You Know What Hits The Fan

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 03:53 AM

Red Rock, B.C.-The President of the Red Rock Local Service Advisory Committee says his group would like to know how the City of Prince George was able to construct a dump site on Patterson Rd East for Biosolids without any consultation of the neighbours and other nearby residents.

Tom Von Sychowski said he first discovered the site, six miles down Patterson Rd, when he went to the area and found some signs nailed on posts telling people there was no entry.

The City of Prince George he says proposes to dump up to 50 loads a day of human waste from the City's lagoons on to the property. That property he claims, drains not only into a swamp nearby but a creek that feeds into the Fraser River.

About 150 people have signed a petition calling on the Regional District, Mayor Dan Rogers, Premier Gordon Campbell, the two MLA,s and others to explain why they were not consulted about the site.

The area “D’ Director Bob Headrick says he was met with blank stares when he raised the matter with the Regional District staff. Although he says he has since been told that the material being placed on the site is likened to manure and it falls under the ALR as an acceptable use.

Area resident Ken Bielert says a three foot berm went up around the property on three sides and a sign telling people to 'keep out' was posted, "That’s as much as we were told about the dump site and surely we should be entitled to know more."

Mayor Dan Rogers told 0-250 that he was unaware of the project but he would look into it.

Von Sychowski says the City has told a few callers that they will meet with them on an individual basis but would not attend a meeting of the area residents.

Late Tuesday the City of Prince George requested a copy of the transcript of Tuesday's Meisner show on CFISFM where the matter was initially raised.

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Posted on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 03:53 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Denaljo on January 20 2010 5:31 AM

Sounds pretty "poopy" to me! Never mind looking into it; Dan should get into it!!

Posted by: Superheated Steam on January 20 2010 7:12 AM

NIMBY

Posted by: metalman on January 20 2010 7:59 AM

Dry it and burn it for heat or power.
If the fumes and smoke are properly filtered, burning the waste makes the best ecological choice.
That material still contains heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and lord knows what else, to leach into the soil, or run off into waterways.
metalman.

Posted by: Eagleone on January 20 2010 8:15 AM

Admin runs the show with little to no accountability to the public?

Posted by: RUEZ on January 20 2010 8:42 AM

It's less a case of 'not in my back yard' as it is a case of 'what the hell are you putting in my back yard?'

Posted by: diplomat on January 20 2010 8:51 AM

"Mayor Dan Rogers told 0-250 that he was unaware of the project but he would look into it."

Isn't the mayor supposed to be fully aware of all projects, especially major ones like this one?

Posted by: wavoes on January 20 2010 9:02 AM

too busy planning bike trails?

Posted by: gus on January 20 2010 9:15 AM

Maybe he assumes that he has a competent administration.

So how is the communications guy going to handle this one? Or is he in Mexico tanning?

Posted by: gus on January 20 2010 9:28 AM

BTW, does anyone know where the sludge has been dumped in the past?

Posted by: giterdun on January 20 2010 9:30 AM

Eagleone... May I edit your comment?
Admin runs the show with NO accountability
to the public.

Posted by: gus on January 20 2010 9:37 AM

http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/bio-not-so-solids/Content?oid=962731

"Sludge Diet, by filmmaker Mario Desmairas, details the tragic impact of the four-million tonnes of the stuff spread on American farms every year and tells the harrowing stories of cancer-related deaths in families living near sludge-covered farms."

“This should snap everybody to attention,” he said at the time, pointing out that biosolids are already banned in Newfoundland and Labrador. They are also banned or strictly limited in several European countries."

Sounds like the area should be fenced, at the least.

Posted by: gus on January 20 2010 9:38 AM

We need a BC Municipal Board.

Posted by: Dragonmaster on January 20 2010 9:48 AM

"BTW, does anyone know where the sludge has been dumped in the past?"

Yes indeed...at one time they had dumptruck loads of it dumped up on the fields of the Johnsons farm just south of the Salmon River on Hwy 97 North.

Posted by: metalman on January 20 2010 10:37 AM

"yes indeed...at one time they had dumptruck oads of it............"
They still are spreading it on their fields, or at least they did last year, 2009. The hay grows well with that 'crap' but does it ever smell bad. Kind of a moldy/mildewey odour, unpleasant.
I would be concerned about any crop being fertilized with the waste from the sewage treatment plant, and would not consume the flesh of any animals that grazed on such land or ate the hay grown there. Think about all the different things that people flush down the toilet besides human waste, or pour into the sink drain, it ain't a pretty think.
metalman.

Posted by: IMO on January 20 2010 11:51 AM

Gross! Obviously lagoons were not the right way to go. Oh Well! Like everything else.

Posted by: Loki on January 20 2010 11:59 AM

I was under the impression that human waste could not ever be applied to any field where food stocks or grazing animals used for food products were?

In any case, this is a travesty of an unsanitary action.

Am I to understand that lagoons do not actually do what they are supposed to do or is it a matter of exceeding capacity?

Posted by: commoner on January 20 2010 1:28 PM

As long as the sewage has been treated appropriately, it is not necessarily a hazard.

Answers should be given however. It surprised me to learn that there was not some sort of approval process so that the public, especially the nearby residents, could be informed and given the opportunity to provide input.

This link shows the treatment process:
http://www.surfrider.org/a-z/SewageTreatmentFlow.pdf

How were the biosolids that are being dumped at THIS location treated?

