Sludge Watch ==> Toronto - Up Sewage Creek

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin

Toronto's sludge plan $230 M spent - and still no solution

The City of Toronto deferred endlessly to noisy residents near the 
Ashbridges Bay plant who  inisisted the sewage sludge they would no longer 
tolerate would be a boon to rural communities.  But since this  self-serving 
message was for Toronto politicians  only, City staff together with the 
disaffected neighbours refused to consult with the rural communties and the 
agicultural community before they started the rural sewage sludge land 
application program.

Had they consulted, they would have known that the program would fail.


Toronto spent more than $200,000,000 in a doomed plan to turn its sludge 
'biosolids' loose on Ontario's  rural neighbours.  Pushed by urban neighbors 
near the wastewater plant, the City  cancelled the rural biosolids  
consultation, stripped the environmental assessment of the environmental 
review of biosolids  and rushed trucks into unwilling communities. Then 
despite the failure of the sludge program, they  dismantled the old 
incinerator.  The urban neighbors to the wastewater plant were thrilled with 
their victory.

The rural communities were not so pleased.  Rural communities started to 
pass bylaws against the sludge.  Residents became ill.  Some were 
hospitalized.  Some people are still sick, and in the issues are before the 
courts.

Having failed in the 'biosolids' plan the City  spent extra money  *another 
$30,000,000 or so* on failed sludge pellets.  The pellets were unsaleable, 
and then the plant burned down.   Now Toronto trucks the whole stinking mess 
(15 truckloads a day) to the unwilling Carlton landfill in Michigan.

That is alot of taxpayer money spent with nothing to show for it.  How will 
the City buy its way out of this one?

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

Up sewage creek

On the garbage issue, Toronto's head is stuck in the sand -- and soon it 
could be worse
By SUE-ANN LEVY




They don't much like it when I raise a stink, but I do think the socialists 
who pretend to run City Hall might actually find themselves in deep doo-doo 
on this one.

I'm talking about last week's decision by Republic Services, owner of the 
the Michigan landfill site that is home to 875,000 tonnes of Toronto's trash 
per year, not to accept any more of the city's sewage sludge effective Aug. 
1 -- essentially because it was stinking up the surrounding community.

That leaves city officials scrambling to find alternative methods -- or 
places -- to dispose of 160,000 odoriferous tonnes (about 15 truckfuls per 
day) of wastewater biosolids.

But as usual, Mayor David Miller and his socialists don't seem to have their 
s..., er, act together to even handle this small portion of the city's 
waste.

If they have a contingency plan, it's certainly lost on me. Who knows, maybe 
they'll actually put the issue on the agenda of tomorrow's works committee 
meeting. Works committee chairman Shelley Carroll told me from Montreal 
she's hoping to have an update for the committee by then.

She said staff are looking at whether the landfill site could "legally" end 
its contract obligations and "what relationships" the city has with 
landfills in Ontario to deal with the sewage sludge. Carroll insisted it 
wasn't as "bad a problem" as the rest of the solid waste might present, 
because of the small volume and potential alternative uses for the sewage.

In fact, Lou Di Gironimo, general manager of Toronto Water, issued a 
briefing note to councillors last week that talked about all the wonderful 
uses for the biosolids on agricultural land and as fertilizer pellets.

But as he said yesterday, agricultural uses are limited to late summer and 
fall and the "pelletizer" facility at Ashbridges Bay -- now being rebuilt 
following a fire -- won't be available for use until early next year.

Coun. Case Ootes wasn't surprised with the Republic decision. "For too long 
we've been sticking our heads in the sand, not paying attention to what's 
happening in Michigan," he said, predicting that this is just the beginning.

"Any politician in Ontario willing to take Toronto's sludge is going to be 
voted out of office," he added.

It's not as if Miller and his minions haven't seen this coming. Threats from 
Michigan and Washington to close the border to Toronto's trash have been 
looming since last fall.

'ALMOST' BORDER CLOSURE

Rob Cook, executive director of the Ontario Waste Management Association, 
said this move is "almost like a border closure" and he doesn't believe 
Toronto has a contingency plan.

He said the city may be able to "cobble together" some capacity to deal with 
this, but "I suspect a lot of landfill owners will be reluctant to take the 
material because of the nature of it." As in Michigan, many will not want to 
jeopardize their relationships with their neighbours, he said.

Cook feels the city's best option is to find some way to process the waste, 
although there's not much capacity available for that either. "They're (city 
officials) caught between a rock and a hard place."

Even Carroll admitted they should see the "writing on the wall" and the 
"pressure is going to mount."

Try to convince the mayor of that. He said late last week that sewage sludge 
is "good for landfills" and they're "confident" they can find an 
"appropriate place (for it)."

Typical. The same mayor who told the Association of Municipalities to take a 
hike now wants to foist the city's sewage on some unsuspecting Ontario 
municipality. I hate to trash His Blondness (again), but he's full of you 
know what.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• You can call Sue-Ann Levy at (416) 947-2393 or e-mail at 
sue-ann.levy at tor.sunpub.com


http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Levy_Sue-Ann/2006/06/06/1616879-sun.html