Sludge Watch ==> NORMPAC - First Dombind - Now Normpac sludge on farmland near Trenton

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch:

In 1996, just after I moved to rural Ontario, Domtar Paper of Trenton 
Ontario (now "Norampac")
started to offer rural road superintendents 'free dust suppressant'). Domtar 
called their spent pulping liquor (aka 'black liquor') by the pretty name 
'Dombind: Road Binder'.  '

It didn't work very well, since the black goo washed off the road in the 
rain, and it contained dioxins and furans from the old cardboard that was 
used for inputs.   It took years of rural campaigning and assistance from a 
wide variety of environmental and law organizations to get it stopped.

Industry has been seeking ways to rename their industrial wastes as some 
sort of bogus product so that they can evade the costs of responsible waste 
disposal.

Now we see Norampac  wastes slathered on farmland.

Lets hope the Ministry of the Environment puts a stop to this pronto.

Below the news story are the comments from the Ministry of the Environment. 
Below that is a strange fire at the Norampac mill a few days ago


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Ministry orders cleanup

Ernst Kuglin  /  Osprey News network; The Trentonian
Local News - Saturday, July 14, 2007 @ 10:00

The Ministry of Environment has ordered four companies to clean up an 
alleged illegal dump on private farm land, just south of Frankford, off 
Harrington Road.

Ministry spokesman John Steele says Norampac, Lissom Earth Sciences of 
Picton, Industrial Enviro Solutions Inc. and Braunco were issued orders 
Friday to remove and clean up a field off Harrington Road, where a black, 
oil-like liquid was dumped. All four firms have been ordered to submit 
reports on the clean up effort to the ministry.

The matter is in the hands of the ministry's investigations and enforcement 
branch, he adds. Steele could not say when investigators will wrap up their 
investigation.

Ron Charlton, of Industrial Enviro Solutions, said Friday he will appeal the 
ministry order. Charlton said his company "legally" spread a "soil 
enhancement product" on the property he owns.


"This has been tested ... it is legal to place in on land and it is inert," 
Charlton insisted. Charlton said the substance in question originated from 
western Ontario and contains some wood pulp. A clay berm was erected on the 
property Friday as a precautionary measure. "I have worked with the ministry 
and have co-operated since day one," he said.

Charlton denied Industrial Earth Science Inc. has dealt with Norampac in 
recent weeks, but declined to say if Lissom Earth Sciences had a business 
arrangement with the company.

Norampac mill manager J.J. Davis said he could not comment Friday but added 
the company will issue a press release on the ministry order. Davis said he 
could not comment on whether Norampac contracted one or several of the firms 
to dispose of sludge at a certified, disposal site.

Allegations of an illegal dump on the property just south of Frankford 
surfaced July 4 when local residents saw as many as 30 truckloads of a 
sludge-like material dumped on land off Harrington Road before the ministry 
shut the operation down.

Area resident Nick Monger says he's relieved by the ministry's efforts.

"We saw them at the site Friday piling the material and making what looked 
like a berm," said Monger.

"We're happy the ministry moved on this to get it cleaned up. We were 
worried about the sludge contaminating the local watershed and wells."

According to Quinte West planning documents the property in question is 
zoned A-1 agricultural and is environmentally protected. The property is one 
of 217 pieces of land in Quinte West identified by the Ministry of Natural 
Resources as an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI).

Industrial Enviro Solutions Inc. purchased the property for $75,000 from 
Stanley Park Ltd. of Belleville. The land transfer was registered with the 
county July 3.

The papers show Charlton as the agent authorized by Enviro Solutions to 
conclude the deal.

According to Lissom Earth Sciences website, Charlton is listed as a field 
manager. Information on the site states the firm offers a variety of 
services including ground water supply evaluation, sewage disposal system 
assessments and environmental site assessments amongst other services.

It also states clients have included the provincial government and 
municipalities.


