The Municipality of the District of Shelburne studied the feasibility of building a local waste transfer station to reduce the costs and environmental impact of trucking waste to a landfill in another municipality. 

Under a shared service agreement, the district also provides collection and disposal for the Town of Shelburne and the Town of Lockeport. Once filled, the curbside collection trucks, better suited to short hauls, make a three-hour return trip to the landfill. A transfer station would allow specially-designed long-haul trucks to make the trip to the landfill.

Building a waste transfer station would reduce fuel consumption. It would, however, provide economic benefits only if two neighbouring municipalities (the District of Barrington and the Town of Clark's Harbour) participated in the project.

Results

Challenges

• Finding a suitable location for a waste transfer station.
• Estimating financial savings in the face of changing energy prices.
• Familiarizing outside consultants with the needs of the rural community.

Lessons learned

• Engage staff in the early stages of any feasibility study.
• Make sure all quantities included in the analysis, such as amount of fuel used, are adequately researched.
• Make sure that the process for evaluating the technical and economic feasibility is defined clearly and early.
• Use the skills of the steering group.

To reduce economic and environmental costs, the District of Squamish tested sediment in a nearby ocean channel for use as fill in a major waterfront redevelopment project.

If safe, sediment from the Mamquam Blind Channel would be a convenient source of filling to develop a park in a project by Squamish Oceanfront Development Corp. The project would transform a former 59-acre industrial site into a peninsula of neighbourhoods, parkland and beaches.

The sediment passed the purity tests, avoiding the need for 20,000 truckloads of material to be delivered from a site 15 kilometres away. It provides an environmentally friendly, less costly source of clean fill for the new development.

Results

Challenges

• Assuring sediment was free of mercury and hydrocarbon contamination from an old chlor-alkali processing plant.
• Finding staff time for up to 70 hours of work in writing grant applications and reports.

Lessons learned

• Review reports and interview former occupants of test sites to identify areas of potential contamination.
• Where possible, use divers, not barge-based drill rigs, to collect sediment samples. They cost less and are more flexible.
• Costly anti-pollution checks are worth the money; they clear the way for profitable economic redevelopment.

Resources

• Squamish Oceanfront

Partners and Collaborators

• District of Squamish
• Squamish Oceanfront Development Corp.
• Hemmera Envirochem
• FCM's Green Municipal Fund

Project Contact

Heather Dunham
Manager, Squamish Oceanfront Development Corp.
District of Squamish, BC
T. 604-815-5075

To give itself new opportunities and a new look, the Town of Fort Erie drafted a brownfield revitalization plan that offers developers tax and other incentives to clean up and redevelop more than 250 acres of vacant, abandoned, and possibly contaminated industrial sites.

The town, connected to Buffalo, New York, by the International Peace Bridge over the Niagara River, was once a bustling commercial centre, home to aircraft and chemical factories, steel plants and lumber yards. Now manufacturing has given way to a tourism and service economy, leaving the urban landscape studded with unsightly scenes of industrial dereliction.

To rectify this, the town commissioned studies on brownfield remediation and the economic, environmental and social benefits that would flow from it. Then it adopted a plan that will not only provide financial incentives for private redevelopment but also encourage the town itself to lead the way by reclaiming and rebuilding brownfield sites it owns.

Results

Challenges

• Convincing skeptical property owners and developers that tax and grant incentives are rich enough to make brownfield remediation and redevelopment profitable.
• Convincing skeptical ratepayers that tax holidays and breaks for brownfield developers will generate higher tax revenue in the future.
• Spurring development in a town with a limited economic base.

Lessons learned

• Allow ample time to review draft reports from consultants to keep the process moving expeditiously.
• Be prepared for pressure before the plan is finished from investors and sellers looking to know how remediation incentives might affect business deals.
• Public information meetings help generate investor interest in brownfield cleanup work.

Resources

• Town of Fort Erie Brownfields Community Improvement Plan

Partners and collaborators

• Town of Fort Erie
• RCI Consulting
• Fort Erie Economic Development and Tourism Corp.
• Region of Niagara
• FCM's Green Municipal Fund

Project Contact

David Heyworth
Senior Policy Planner
Fort Erie, ON
T. 905-871-1600 ext. 2504

The City of Kamloops evaluated the extent of soil and groundwater contamination on a portion of the municipally-owned site of the former provincial Rayleigh Correctional Centre. Previously a Department of National Defence munitions depot, the site had also been used for waste oil drum and coal storage, an incinerator, a fire pit and a landfill.

The study identified contaminants in 5,000 cubic metres of soil and outlined a remediation plan. The contaminated soil was used for road construction, buried on site or removed. Sampling determined that the groundwater did not require remediation, as its quality was comparable to water elsewhere in the valley.

