Highland Creek Treatment Plant Petition

FACT: Highland Creek Treatment Plant currently uses multihearth incineration (which is at the end of its service life) to process solid waste.

FACT: The City of Toronto’s Biosolids Master Plan (BMP), a six-year study and environmental assessment, recommended that fluidized bed incineration is the preferred option for processing solid waste at the Highland Creek Treatment Plant. This fluidized bed option was later supported in two staff reports.

FACT: Staff reports cite fluidized bed incineration as a better method than trucking of sludge (“beneficial use option”) on every single criterion:
• Lower environmental impact (lower emissions and removal of heavy metals);
• Lower community impacts and risks (less odour, noise and potential for spills);
• Onsite solutions (trucking leaving 1-2 weeks per year instead of 4-5 times per day);
• Lower long-term costs (no need to build a new facility and lower operating costs);
• Better Biosolids End Use (higher demand for ash from incineration, such as to make cement, whereas supply outweighs demand for sludge resulting in more sludge going to the landfill);
• Proven and state-of-the-art technology (scrubbers and air pollution control added to incineration to exceed present and future environmental regulations)

FACT: In June 2010 and May 2011, City Council voted against the recommendation of staff and the environmental assessment and directed staff to pursue trucking of sludge (“beneficial use option”) despite increased negative environmental, health, social, and fiscal impacts. No environmental assessment is needed for the “beneficial use option” despite the Medical Officer of Health reporting that this option has greater negative impacts on community life than incineration (noise, traffic, odours, toxic chemicals, and surface, soil and water ground quality). “Beneficial use” was reported to have lower air quality impacts than incineration, but additional pollution control measures (e.g. scrubbers) for fluidized bed incineration will improve air quality and reduce differences between the methods.

FACT: Funding to build a new trucking facility will go to City Council for approval in November 2011. City staff will only pursue the “beneficial use option” once funding for the proposed facility has been approved.

Therefore, we the undersigned, in support of efforts made by Highland Creek Treatment Plant Neighbourhood Liaison Committee, urge Toronto City Council to:

• Reconsider Council’s previous decision to pursue the “beneficial use option” and realize the benefits of pursuing fluidized bed incineration; or, barring that,

• At minimum, require that a comprehensive environmental assessment and health impact study, with full public consultation, be conducted on the “beneficial use option” to examine potential negative social, fiscal, health and environmental impacts.