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

Steele, John (ENE) <John.Steele at ontario.ca>
Sent : 	July 18, 2007 12:21:33 PM
To : 	"Maureen Reilly" <maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca>
Subject : 	RE: Spent pulping liquor ( Norampac liquid waste lagoon) spread 
on farmland



On July 4, 2007 staff of the ministry's Belleville Area office received
numerous calls from a concerned citizen regarding a property owned by
Enviro Solutions Inc. on Harrington Road in the City of Quinte West,
Sidney Township.  It was reported that unmarked trucks were arriving on
site full of material and leaving the site empty. Ministry staff
attended the site on a priority basis.  Upon inspection, it was evident
that a sludge type material was being deposited and buried on site. The
ministry took samples of the leachate and sludge for analysis.

It has been confirmed that the source of the sludge material deposited
at the Enviro Solutions Inc property on Harrington Road is from from the
Norampac lagoon in Trenton.  Norampac had contracted Lissom Earth
Sciences Picton to remove the sludge from its lagoon and dispose of it
in an environmentally responsible manner.

The ministry has confirmed that all dumping activities at the property
ceased as of July 4, 2007.

On July 9, 2007, the ministry issued a Provincial Officer's Order to
Norampac and several parties, including Lissom Earth Sciences, Braunco
and Industrial Enviro Solutions, requiring the clean up of the field
area where the sludge was deposited and the submission of remedial
reports. All processing of the sludge at the Norampac site has ceased.
On site activities are underway to contain the sludge and to prevent any
runoff to surrounding areas.  The sludge material is being piled and a
clay berm is being built around the pile to prevent runoff until an
environmental action plan is submitted by a qualified engineering firm
with expertise in waste removal and waste management. The ministry has
conducted daily site visits since July 4, 2007 and continues to monitor
the activities at the site closely.

The matter has been referred to the ministry's Investigation and
Enforcement Branch for review.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Normpac never caught fire

By Ernst Kuglin
Local News - Monday, July 09, 2007 Updated @ 1:12:19 PM

TRENTON — It took Quinte West firefighters more than two hours to cool off 
what was described as a bed of "hot, molten material" that leaked from pipes 
in Norampac’s Trenton plant steam reformer building.

Contrary reports that the plant had caught fire, plant manager J.J. Davis 
said in an interview a mechanical failure reulted in the spilled material, 
but the material did not burn nor did it cause a fire.

“The Quinte West fire department has the proper equipment to handle that 
situation. We had to let the material cool off before it could be doused 
with water,’’ said Davis.

Deputy Chief John Whelan said a general alarm went out around 11:30 p.m.

On arrival, Whelan said firefighters had to deal with a spill described as 
"molten lava.
’’

“We had to let the material cool off before we could properly douse it,’’ 
said Whelan.

The steam reformer converts what’s known as ‘spent cooking liquor’ into 
energy in order to help power the plant. Prior to the installation of the 
steam reformer equipment, the end byproduct of the plant's production was 
creosote.

Davis said a joint in a mechanical pipe broke sending material on to the 
refiner floor bed.

An emergency shutdown of the operation was ordered.

“Due to the nature of the material we called the city fire department for 
assistance,’’ said Davis.

Whelan said an evacuation of the building was also ordered. There were no 
injuries.

More than 27 firefighters were needed to cool the molten bed and they 
continued working until about 4:30 a.m. Monday.

Davis said it was too early after the accident to determine exact damage 
estimates. He expects the steam reformer operation to be out of commission 
several weeks to a month.

“The rest of our operation was not affected,’’ said Davis.

Quinte West’s aerial truck was called to the scene, but did not have to be 
used.

“The guys did a great job ... working a long time in order to cool the 
material off.’’

Whelan said ministry of Environment investigators were on he scene.

“This event was out of the ordinary for our guys due of the nature of the 
incident ... it wasn’t a typical structure fire that we respond to. The guys 
deserve a lot of credit.’’

The giant plant on the east bank of the Trent River was operating morning.

The Norampac steam reformer facility is described by company officials as 
"North America’s first low temperature black liquor gasification system.

The operation utilizes eqipment created by ThermoChem Recovery 
International, of Baltimore, MD., for a low temperature biomass gasification 
process to recover chemicals and energy from the spent pulping liquor the 
mill produces in the manufacturing of pulp and paper.

Work on the $35 million project began in 2000. The operation was 
commissioned and operational in 2003.

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