City Takes First Legal Steps In Bio-Solids Dispute
Prince George, BC – A Salmon Valley resident who set up a road blockade to prevent a city contractor from delivering bio-solids to another private property in the area has been served with a Notice of Claim filed by the City of Prince George.
Wright Creek Road resident, Andy Angele, set up a blockade on December 9th to prevent the delivery from going through to a nearby farmer’s field. RCMP were involved for a short period, but left when the truck pulled back from the area without making its delivery. (click here, for previous story)
Angele says he received notice of the legal action on Friday. He says, "It’s to me – to Jane Doe, or John Doe, anybody else that would be on the road – and says they will be looking at recovering costs, any costs they incur through this, if we block the road again. That’s what my first impression is."
The City indicates bio-solid deliveries to the property will begin on February 21st.
Angele says he is still opposed to having bio-solids dumped in the area, as are many of his neighbours, but says it might come down to a matter of finances. "Oh yeah, nobody out here wants it," says he says. "Everybody is very disappointed that the City would do something like this, but most of the people out here are working people – they have young kids, they’re just making ends meet – and a long, drawn-out court thing would be impossible for us to do."
Angele says he doesn’t have the financial resources to seek legal advice, but will venture to the courthouse today to determine, legally, how he is supposed to respond to the notice.
Comments
Dump it on city property. The downtown should work.
We should be exporting this stuff to China. “Pre-prepared fertilizer”. They’ve used the unprepared kind for years.
Thanks for at least standing up for what you know is right!
Hey PG City officials if it is so safe dump it on your own property. Hey Green is it not green enough to dump in your city.
The residents of Salmon Valley should contact some big environmental groups and see if they can assist them with any possible legal ramifications.
It’s disgusting that the City of Prince George would resort to legal tactics instead of providing them with proof and assurances that the stuff is safe to dump there. Or perhaps it isn’t and they cannot do so??
I would like to see an unofficial pole on how many city and regional district residents would like it for their yards and parks. Free of course. I vote no, and hope my neighbors don’t want it. If it is so good it should be used on evey green spot in town first to save on trucking, and be able to be picked up free of charge from an easy pick up location.
I VOTE NO!
Take a read before lashing out.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/mun-waste/regs/omrr/pdf/land-app-guidelines.pdf
Its more then just dumping the bio-sludge on the ground.
If this stuff is safe the city should be using it on their own green space. Why incur the expense of hauling it out of town and paying someone for use of their fields? Moore’s Meadow could use something other than dog crap for fertilizer. Lots of soccer pitches and baseball diamonds in town that could use a boost as well.
read the document.
The city here is Class B.
We can’t apply it to our city spaces because that would mean that people would be playing in it.
It’s ok though to apply it to farmland
where food for livestock is grown. Then we all get to eat it!
I didn’t realize there were so many environmental experts posting at this site.
“The city here is Class B.”
You spelled ‘less’ incorrectly. :)
Bio-solids applications to land is NOT unique to PG. Its done by most larger municipalities in BC, Canada, and North America.
The process is being done using permits that are handed out by the Ministry of Environment.
Looks like another year of 2 million for legal fees for our City.
Cheers
The process for dumping bio solids may be controlled by permits etc; however the actual dumping on farm land need not take place. There are other alternatives.
Problem is the City is taking the line of least resisitance, and the cheapest.
1. Can we burn this in the New Plant that is being built at Lakeland Mills. Have they checked out what the pollution to the airshed would be if it was burnt??
2. We have many many closed open pit mines in the area. Ie; Tumbler Ridge, Topley, Kemess at MacKenzie etc; It might cost more to dump this sludge on these **abandoned** facilities, however it would probably be more acceptable for all British Columbians.
3. I have heard that once farmland has been treated to this sludge procedure, it can not longer get an **Organic** designation. Over the long term this could have an effect on people who want to grow organic foods.
4. Last but not least the farmer himself who is allowing this stuff to be dumped on his property has to take some responsibility. Does he get paid for this??
5. The City is trying to play hardball with this issue, however it seems they are making very little or no effort to find other ways of dealing with it.
