Biosolid use on ranch worries neighbours
Chase residents are raising a stink about a nearby ranch’s plan to improve an erosion-prone slope with biosolids, an organic material derived from human sewage. Conrad Schiebel, owner of Turtle Valley Bison Company, said he was asked to take the material by the company that has a contract to manage the City of Kamloops’ biosolids, after an agreement with a local First Nations band was put on hold. “At first, I had a lot of the same fears as the protesters,” he said. “But I did the research ... (and) in the end, I decided to rely on the expertise of the scientists and the provincial government.” Wood chips will be added to the biosolids, which are treated, dried and processed before the material is mixed with the existing soil on a 31-hectare site that was recently logged. At the end of the process, the soil will be about seven per cent biosolids and can eventually be used as pastureland, said Schiebel. “There is a bit of an ‘ick’ factor for some people,” the rancher admitted, “but I look at it as a climate strategy. We all create waste, and we need to find ways to deal with it responsibly.” Schiebel said the material poses no risk to human health, but it has numerous benefits for the soil, replacing the need for synthetic fertilizers, and trapping run-off to prevent erosion and enhance slope stability. The rancher, who calls himself a “pragmatic, science-based guy,” researched other methods of dealing with biosolids, including burning them or dumping them in a landfill, and concluded land application was a good option. The project has been approved by the Ministry of Environment, and the first loads of material are expected to arrive at the ranch over the next few days. Schiebel is not receiving any money to take the material. “We want to be good neighbours, but I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding and hysteria around this,” he said when asked about his neighbours’ concerns. Connie Seaward, who lives near the ranch, said B.C.’s rules around the use of biosolids are lax and lag behind other provinces. “We’re talking about a hill with a steep grade, and they’re going to apply three feet of biosolids to that. Explain to me how that’s not going to run into the lake?” she said, pointing out that the slope is above both Chum Lake and Chum Creek. “They’re hiding behind the fact that they’re in compliance with regulations.” Seaward said testing by the David Suzuki Foundation when Nicola Valley residents were protesting the use of biosolids in their community several years ago showed high levels of about a dozen toxins in a pile of the material. “All the chemicals that are flushed down a toilet are going to end up on agricultural land,” she said. “It’s laughable to think that this is anything other than a waste dump.” Seaward is planning a protest in front of Kamloops City Hall on April 27. City of Kamloops utility services manager Greg Wightman said the city has tried to educate the public about biosolids, but “misinformation is one of the things we struggle with.” Wightman said he has heard concerns about heavy metals and pharmaceuticals ending up on farmland, but he said research shows levels so minute they’re difficult to test for. “We’re talking about parts per billion or parts per trillion.” Some people believe there are no safe levels. In an interview in 2017, John Werring, the David Suzuki Foundation’s senior science and policy adviser, said it makes no sense to put biosolids on food lands. “Our position at the David Suzuki Foundation, bottom line, is that we should not be putting this stuff on land that produces food,” he said. “The problem is that it is a byproduct of sewage treatment, it is a waste and it needs to be disposed of.” Many governments in Canada and around the world dispose of biosolids from waste treatment plants through land application. In Metro Vancouver, biosolids are mixed with sawdust and sand to produce a fertilizer called Nutrifor. It is used at regional facilities and parks, rangeland, hay fields, forests and tree farms; added to landscaping topsoil; spread on landfills to absorb methane; and to rebuild soil at mine sites and gravel pits. Metro Vancouver has five waste water treatment plants, and in 2018 it processed more than 450 billion litres of sewage, treated the solids with heat and micro-organisms to remove harmful bacteria and produced 55,000 tonnes of biosolids. The regional district is also looking at new uses for biosolids. The province said application of biosolids is strictly controlled. In a statement, the B.C. Environment Ministry said the process includes a 30-day review period before biosolids are used. Only biosolids that have been treated and stabilized can be spread and they must be sampled in advance to ensure they meet the standard.