Company charged with dumping sludge

Company charged with dumping sludge; Sewage unloaded illegally on field, ministry alleges
Toronto Star
September 17, 2002

One of Ontario's largest haulers of sewage sludge has been charged under the province's Environmental Protection Act.

Hamilton-based Terratech Environmental is scheduled to appear in court here Oct. 15.

The environment ministry says Terratech violated its certificate of approval when it dumped tonnes of sewage sludge on a field on Beaverdale Rd. in Cambridge between Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, 2001.

The company was charged because it applied the waste to farmland at a place where the land slopes toward a small creek and at a time of year when the sludge could drain to the creek, ministry spokesperson John Steele said.

Steele said sewage sludge often has high counts of E. coli and other bacteria.

"Even though sewage is treated, the process wouldn't remove bacteria," he said. "The sewage treatment plants are not designed to do that."

The certificate of approval issued by the ministry prohibited sludge from being spread in the winter, during a rainfall or on a slope, Steele said.

Proponents of spreading sewage sludge on farm fields say it is a good way to add nutrients to the land and, if done properly, has little or no impact on the environment.

But critics say the haulers often violate provincial guidelines and spread the material too close to water courses, and at times of the year when it shouldn't be applied.

Terratech has a contract to haul sludge from Waterloo Region's sewage treatment plants. About half of the sludge is taken to farms within the region and the rest to farms outside of the area.