Peel Balks at Halton Sludge
Peel balks at Halton sludge
Contractor wants to dump treated sewage on Caledon farmland
Mike Funston
PEEL/HALTON BUREAU
Toronto Star
August 9, 2002
Peel Region council wants careful scrutiny of a proposal to dump municipal sewage sludge from Halton on to farmland at the headwaters of the Credit River.
"I don't know whether it's safe or not but we should have a full report on it," Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion said yesterday.
"We don't know what's in the sludge and whether it can contaminate the groundwater. We need an environmental assessment."
A motion expressing the region's concerns will be sent to Ontario's environment ministry.
An application has been made by a private contractor for Halton Region to dump the sludge, a by-product of the sewage treatment process, as fertilizer on a potato farm off St. Andrew's Road in Caledon.
The site feeds tributaries of the Credit River and the environmentally significant Star wetland, said area resident David Hughes, who is fighting the proposal. His property is immediately south of the site, which is within the Niagara Escarpment.
"This application raises some very basic questions about the adequacy of sludge dumping policy in Ontario," Hughes said. "In a post-Walkerton environment, this is not acceptable."
There was originally a proposal to dump Toronto sludge on the same site, but the ministry rejected it because that sludge was deemed to be too odorous. The application was then switched to Halton sludge, which undergoes a different treatment process.
Bruce Kitchen, Halton's director of engineering, said the region's sludge is of good quality, after going through primary and secondary treatment in digesters to neutralize bacteria and foul odours.
Most of the region's treated sludge is spread on Halton farms, but the contractor has the option of finding sites outside the region. It's popular with farmers because the sludge makes a nutrient-rich fertilizer that is supplied and spread for free, he said.
The environment ministry is reviewing its sewage sludge policies, said spokesperson Mark Rabbior.
The ministry regulates the process by issuing a certificate of approval for the spreading and hauling of sludge after a site inspection has been done. The certificate may contain restrictions on the spreading of sludge near watercourses and other limitations.
A maximum of eight tonnes per hectare of sludge may be spread every five years. Sludge is also tested for 11 metals, which must fall within the ministry's safety standards.
Contractor wants to dump treated sewage on Caledon farmland
Mike Funston
PEEL/HALTON BUREAU
Toronto Star
August 9, 2002
Peel Region council wants careful scrutiny of a proposal to dump municipal sewage sludge from Halton on to farmland at the headwaters of the Credit River.
"I don't know whether it's safe or not but we should have a full report on it," Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion said yesterday.
"We don't know what's in the sludge and whether it can contaminate the groundwater. We need an environmental assessment."
A motion expressing the region's concerns will be sent to Ontario's environment ministry.
An application has been made by a private contractor for Halton Region to dump the sludge, a by-product of the sewage treatment process, as fertilizer on a potato farm off St. Andrew's Road in Caledon.
The site feeds tributaries of the Credit River and the environmentally significant Star wetland, said area resident David Hughes, who is fighting the proposal. His property is immediately south of the site, which is within the Niagara Escarpment.
"This application raises some very basic questions about the adequacy of sludge dumping policy in Ontario," Hughes said. "In a post-Walkerton environment, this is not acceptable."
There was originally a proposal to dump Toronto sludge on the same site, but the ministry rejected it because that sludge was deemed to be too odorous. The application was then switched to Halton sludge, which undergoes a different treatment process.
Bruce Kitchen, Halton's director of engineering, said the region's sludge is of good quality, after going through primary and secondary treatment in digesters to neutralize bacteria and foul odours.
Most of the region's treated sludge is spread on Halton farms, but the contractor has the option of finding sites outside the region. It's popular with farmers because the sludge makes a nutrient-rich fertilizer that is supplied and spread for free, he said.
The environment ministry is reviewing its sewage sludge policies, said spokesperson Mark Rabbior.
The ministry regulates the process by issuing a certificate of approval for the spreading and hauling of sludge after a site inspection has been done. The certificate may contain restrictions on the spreading of sludge near watercourses and other limitations.
A maximum of eight tonnes per hectare of sludge may be spread every five years. Sludge is also tested for 11 metals, which must fall within the ministry's safety standards.
posted by Sludge at 5:03 AM
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