Sludge Watch ==> Ontario - Pelham Town Council Passes Motion Against Paper Sludge Berms

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

The Ontario government has been meadering down a dark and dangerous 
deregulatory course when it comes to paper mill industrial wastes.  For a 
decade or more they allowed Domtar's liquid industrial wastes (spent pulping 
liquor - or black liquor) to be sprayed on gravel roads as a dust 
suppressent - despite evidence that it was leading to a build up of dioxins 
on the roadways and ditches.

During the same time they allowed Atlantic Packaing to indulge in a full 
program of farm application of recycled paper mill sludge on farm fields, 
while allowing the company to repeatedly fudge the tests of whether the 
material has agricultural benefit.  It turns out that the decomposing paper 
sludge causes crop damage to plants requiring nitrogen.....corn, wheat, etc.

With the berms, the Province is still, against expert advice from their hand 
picked 'Expert Panel' of physicians and scientists, allowing people to build 
enormous berms of decomposing paper mill sludge, even though toxic leachate 
will be produced, and may move into groundwater or ruin into surface waters 
with adverse effects....as has...I understand....happened in Pelham.

Municipalities can pass by-laws for the safety and well being of their 
residents.  A bylaw against these sludge mixtures is a very good idea.  
Certainly municipalities need to pressure the Province to implement the 
Expert Panel report and manage all paper sludge under a provincial waste 
permit (Certificate of Approval).  But municipalities need to act swiftly to 
stop their residents from being impacted by this downloaded cascade of 
decomposing industrial waste.

................................................................................

www.wellandtribune.ca

Welland Tribune

July 18, 2006

Pelham Town Council Passes Motion Against Berms

Derek Swartz

Town council passed a motion to try to bring an end to the Church Street 
berm construction at its meeting Monday.

Town staff questioned the motion's efficacy, and the mayor urged residents 
to support the town's efforts to pressure the provincial government.
After the meeting the frustration of Church Street residents was obvious.
Council adopted a motion supporting an interim control bylaw that would 
outlaw the dumping of paper fibre bio-solids (PFBs), Sound- Sorb, 
Nutri-Sorb, and "any combinations thereof" within Pelham for a period of one 
year.

It could adopt such a bylaw as soon as its next meeting, scheduled for Aug. 
21.
The town has the legislative authority to issue a bylaw under the provincial 
Planning Act.
But it is unclear whether an interim control bylaw based on Monday's motion 
would be legal or enforceable.

That opinion, offered up by town planner Craig Larmour, received a frosty 
reception from residents.
The frustration of the residents with the slow pace of progress was 
palpable.

Earlier in the meeting, Carolyn Botari, one of the Church Street resients, 
addressed council. She noted that the resi-dents started fighting against 
the berm three months ago.
After numerous complaints to the Ministry of the Environment it took until 
last week to get the MOE to issue a clean up order for part of the property.
Last week the town received water testing results that indicated the 
potential for "adverse effects" away from the property.

Coun. Uwe Brand went over the results in some detail.

Coun. Brand, an earth sciences professor at Brock university, said one litre 
of the leachate from the could contami-nate between 1,500 and 3,000 litres 
of water, based on the MOE's testing results.
"If that's not an adverse impact, I don't know what is," he said.

Brand received loud applause and an ovation from the residents in 
attendance.
However, if the town proceeds to the next step and makes the motion a bylaw 
it might be unenforceable, staff sug-gested to council.

The motion, based on a bylaw passed by Central Hastings County, has not been 
tested in court, and the town did not receive a legal opinion on the motion.

Town planner Craig Larmour noted the provicial Planning Act, which is being 
used as the legislative power for the motion and a subsequent bylaw, does 
not cover berms.
He also cast doubt on whether the motion conforms to the dictates of the 
Planning Act. Berms, he said, are dealt with under the Municipal Act.

Larmour was heckled by one audience member, which drew the ire of Mayor Ron 
Leavens who threatened to order the heckler out of the meeting.
Unsatisfied with what they were hearing, a few of the approximately three 
dozen residents in attendance walked out before council adopted the motion.
Coun. Brand suggested the act of mixing the PFBs with sand at 325 Church St. 
constitutes an industrial activity.

That, he said, is a violation of the town's zoning bylaw, which does fall 
under the Planning Act.
Building and enforcement services director Ernie Cronier said town staff 
sought a legal opinion on that interpreta-tion.
The legal opinion suggested the mixing is an accessory use of the property 
and would not violate the zoning bylaw.

"So it's a useless (motion) that could cost us a lot of money," Coun. Sharon 
Cook asked.
Mayor Leavens noted even if the town followed through with a bylaw, and it 
was enforceable, it wouldn't stop the Church Street berm because it is 
cannot be applied retroactively.
"The only way to stop what's going on is to get the Ministry of the 
Environment to do its job," he said.

Then he tried to urge the residents to stand behind the town during the 
process.
"We stand behind you," he said to the residents.
"Yeah right," shot back someone.

"We want to stop this not only at 325 Church St., but right across the 
province," he continued.