Sludge Watch ==> Ontario Canada - Lafarge Cement seeks approval for major landfill

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Lafarge is looking to take 'pelletized municipal waste' and tires and trash 
from the USA and Ontario to burn in its cement kiln...to the dismay of the 
neighbors.  As if that wasn't bad enough, they want a bigger landfill, even 
though they've failed to follow the management plan in their permit 
(Certificate of Approval) according to the Waterkeeper.

Lafarge wants to take the BSE risk material 'meat and bone meal'.  Will some 
of this material end up in their landfill after 'upset conditions'?  Will 
the staff know that they are dealing with a potentially infectious prion 
material?  Do we want cement kiln workers, who already face occupational 
health issues related to cement kiln dusts, to be dealing with biohazard 
materials?  Biohazard materials from the USA - a jurisdiction where Canada 
does not control the originating facility?

This is foolish and dangerous.

Below the story is the Waterkeeper's excellent position on burning wastes at 
Lafarge.


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

Lafarge seeks approval for major landfill in Bath

Bath Creek flows towards Lake Ontario in Bath.

On May 9, 2006, Lafarge Canada Inc. posted a notice to the Environmental 
Registry declaring its need to amend their Certificate of Approval for the 
landfill at its Bath plant.

The Bath plant has been operation since 1973. The landfill contains cement 
kiln dust (CKD), a byproduct of the cement manufacturing process. CKD is a 
fine, dry dust released from the cement kiln and captured by the kiln's air 
pollution control system.

In 1998, Lafarge obtained a Certificate of Approval to dispose of CKD in the 
landfill based on specifications only for the southern portion. In 2003, the 
company began disposing of CKD in the northern portion of the site. To this 
day, Lafarge is operating outside of the management plans that form part of 
the 1998 Certificate of Approval.

Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and co-application Gord Downie will file our 
preliminary responses to Lafarge's request for amendments later this week by 
June 8, 2006. We are asking for a three-month extension so the public can 
have an opportunity to study the significance of this proposal.

Our first concern is the sheer size of Lafarge's landfill. For every hundred 
tonnes of cement it produces, Lafarge generates four tonnes of CKD. Between 
1992 and 2004, Lafarge has dumped an average of 28,521 tonnes of CDK per 
year into the landfill. By Lafarge's own numbers, this is the equivalent of 
the domestic waste created yearly by over 94,000 people. The proposed 
amendment will allow 240 tonnes of CKD to be disposed each day. This maximum 
allowable amount is the equivalent of the domestic waste of over 289,000 
people.

Our second concern is the potential effect on Bath Creek, Lake Ontario, and 
local groundwater. Lafarge's proposal does not appear to be based on the 
most up-to-date science or best engineering practices. In fact, leachate 
from the landfill is released into Bath Creek, which runs through the town 
of Bath and into Lake Ontario.

Our third concern is the apparent disregard for Ontario's environmental 
processes. Lafarge has been operating the northern portion of its landfill 
for three years without a proper management plan, a required component of 
the existing Certificate of Approval. This plan should have been submitted 
before Lafarge began disposing of CKD in a new area and the public should 
have had an opportunity to comment at that time.

Finally, there is a clear relationship between Lafarge's CKD landfill and 
its Bath Alternate Fuels Project. The proposed addition of tires, plastics, 
bones and other waste to its process will change the quality and quantity of 
the CKD. The CKD amendments make no reference to Lafarge's plan to burn 
these wastes. The CKD amendments and the Alternative Fuels Project need to 
be examined together.

In light of these concerns, Waterkeeper and Gord Downie are requesting that 
the public study period be extended until Fall 2006. If the Ministry of the 
Environment decides to refuse our request for an extension, we are asking 
that Lafarge's application to be rejected.

The current deadline for public comments is June 8. Comments can be sent to:
Application Processor
Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch
Floor 12A, 2 St Clair Ave W
Toronto, Ontario, M4V 1L5
PHONE: (416) 314-8216 FAX: (416) 314-8452