The city built the Tournament Capital Ranch on the site in 2011. It features eight baseball diamonds and two rugby fields. Future development may include an exhibition/agri-plex building and equestrian facilities. The Tk'emlups First Nation is making plans for an RV park, and a portion of the land has been retained for agricultural use.

Results

Challenges

• The city found munitions-related debris from the World War II era. Removal of this material required the involvement of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces.
• Additional work was required to meet stringent agricultural and water-quality standards.
• Provincial Ministry of Environment standards, guidelines and regulations changed during the project.
• Some waste was deemed hazardous and had to be taken to a more distant landfill at additional cost to the city.

Lessons learned

• Allocate time and resources for unanticipated issues, particularly with large, complex projects.
• Deal with issues as they arise, and don't take short-cuts.
• Ensure that all stakeholders-including city council, senior management, staff, project team members and the public-understand the remediation process.
• Work with local consultants to reduce travel costs and provide flexibility for the project team.
• Use city staff for tasks such as soil removal, to save time and money.

Resources

• Sustainable Kamloops Plan
• Kamloops Official Community Plan

Project Contact

Nick DeCicco
Parks Project and Planning Supervisor
Parks, Recreation & Culture
City of Kamloops, British Columbia
T. 250-828-3518

Dufferin County is considering an energy-from-waste solution for its garbage. The county studied a plasma gasification technology that converts waste into electricity, examining two options — 50,000-tonnes-and 70,000-tonnes per year — that might be large enough to be economical. Only the larger option, which could reduce landfill waste by 200 to 250 tonnes per day, was found to be feasible. It would divert as much as 90 per cent of waste from the landfill and avoid the cost of building a new landfill or of trucking waste outside the municipality.

Results

Challenges

• The cost of a feasibility study for a waste management project - especially for a fairly new technology - is challenging for a small municipality.

Lessons learned

• Build for the future. If a 50,000-tonne facility is needed now, build to a 70,000-tonne capacity and find someone who needs to manage 20,000 tonnes a year until the volume ramps up.
• The team should have dropped the smaller option from the study as soon as it was clearly not viable. That would left more resources for investigation of the more ambitious option.

Côte-de-Beaupré aims to be a healthy region

To support long-term community planning, the Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality (MRC) has produced an integrated sustainability plan. The outcome of a major public consultation process, the plan is integrated, practical and inclusive. It consists of a mobilization plan, two-stage sustainability strategic plans, and a sustainable development plan. These guides will enable the MRC to protect the environment, diversify its economy and improve citizens' quality of life.

This master plan for sustainability replaces the existing development plan. Local municipalities will be required to amend their urban planning bylaws to comply with the vision and development orientations defined in the new regional plan.

Results

Challenges

• The MRC had difficulty obtaining buy-in from stakeholders but invested time and energy in circulating information about its approach, project progress, planned activities and achievements. Its perseverance brought most of the public on board, and created ambassadors in various business sectors.

Lessons learned

• The process should be completed quickly to maintain the interest of elected officials, local stakeholders and the public. 
• Obtain commitment at the outset from key parties as their strengths and skills will influence the dynamics of every consultation activity.
• In  public consultations, show people actual components even if they are incomplete, to elicit. better informed, more constructive input.
• Developing the sustainability plan internally gave the MRC experience and confidence that will be useful in other projects.

Partners and Collaborators

• MRC de la Côte-de-Beaupré
• Groupe IBI | DAA

Project Contact

Gitane St-Georges
Sustainability Officer
Côte-de-Beaupré RCM, QC
Château-Richer, QC
T. 418 824-3420, ext. 239

The Town of Lockeport developed an integrated community sustainability plan in collaboration with its citizens to guide its environmental, social, cultural and economic development for 30-plus years. Lockeport is a tiny, isolated town on Nova Scotia's south shore. While rich in cultural heritage, it is dealing with limited financial resources, an aging population, and a fishing industry that is no longer the economic engine it once was. The area is also feeling the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events.

The plan outlines ways to boost tourism, revitalize local commerce, reduce reliance on cars and protect the natural environment, among many other goals. The plan will help the town think more creatively about how to build a sustainable Lockeport and reduce its environmental footprint.

Results

Challenges

• Limited financial resources has led to constraints on new initiatives.
• Developing a diverse, vibrant local economy is difficult in a geographically isolated region.

Lessons learned

• Community participation is a must, so knock on as many doors as possible in the development of the plan.
• Be aware of the amount of time staff will need to develop the plan.

Resources

• Lockeport Integrated Community Sustainability Plan

Partners and collaborators

• Town of Lockeport
• FCM's Green Municipal Fund

Project contact

Bil Atwood
Project Manager
Lockeport, NS
T. 902-656-2209

This is part of a series of case studies on wastewater projects funded by the FCM's Green Municipal Fund. Each case study provides technical information, project details and tips on best practices.