“4. Last but not least the farmer himself who is allowing this stuff to be dumped on his property has to take some responsibility. Does he get paid for this??”
Of course he is getting paid. If he isn’t he sure got snookered! Responsibility? Everyone is off the hook as long as the government officials whose permission was required gave the go-ahead! If it turns out later that they were wrong – it’s still not a problem, as long as they can prove that the latest science available at the time was used to make the decision.
How to mitigate a harmful situation later on? That’s a problem for posterity to deal with! By that time all those who gave the permits are retired with gold plated pensions!
Same goes for the hexafluorosilicic acid (sodium fluoride) added to our city tap water.
Palopu, please provide actual examples of municipalies disposing of their bio-solids as per your suggestions.
Talsnic. I dont have any acutal examples.
What I am saying is that we have the abandoned open pit mines, that would be able so absorb this sludge. Seems to me that there would be little or no complaint for that type of disposal.
As far as burning it at Lakeland Mills this is probably a non starter, however we do have capacity to burn hog fuel at Lakeland, UNBC and the Pulp Mills in the area. One would think that this might be a solution.
This would be situation where we could be leaders as opposed to followers.
“Bio-solids applications to land is NOT unique to PG. Its done by most larger municipalities in BC, Canada, and North America.
The process is being done using permits that are handed out by the Ministry of Environment” ..
yes, and because of this we know it is safe because as we all know our govt bureau-crazy is never wrong. We all know asbestos is good for us and can be used inside dwellings. And that DDT isn’t harmful to the environment.
Sorry have to come up with a better argument than “the govt says its ok, therefore it is good to go”
great, suggest something out of the ordinary.
If they were great ideas, you would know of other municipalities doing it. I’m sure your not the first guy with ideas.
I sure hope the citizens push for new ideas, and let our tax dollars to look into un-tested “new” ideas.
I sure hope Palopu you enjoy tax increases.
But: “yes, and because of this we know it is safe because as we all know our govt bureau-crazy is never wrong.”
Very good! Smoking used to be harmless, second-hand smoke was harmless too, no health authority objected to smoking in hospitals – even in hospital rooms with non-smoker patients in the same room! NOW it’s not o.k., after all. Then there was harmless lead in gasoline and paint, harmless asbestos in houses and vehicle brake pads, harmless plastic bottles containing BPA, car exhaust fumes were totally harmless until they changed their minds, etc…how reliable is such a track record? Until last year the WHO (World Health Organization) declared that mercury amalgam fillings in teeth are 100% harmless! It defended the practice with all the power at its disposal! NOW the same WHO advises the international dental profession to phase out the use of mercury fillings as they are not safe after all! It is suggested that fillings be used instead which last as long and are not a threat to the patient and the environment.
Good luck with the bio-solids! I’m surprised they don’t call them bio-organic-solids!
How about dumping this stuff in the landfill where all the other nasties end up?
About DDT-http://junkscience.com/ddt/
Jim 13135 writes-It’s disgusting that the City of Prince George would resort to legal tactics instead of providing them with proof and assurances that the stuff is safe to dump there. Or perhaps it isn’t and they cannot do so??
This is how the city operates. The Haldi Road Res. asked questions, but the city didn’t find it necessary to answer them so Haldi Res. have taken on the expense of seeing the city in court. The city makes it difficult,and expensive and hopes that by being a bully no one will fight back. The disregard that the city demonstrates to residents needs to stop somewhere.
“The disregard that the city demonstrates to residents needs to stop somewhere.”
It’s just a little less than 3 years until the next municipal election when the residents will get yet another opportunity to get a foot in the door!
Until then: Very little respect.
Talsnic. I guess your right. We are far better off spending our tax dollars on.
a. A $38 Million dollar Police station
b. A $15 Million dollar Community Energy System
c. A $7 Million dollar upgrade to River Road. Plus interest.
d. A $ 11 Million dollar dike on River Road plus interest.
e. A $48 Million dollar Performing Art Centre, Plus interest.
f. A. $22 Million dollar investment in the Boundry Road Cut-off.
g. A $36 Million dollar extension to the Airport Runway. (Which is never used)
h. A proposed 6 storey wood innovation building that will cost $40/50 million and serve no useful purpose.
