File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Mel Rothenburger

Armchair Mayor

ROTHENBURGER: Bold action is required to resolve biosolids issue

Apr 29, 2019 | 1:45 AM

IF YOU’RE GOING TO STAGE a protest at a government office, do it when the politicians are there. You won’t find many City councillors at Kamloops City Hall on a Saturday.

Still, the rally on the weekend in protest against the City’s contract to spread biosolids on land in Turtle Valley sent a message that the disposal of sewage sludge remains an unresolved issue.

The science on the application of biosolids to agricultural land is incomplete. On the one hand, it’s acknowledged to be effective in rehabilitating depleted soil, and has been used on reclamation of mining sites, for example.

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But, on the other, there’s much study to be done on the possible leaching of contaminants. While some of the rhetoric is likely alarmist, there are legitimate concerns about potential health impacts.

Although the City formed a Biosolids Management Stakeholders Committee a year ago, little is ever heard from it. Thus far, the City has put its eggs in the basket of composting and land application.

The City-hosted committee’s objectives were to “gather background information about the production and management” of biosolids and to find a long-term solution.

The Province, too, has wrestled with how to satisfy public concerns about the sludge. So far, the most definitive statement from any of them is that “there’s no easy solution.” It’s clear, however, that land application is not going to be a long-term answer as far as many people are concerned.

Alternative solutions are out there. Gasification is successfully used elsewhere to create electric energy from biosolids.

The objection to gasification plants is always that they’re costly. But until government is willing to reject the ordinary and find its spine, talk of a long-term solution is going to stay just talk.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.