Project overview

The City of Cranbrook, BC, updated its wastewater treatment system with a new storage pond, two new disinfection facilities and upgrades to its aerated lagoon. The $29 million project includes retrofits to modernize an agricultural irrigation system that reuses wastewater. Fine bubble aeration and UV disinfection help reduce total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and phosphorus levels and improve the quality of wastewater.

To ensure optimum value over the life of the project, the City participated in a value engineering planning exercise, did full-cost accounting and installed process automation features. The upgraded system provides tertiary treatment to the current population of 19,319 and has the capacity to serve 40,000. 

Reasons for the project

• A ruling from the BC Environmental Appeal Board (1999) required Cranbrook to create an outfall into the Kootenay River and manage the water levels in one of its treatment lagoons.

Innovative aspects of the project

• The project design made excellent use of systems thinking.
• The system is simple and uses a low-tech approach that is appropriate for a municipality bordering on agricultural lands.
• The upgraded facility makes use of reclaimed water for agricultural application.   

Best practices and key lessons

The municipality's experience with this project demonstrates some best practices and key lessons that can inform similar projects.

Develop a long-term vision

• Instead of making piecemeal adjustments simply to achieve minimum thresholds, Cranbrook reviewed the entire system and created a long-term vision for wastewater treatment in the community.
• The city's vision was to become a model of excellence in the use of reclaimed wastewater. This drove short-term planning and generated support from funders and community members. 

Engage early and broadly

• The municipality overcame an initial lack of public interest in the project by building relationships with the community, including surrounding rural areas, stakeholders, provincial agencies and First Nations.
• Cranbrook conducted a preliminary archaeological assessment, engaged in dialogue with local First Nations, held open houses, offered tours and updated council regularly.
• These efforts allowed the city to engage with the community as a whole and to address criticisms of past operating practice and negative perceptions of the project.

Conduct background research

• Cranbrook conducted extensive research, including feasibility and pre-engineering studies, during the pre-design process.
• The updated wastewater treatment system uses existing technology in an innovative way that leverages natural systems and processes. For instance, to reduce runoff from irrigation, the system uses low-pressure sprinklers rather than impact sprinklers.

Optimize long-term returns on investment

• To ensure an optimal return on investment, the leadership group involved in the project participated in a value engineering exercise at the design stage.

City of Cranbrook, BC

Project benefits

This project yielded a number of environmental, social and economic benefits. 

Environmental benefits

Lower energy usage: The city increased the plant's energy efficiency by replacing high-pressure irrigation heads with low-pressure components, removing pipeline restrictions to reduce the pumping energy required, and installing centralized and automated monitoring pivot irrigation systems.

Reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: The city replaced three cells in facultative treatment lagoons and converted a facultative effluent storage pond to a high-efficiency bubble diffusion aeration system. These upgrades have reduced the facility's GHG emissions.

Improved wastewater quality: Effluent now meets provincial Ministry of Environment regulatory requirements.

Reduced water consumption: High-efficiency spray nozzles has improved irrigation efficiency and improved absorption, thus reducing irrigation-application rates.  

Elimination of chemical residuals: Because UV technology has replaced chlorination as a means of disinfection, the amount of chlorine in effluent is reduced.

Ecosystem protection: Higher-quality effluent leads to healthier wildlife, vegetation and marine life. In addition, the city built a storage pond to avoid accidental spillage of partially treated sewage into a nearby creek.

Reduced odour levels: Odour is reduced through the use of fine bubble diffusers in lagoon cells. Complaints from nearby residents and businesses have been eliminated. 

Social benefits

Improved public heath: Residents' health is protected through improved water quality and reduced GHG emissions.

Increased opportunities for recreational and physical activity: Because effluent used for irrigation of feedstock fields is disinfected, these irrigated areas are safe to enter. The public now has access to approximately 2,500 acres of land for recreational and physical activities such as bird watching, dog walking, hiking, cross-country skiing and hunting.

Increased level of service to the community: In addition to improving water quality, the upgrades increased wastewater treatment capacity. The upgraded plant will accommodate population growth for at least 20 more years.  

Increased civic pride: Residents show an increasing sense of civic pride and ownership when discussing the attributes of the community.

Municipality recognized for leadership in sustainability: Increasingly, the city is perceived throughout Western Canada as a leader in the treatment of sewage and its reuse in an environmentally responsible manner.

Economic benefits

Reduced maintenance costs: Annual maintenance costs will be reduced because the new equipment will require fewer repairs.

