Sludge Watch ==> Judge Doesn't Buy it - No Sludge Contract with the US Landfill - The City Had no Sludge Emergency

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Well, the City of Toronto has apparently failed in its effort to force a Michigan landfill company to take Toronto sludge.
The Honorable Judge Swinton was unpersuaded by the Toronto's claim that it had a contract with Republic Services
to take Toronto's stinky sludge.  And she also didn't buy the idea that Toronto was going to have to throw
its sludge into Lake Ontario  and create irrevocable harm if she didn't force the sludge into the US landfill.  

Now that the City has wasted more of taxpayers money trying to assert it had a contract with Republic Services, 
when is the City going to go after Terratec for non-performance? Without doubt the City of Toronto has a 
contract with Terratec to take and dispose of 50,000 dry tonne equivalent of sludge.  And there is a contigency requirement.

So where was Terratec when it came to meeting their obligation to provide contingency disposal when the farm land
application and the landfill arrangements failed?

According to court documents Terratec (American Water Services) puts as little as 2% of Toronto's sludge on farmland.
Is that an effective waste management plan?

Indeed...lets look at the record.

Terratec is supposed to land apply 50,000 tonnes of sludge ....it does about 2-12% of that.
Farmers and rural residents were so adversely impacted by Terratec's land application that the separation distances to homes
was extended to a kilometer in the permits from the MOE.

Their Halton-based Toronto sludge storage facility also overflowed and stank out the neighbours and closed to Toronto sludge.
Now their landfill placement of sludge has stunk out the neighbours and closed to Toronto sludge.

So why is Toronto not pursuing Terratec for non-performance?   Toronto did contract with Terratec to manage Toronto sludge,
not Republic Services - according to the court documents the judge reviewed.

So at 2-12 % agricultural application can Toronto finally stop pretending that this contaminated, pathogenic, vile-smelling goo
is not a good 'fertilizer' material?  Our sludge, instead of going to Michigan, is now going further afield into New York State landfills, Quebec City, Sherbrooke,
and may yet end up in Ohio landfills.  

Toronto should be talking to its neighbours ....those neighbouring communities that were competent enough to have landfills, fluidized beds,
composting sites, incinerators, and storage....and see if they can strike some deals for regional management solutions for their sludge.
Until then...our toilet tailings will be clockin' 100 km/hr on the 401 and flashing its passport....for as long as the 
Yankees continue to let it across the border.

Attached it the judge's ruling in PDF format.

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