Posted by: Harbinger on January 20 2010 2:12 PM

Betcha they don't have a lot of folks in China getting upset over this kind of thing. Then again, a "small town" in China is about 2 million people. Extrapolate, if you dare!

Posted by: Jayda on January 20 2010 2:49 PM

As one living on this creek I'm very concerned and upset that I was not notified or had any input. I wonder when this started? I saw a lot of fry floating belly up in the fall.

Thank you Ben for bringing this to to forefront.

Posted by: metalman on January 20 2010 3:28 PM

This material is not raw sewage, not even close.
It is the solids that have been strained out of the effluent (sewage) drained, and I believe it may even be treated by a heat process, not sure, but the fact remains that the human waste component of the effluent is the least of our worries. It is the chemicals, liquids containing heavy metals and pharmaceuticals that can not be filtered or treated. They remain in the sludge that is hauled away and spread on the land. There are two factions in this debate, each claiming something different;
One side says that the sludge is perfectly safe to use as fertilizer, the other side is the viewpoint I am espousing, that the harmful components in the effluent are still present in the sludge. I am not really sure about the efficacy of drying then incinerating the sludge, then scrubbing the smoke before discharging to atmosphere, but I know it can be done, and I believe that would be the most environmentally safe method of disposal.
metalman.

Posted by: gus on January 20 2010 7:16 PM

from metalman

"One side says that the sludge is perfectly safe to use as fertilizer, the other side is the viewpoint I am espousing, that the harmful components in the effluent are still present in the sludge"

I like to err on the side of safety when it comes to human health and safety.

Here is a page on various types of municipal sludge products

http://www.iatp.org/iatp/publications.cfm?accountID=421&refID=104205

notice the warning :"IATP
does not recommend home use of sludge-based fertilizer products"

Then go to one of the sites identified on the above list - Tacoma

http://www.cityoftacoma.org/Page.aspx?nid=306

"With TAGRO premium soil products, it will grow faster, greener, better."

and they go on about TAGRO being "all-natural products made from a blend of pasteurized wastewater byproducts called biosolids."

Who knew, eh????? Truth in advertising????

Posted by: gus on January 20 2010 7:18 PM

Forgot to add this: "And, because of improvements to the process that Tacoma uses to create its biosolids, the material that goes into TAGRO Potting Soil is virtually odor-free."

They discovered Fabreeze. :-)

Posted by: gus on January 20 2010 7:27 PM

Sorry folks ..... more information as I "walk" through the TAGRO site.

http://www.cityoftacoma.org/Page.aspx?nid=351#natural

The question posed on the site is: "Since TAGRO products are natural, organic products, why should I be concerned about how much I use?" ... hey, good question ... :-)

Answer: "With TAGRO Mix, it’s best to follow the “less is more” rule for two important reasons:

A thick layer of TAGRO Mix holds too much water and provides more nutrients than your lawn can possibly use. Your lawn could get soft and even swampy if you don’t have adequate drainage, and you’ll be mowing far more than you should.

Also, thick applications of TAGRO Mix will retain odors for much longer.

Excess nutrients from TAGRO Mix or any other plant-nutrient source can be washed into lakes and streams, affecting water quality and the salmon that live there.

Excess nutrients also can penetrate deeply into well-drained soils and eventually have an impact on aquifers that provide drinking water"

Noooooooo waaaaaay! .. who woulda' thought that from a "safe" product with EPA approval at that ......

Posted by: gus on January 20 2010 7:33 PM

Loki .... am not sure why you mentioned lagoons. The City has had a tertiary treatment plant for some time. One of the few in BC, as I understand. We dump close to potable water into the Frase, unlike Victorai that dumps primary sewage into the ocean.

Posted by: Loki on January 21 2010 8:57 AM

The City of Prince George he says proposes to dump up to 50 loads a day of human waste from the City's lagoons on to the property.

Posted by: metalman on January 21 2010 9:04 AM

Thanks for the research Gus, it seems that good old PG is missing out on fertilizer sales ;) Still, I think that even though they claim to pasteurize the biosolids
( pasteurization SLOWS microbial growth, it does not destroy it, unless they are actually using higher temperatures for a long enough time to kill bacteria ) they are really only controlling the organic components, a bit of heat will not have any effect on the really hazardous elements in the sludge.

Lagoons; Gus, isn't that lagoon at the junction of Willow Cale/Penn/Milwaukee Way a CPG sewage lagoon?
metalman.

Posted by: Loki on January 21 2010 9:07 AM

I am astounded that we dump CLOSE to potable water.
It is these incremental allowances that are polluting our environment.

Look at the Fraser north east of PG and it is blue. As the river goes past our fair town, it turns to a poo brown. by the time it is in the lower mainland, it looks like a roiling river of sewage.

To have our provincial capital dump raw sewage into the ocean has always been offensive. We are supposed to be a first world country with both the technology and the resources to avoid contaminating our environment.

Priorities man, priorities!

Posted by: commoner on January 21 2010 2:01 PM

The crap has to go somewhere. So as long as the crap is dealt with properly, those in charge of the crap won't get crapped on. Seems we all agree this is loads of crap!

:-]

...I know...I know...I am probably in crap now for crossing a line...but I could not help myself.

Posted by: metalman on January 21 2010 2:24 PM

As long as you dont [crap] yourself commoner, you'll be fine.
metalman.

Posted by: commoner on January 21 2010 10:02 PM

*thumbs up* at metalman :-]