CRD Spreading Sewage Waste (Biosolids) Near Mount Work Park - Tell Minister Heyman to Stop

Editor’s Note: Below is information on the lack of adequate testing for the contaminants that persist in Class-A Biosolids (dried sewage sludge) that are being currently spread on the land and forests at Hartland near Durrance Lake and Mount Work Regional Park (a watershed that is near farms and flows to Tod Inlet).
Included is a letter you can copy and paste to email to the BC Minister of Environment - email address is included.

Why you should be concerned and tell CRD and Environment Minister to stop

Concerned community members, business owners and elected officials on southern Vancouver Island have now joined forces with the Mt. Work Coalition, Friends of Tod Creek Watershed, Peninsula Streams Society, and Saanich Inlet Protection Society in opposing the land application of biosolids.

This is because emerging scientific and academic research now adds perfluoroalkyl-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) and microplastics to the growing list of pharmaceuticals, PAHs, and other Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs) contained in Class A & B biosolids, and subsequently disbursed throughout BC’s forests, farms and fields when municipalities and regional districts apply these toxic substances to the land.

What’s alarming is the current OMRR regulations governing land application of biosolids have not kept up with the current scientific evidence, and only regulate and require monitoring of a small list of potential contaminants, thereby seriously underestimating the environmental and public health risks. The Ministry of Environment conducted a study (2020) of Class A biosolids being produced in the province and found that many toxins and emerging contaminants of concern persist in the Class A biosolids and that there are no standards within the current OMRR and no regulatory requirements to monitor the impacts of these untested contaminants.

As a result, the Province's existing policies wrongly suggest that the land application of biosolids is both safe and the best possible option to dispose of processed sewage waste, ultimately deterring municipalities from considering safer and more environmentally sustainable options such as pyrolysis/gasification.

In the meantime, the CRD has been spreading biosolids near Mount Work and Durrance Lake, and, because the Lafarge cement kiln to which the CRD intended to ship most of the biosolids produced at Hartland Landfill has been closed for some months due to a serious safety issue with no word on when it will reopen, CRD continues to spread biosolids even though this was meant to be a last resort contingency. Given that CRD has been producing biosolids since January 2021, and that CRD estimates 700 tonnes of biosolids produced per 4-6 week period, the amount of biosolids to be spread on the landfill property and adjacent forest could be significant (possibly thousands of tonnes) if the Lafarge kiln doesn’t reopen soon.

What Do Processed Biosolids Contain?

What shows up in biosolids is dependent on what is being flushed into a region’s sewage system at any given time. This means that the presence of toxins in biosolids, and their levels, will vary (which is why biosolids should be tested repeatedly and consistently for all possible contaminants). However, here is a list of the typical contaminants that have been detected in Class-A biosolids, both in BC and around the world.

1. Heavy metals (in particular arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, selenium, and zinc)

2. Microplastics

3. Disease causing pathogenic organisms (such as E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus, other bacteria, Prions, viruses, parasitic worms and protozoa)

4. Fungi

5. Asbestos

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs):

1. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs);

2. polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs);

3. phthalates and nonylphenols (Hormone mimicking compounds; Industrial solvents )

4. dioxins and furans

5. Chlorinated pesticides [such as DDT Aldrin, endrin, chlordane, indane, mirex, etc..)

6. Polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDE's - Flame retardant chemicals)

Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs):

1. PFAS (Perfluorooctane sulfonate, perfluorooctanyl sulfonate, etc.) – persistent bioaccumulating toxins

2. Antimicrobials (e.g. triclosan, triclocarban)

3. Pharmaceuticals

   • Carbamazepine

   • Naproxen

   • Propranolol

   • Antibiotics

4. Endocrine Disrupting Compounds

   • Estrone

   • Linear alkylbenzene sulfonates

   • Octylphenol

   • Hormones

*Sources: Health Canada, Environmental Protection Agency, BC Ministry of Environment, EPA Office of Water, Environmental Working Group (esg.org), The Guardian, National Institutes of Health-US, NCBI, German Environment Agency

Numerous studies have identified risks to human, plant and animal health from air and waterborne biosolids after they have been spread on land. More information can be found on the Coalition’s website:

1. READ The Conflict Between Commerce and Human Health: CRD Residents Beware for info and links to research on how Class-A biosolids are harming humans, animals and plants.

2. READ Five Reasons CRD Spreading Toxic Biosolids is a Bad Idea

3. READ Press Release: CRD Now Spreading Sewage Biosolids at Hartland Landfill

What to do about it:

Send Environment Minister this Message:

Email Address: ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca

CC: CRDBoard@crd.bc.ca

Copy & Paste Letter:

Dear Minister Heyman,

I am writing to express my growing concern regarding the practice of allowing municipalities and regions to spread sewage biosolids on land when it is apparent (including by the Ministry of Environment’s own studies) that biosolids, including Class-A biosolids, continue to contain contaminates following processing, and furthermore, the current OMRR regulations governing land application of biosolids have not kept up with the current mounting evidence of these persistent contaminants, and their impacts, and only regulate and require monitoring of a small list of potential contaminants, thereby seriously underestimating the environmental and public health risks. I am concerned that the Province's existing policies wrongly suggest that the land application of biosolids is both safe and the best possible option to dispose of processed sewage waste, ultimately deterring municipalities from considering safer and more environmentally sustainable options such as pyrolysis/gasification.

What steps will the Ministry of Environment take to ensure the safety of British Columbia's people and farms?

I urge you to:

1) halt the spread of massive amounts of biosolids at Hartland Landfill in the Capital Regional District until the OMRR has been revised to more adequately measure and monitor CECs and POPs in Class-A biosolids and thus ensure the Ministry of Environment and CRD are not causing a serious public safety issue;

2) update the current risk assessment of biosolids, including research on Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs), such as microplastics and pharmaceuticals, and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), such as PFAs and PAHs, via an independent scientific review of the mounting evidence;

3) use the resulting info to update the Provincial policies on land application of biosolids in BC to ensure you are protecting food security, environmental sustainability and public health; and

4) require the the CRD/Hartland Landfill to choose more modern and less risky handling of their Class-A biosolids and require CRD and other municipalities to adopt more health and climate accountable solutions such as pyrolysis/gasification. Spreading persistent and serious toxins in a watershed is not ‘beneficial use’ and benefits no one.

Sincerely,