Al Lunney

In response to Mr. McLaughlin’s query about biosolids, here is the background information on land application of sewage biosolids from Steve Burns, District Manager of the Ottawa Office of MOE.

 Biosolids

On September 18, 2009, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs jointly announced new rules and guidelines for applying non-agricultural source materials (NASM) to farmland.  The new rules establish consistent standards and requirements across the province which focuses on the quality of the material being land-applied, ensuring it meets strict criteria and is beneficial to the soil. The revised regulations will cover all Ontario farms where non-agricultural source material will be applied.

NASM includes yard waste, fruit and vegetable peels, food processing waste, pulp and paper biosolids and sewage biosolids. Proper spreading of these materials on farmland returns essential nutrients to the soil to help foster new plant growth.

Sewage biosolids are nutrient-rich materials that result from the treatment of municipal wastewater. Each year, Ontario generates approximately 300,000 dry tonnes of municipal sewage biosolids of which approximately 40% is land applied, 40% goes to landfills and 20% is incinerated.  Sewage biosolids and other nutrients, such as manure, contain nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter as well as essential micro-nutrients such as copper, iron, molybdenum and zinc.  These are important for plant growth, soil fertility and improving the physical condition of the soil.

 Effective January 1, 2011, non-agricultural source materials (NASM) will be managed under the Environmental Protection Act until it arrives at the farm gate where it becomes subject to the General Nutrient Management Regulation under the Nutrient Management Act. 2002. This change establishes consistent environmental standards across the province and clearly defines who is impacted and the requirements they must follow.

 Why spread organics on farmland?

Spreading materials like NASM on farmland returns essential nutrients to the soil to help foster new plant growth. Materials that are high in organic matter, for example, allow the soil to breathe and hold more water, which decreases water runoff and soil erosion and increases overall water conservation.  Farmers also receive an economic benefit as NASM provides nitrogen, phosphorus and other micro-nutrients typically found in commercial fertilizers that would otherwise have to be purchased.  Another important reason for using these materials on farmland is that it keeps them out of landfills, an important consideration in Ontario’s waste diversion efforts.  A number of studies have been conducted on the land application of biosolids.  No objective evidence has been found to indicate that properly applied and regulated land application of biosolids has adverse health impacts.

Related Links

http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/land/biosolids/docs/fs-health-env.pdf

http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/land/nasm/docs/Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Hauler%20-%20final.pdf

http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/land/nasm/docs/Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Farmer%20-%20final.pdf

 http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/land/nasm/docs/Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Generator%20-%20final.pdf

http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/land/nasm/docs/Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Odour-%20final.pdf

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/nm/nasm/agusesbio.htm

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/nm/nasm/sewbiobroch.htm

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/nm/nasm/info/brochure.htm

Posted in Mississippi Mills, Waste Water Treatment Plant | 1 Comment »

I sent the following email to members of Council this afternoon.

Tomorrow is the opening of the tenders for the WWTP.

It’s the right thing to do!
Al

Posted in Mississippi Mills, Waste Water Treatment Plant | 2 Comments »

June is again bicycle month in Mississippi Mills. The month is jammed full of events for young and old. Even the mayor has dusted off his trusted 10-speed to hit the roads again (not literally, I hope).

It all kicks off on May 26th at 8 am at the Almonte Old Town Hall with a free bowl of seven grain cereal and some other goodies. I will be issuing a challenge to other Lanark County municipalities for a trophy entitled The Silver Chain (see below).

Check out Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month for more information. Hope to see you Wednesday morning.

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Last Wednesday, Councillors Dalgity, Edwards, and Ferguson along with the CAO and I met with senior officials from the Ministry of the Environment to review our business plan for the new waste water treatment plan and to seek clarification on their commitment to ban the spreading of untreated septage. The meeting lasted over two hours and both the Ministry officials and ourselves strongly presented our positions.

On the downside, the Ministry advised that they are not in a position “at this time” to ban the spreading of untreated septage. Once again, they did confirm that the government is commited to this ban, however, there is not enough capacity throughout the province to implement this policy. Our position presented to them was that we would have this capacity in 2012 and surely this would be a golden opportunity to start a phase-in process to show that the government was indeed serious.

MOE had reviewed our business plan and commented that the septage treatment component seemed to be high. They did not provide any specific examples of cheaper technology. They did discuss numerous pilot projects in place. My response was that we had been advised by two consulting firms to go with proven technology.

In any case, the tender for this project closes this Thursday and as I have said many, many times before, let’s see the final costs before we proceed.

Ministry staff also recommended that we contact Minister Gerretsen directly to discuss this issue. That has been done and I am confident that we will be meeting with him in the immediate future.

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Jeri and I spent this afternoon at the opening of the royal exhibit at the Appleton Museum, celebrating Victoria Day. Once again, I would like to thank the many volunteers who make things happen in our community.

Posted in Mississippi Mills, Ramsay | No Comments »

The tender for the WWTP has been released and the opening will be on May 20th. At that point, we will have a firm costing on the complete project as well as a costing for the septage receiving component. Nine firms will be bidding on the project.

A meeting with contractors was held on Tuesday to allow them to ask questions of our consultants, TRG, OCWA, and town staff. There were 29 representatives present from the contractors, as many of them had also brought their subcontractors. After the question period, the contractors visited the current lagoon site where a test hole was dug for them to view soil conditions.

The Ministry of the Environment have advised in writing that they will be scheduling a meeting in mid May to address our concerns surrounding septage. MOE has further advised that the delay in scheduling the meeting is to coordinate the schedules of the three senior people who will be attending.

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