental assessment (EA) on how to correct the problem. Through the EA process, it was determined that the building of a sewage treatment plant was the appropriate solution. To state that the plant is being built solely for growth is simply wrong. Also to state that rural residents will be paying for the Almonte portion of the plant is totally unfounded. Almonte residents have and will continue to pay for Almonte’s water and sewer costs.
We also need to understand why the Town of Mississippi Mills included in the design a septage receiving facility. Over the past four years, the province had given clear direction that municipalities would be required to have a plan in place for the treatment of septage. The province also stated on numerous occasions that they would be bringing in legislation to stop the spreading of untreated septage on fields. At the present time, haulers are spreading untreated septage not only from residents of Mississippi Mills on our fields, but also from residents of Ottawa, Calabogie, Ompah and points in between. I firmly believe that we cannot deal in isolation with the statement “we don’t agree with the spreading of untreated septage”, without addressing the issue, “so what are we going to do with it?”.
To date, the province has not brought forth legislation to back up the direction they have been giving to the municipalities. However, they have commended Mississippi Mills for including a septage component and additionally, in cooperation with the federal government, have awarded 2/3 funding. But they have failed to include the vital portion of the equation- the stopping of spreading untreated septage on fields. This is simply unacceptable.
We are currently working with both the political and staff levels at the province to clarify their position. The meeting I mentioned earlier with the Ministry of Environment (MOE) in Kingston was a step in the right direction. The Acting Director of the Eastern District of the MOE commended Mississippi Mills for our plans to deal with this issue and will be providing us with more direction in the next 4-6 weeks. In the meantime, our staff continues to work on developing a further business plan for the septage component.
Many of you have spoken directly to me with your concerns and I thank you for that. I would ask all residents to bear with us. We promised you further public meetings in the fall and those meetings will be held. As I have stated before, this is the largest project that Mississippi Mills has undertaken to date and probably in the foreseeable future. It is critical that we get it right.