When it comes to tax increases, we get one every year, in addition to the one line items, such as garbage, roads, and the Winter Games.
Dont play the tax increase game with me. Its a non starter. This City is a leader in only one thing, and that is its ability to waste tax dollars.
Hauling this crap away or finding a realistic and save way of disposing it, should have been the Cities first priority, however they chose scatter it around the Country side for the past 20 years more or less, and are just now starting to get some resistance.
PS.
I forgot I. A $15 million dollar expenditure (Citys portion) on the Winter Games.
If one wants to see where others have gone before us, Ontario is normally a good place to start.
They have been applying biosolids since the 1970s
Cities like Hamilton, Kingston, etc. have sections on their web sites dealing with biosolids, so I assume that they are processing their sludge and spreading the chit all over the countryside.
http://www.cielap.org/pdf/Brief_Biosolids.pdf
The Canadian Institute for Environmental Law & Policy has an interesting missive.
Here are the concerns:
âBiosolids often contain significant concentrations of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Biosolids also generally contain low concentrations of pathogens such as bacteria, molds and toxins that can have adverse effects on human health. Biosolids may be contaminated with heavy metals (also referred to as trace metals or trace elements) such as chromium, cadmium, lead and other contaminants that end up in sewage treatment plants after having been discharged into sewers as industrial waste. There are also emerging concerns that biosolids contain contaminants such as antibiotics, hormones and other endocrine-disrupting substances that have originated from the manufacture and use of pharmaceuticals and personal care products.â
Some communities oppose the regulatory amendments that were proposed in 2007 because they disagree with the assumption that the spreading of biosolids is beneficial to crop production and safe for human health
The most frequent complaint associated with land application of biosolids is odour. The strong odours that biosolids emit are a nuisance when applied near residential areas.
Sewage treatment plants may leave pathogen levels relatively high in treated biosolids. A report released by the University of Ottawaâs Faculty of Medicine concluded that treatment may not reduce certain pathogens and may lead to less reduction than expected of other pathogens. It should be noted that treatment successfully lowered most pathogen concentrations.
Here are the disposal methods and reason why more land applications are likely over time, unless there are people who will oppose it.
Each year, Ontario generates approximately 300,000 dry tons of municipal sewage biosolids. Some 40% are applied to land, 40% go to landfills and 20% are incinerated. Increasingly,the economic and environmental costs of landfilling and incineration are leading municipalities to pursue land application as a means of biosolid disposal.
In addition to land application, biosolids are being used in some jurisdictions for other types of soil amendment such as landscaping, mine reclamation, composting, landfill closure, silviculture and soil-surface revegetation. As with agricultural application, biosolids used for other types of soil amendment offer both potential benefits and potential detriments because the soil receives both the good and the bad constituents that make up the biosolids.
So, the jury is out and the killer may be out as well, who knows. What is the level of risk?
What was the level of risk with asbestos 50 years ago? Smoking? Fine Particulates in the air? Pretty low compared to today.
We have 20+ years of experience with biosolids. Is the risk level going down or up? Are we doing suffcient research to know?
So, if we believe the missive from the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law & Policy we know why no one is applying it on city parks.
We also know why the city is not sending it to landfills, incinerating it or sending it to reclaim mined lands.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
I figure someone at city hall once worked for a large multinational… large multinationals are the ones that usually bully with the legal dollar imbalance to intimidate and put others out of business through lawsuit claims. Its disgusting and all on city council should wear it.
Northwood burns this type of crap all the time… they add a bucket to the hog pile and mix it in about once an hour. I’m sure they would take it for free as long as it burned… why wouldn’t they if they could burn it and make money doing so, to say nothing of the positive PR and friendly relationship with the city. Not every city has a pulp mill like Northwood, so its no surprise we don’t have a trail blazer to reference, but its no reason why PG could be a leader on its own.
To force onto agricultural land is short sighted, disgusting, and ignorant IMO.
I would argue the treatment of these farmers by our city creates more of a negative image than all the dollars IPG spends trying to do the opposite… who would want to willingly pick PG for an investment… when they see a city that treats its residents and neighbors with such disdain?
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