OFGAC motion to Planning and Environment Committee
23 November 2004

Trail Road and Nepean landfill sites pipeline, leachate, and groundwater issues

The Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee supports the Trail Road on-site treatment plant option.

MOTION
That Planning and Environment Committee and Council give staff direction to proceed to finalize the Environmental Study Report identifying the On-site Treatment Plant as the preferred method of managing leachate and contaminated groundwater generated by the Trail Road Landfill and Nepean Landfill, respectively. The leachate and contaminated groundwater would NOT be transported across the city in a buried forcemain but, rather be treated on-site without the added risks of conveying the leachate and contaminated groundwater any further, for the protection of all Ottawa residents.

BACKGROUND: The Trail Road Waste Facility and the old Nepean landfill

The City of Ottawa has been dealing with the problem of contaminated leachate at the old Nepean Landfill site for the past six years. That site had not been lined properly and the City is now trying to find a solution to deal with the effluent and dangerous toxins in the leachate which are contaminating the groundwater and the land around it and the adjacent Trail Road Landfill. The City has also spent millions of dollars buying a 400 acre buffer around the Trail Road site as a result of this contamination.

Whereas to the initial cost of buying the buffer land, must be added the $500,000 per year cost of trucking the leachate to the Robert O. Pickard (ROPEC) sewage treatment plant;

Whereas the ROPEC is only a secondary-level sewage treatment plant, not designed to handle and remove heavy metals and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs);

Whereas the consultants' first choice (building a pipeline through the Stonebridge Community and tieing it to the existing sewers) will send the contaminated leachate and VOCs-contaminated groundwater to the ROPEC;

Whereas although the consultants awarded almost equal points to the first two alternatives, the pipeline and the on-site treatment, no added value was considered for the release of clean water into the Jock River where it is needed;

Whereas the infrastructure costs of building and maintaining a pipeline are in dispute and joining this pipeline to the existing fragile Richmond-Glen Cairn forcemain does not offer an economic or environmentally sound alternative;

Whereas there is considerable concern that the piping of this contaminated material would pose potential environmental risks to citizens and aquatic ecosystems along the route because the Richmond-Glen Cairn forcemain sewer has ruptured 6 times in the past 20 years;

Whereas the most recent forcemain rupture occurred on the day Staff recommended this pipeline and after the Ontario Ministry of the Environment had recommended to the City to run this line with caution);

Whereas the Richmond-Glen Cairn forcemain is not intended to handle leachate, leakage or rupture would add a substantial risk, leading to environmental contamination of land, groundwater, aquatic ecosystems and the Jock River;

Whereas we believe that it is the City's responsibility to look closely at the Staff recommendation, the assessment of costs for both alternatives and to reject the recommendation to build a pipeline;

Whereas Council and the Planning & Environment Committee have a responsibility to consider all aspects of this proposal;

Therefore, we urge you to take an objective look at the economics of both proposals and the impact of your decision. The long-term costs of maintaining a permanent pipeline must be addressed as well as the risks to the residents of the City and the environment if there are further ruptures of the Richmond-Glen Cairn forcemain and it is carrying these additional contaminants.

Having a proper on-site treatment facility that would fully remove the contaminants from the leachate is another benefit. The current pipeline proposal does not take into account the ecological benefit and economic value of the clean water that will be produced by the on-site treatment plant. The facility would be a valuable capital asset.

The Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee urges you to make a decision that is based not just on short term costs but includes consideration of all aspects of this very important issue.

The Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee supports the Trail Road On-site Treatment Plant option.

Submitted by Iola Price
Chair, OFGAC