Support for new economic development: The wastewater treatment plant will be able to accommodate commercial and industrial development for a period of 20 years or longer. The improvements resulting from the project will attract new businesses to the area.

Support for residential growth: The wastewater treatment plant will be able to accommodate population growth and additional housing for a period of 20 years or longer.

Support for local business: The city installed new spray technologies on about 28 irrigation pivot systems to water close to 1,800 acres of feedstock fields. This increases crop production and supports the local beef cattle production. Without this source of nutrient-rich water, this industry would not be able to exist in this semi-arid region.

Local job creation: System upgrades have increased irrigation potential and crop yields, creating growth and jobs in the local ranching sector.

Improved operational efficiency: Installation of a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system provides a reliable monitoring mechanism and significantly facilitates data retrieval, which can be done remotely.

Development of new partnerships: This project has enabled a potential future partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) to supply effluent to the DUC Oxbow waterfowl nesting and refuge area (approximately one million cubic metres of effluent annually). This would help to maintain sufficient water volume within the Oxbow.

Technical highlights

Project contact information

Joe McGowan
Director, Infrastructure Planning & Delivery
City of Cranbrook, BC
T. 250-489-0240

This is part of a series of case studies on wastewater projects funded by the FCM's Green Municipal Fund. Each case study provides technical information, project details and tips on best practices.

Project overview

The City of Barrie, ON, expanded its wastewater treatment plant to accommodate municipal growth and improve the quality of water flowing out of the plant and into the environment. The project expanded the plant's capacity for water pumping, biological treatment, solid separation, disinfection, sludge digestion and beneficial use of biogas. The city also added a new anoxic selector tank.

These upgrades have reduced the amount of phosphorus in the wastewater and helped to maintain acceptable levels of ammonia. The upgrades have also increased the plant's production of biogas, which is used for on-site generation of electricity to reduce energy costs. In addition, the project has contributed to the continued protection of Kempenfelt Bay and Lake Simcoe. 

Reasons for the project

• The city needed to increase the capacity of its wastewater treatment plant to support community growth and minimize combined sewer overflows.
• The system also needed upgrades to ensure that effluent would meet the standards for ammonia and phosphorus loadings set out in the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan (2009).

Innovative aspects of the project

• Barrie's wastewater treatment plant is the largest point of discharge in a sensitive, freshwater environment.
• This project has contributed to the ongoing restoration and protection of Lake Simcoe.   

Best practices and key lessons

The municipality's experience with this project demonstrates some best practices and key lessons that can inform similar projects.

Conduct background research

• One lesson learned was that the project would have benefitted from additional research on regional environmental trends and requirements, such as more stringent standards for phosphorous levels and effluent.
• By consulting with regulators and interest groups, including conservation authorities, the city engaged stakeholders to learn how others were tackling these issues and what new technologies were available to treat phosphorous. 

Optimize long-term returns on investment

• The city undertook a value engineering process with the successful bidder to identify opportunities to improve the project design and reduce costs.

Use alternatives to lowest-bid procurement

• The city's engineering department and the design consultant worked together to pre-qualify bidders and used a quality-based selection process to evaluate the bids (versus using a lowest-bid procurement method).
• The city pre-selected major equipment, including raw sewage pumps, tertiary filters and UNOX tank mixers.

Use effective communications and project management

• Barrie's wastewater operations group was involved throughout the planning, design and commissioning of the upgraded facility.

Prepare detailed testing and commissioning work plans

• Detailed testing and commissioning work plans should be developed during the early stages of a major project.
• During the design process, the project team worked to identify potential shutdowns that would cause service disruptions.
• Project timelines should reflect the time required for biological processes to become established and respond.

Rotating biological contactors installed to reduce ammonia and organic nitrogen in Kempenfelt Bay (City of Barrie, ON). 

Project benefits

This project yielded a number of environmental, social and economic benefits. 

Environmental benefits

Reduced energy consumption (electricity and natural gas): The city added variable frequency drives, which ramp up and slow down motors depending on requirements, reducing electrical demands.

Renewable energy generation: The plant generates more biogas as fuel because it is treating more wastewater. This allows boilers and co-generation engines to run more consistently (rather than intermittently) to generate heat and electricity for various treatment processes and winter heating.

Improved effluent quality: The city is able to comply with more stringent effluent treatment requirements. Effluent quality meets the Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) targets set by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. For phosphorus and ammonia, the targets are 0.18 mg/L and 4-10mg/L respectively (monthly averages).

Decreased municipal water consumption and improved stormwater management: As part of this project, the city implemented several complementary programs to help reduce the treatment plant's wastewater inflow load. These included a comprehensive inflow and infiltration (I&I) program, a low-flow toilet rebate program and a review of illegal roof drainage systems and downspout connections.

Improved odour control: The city added a new biological odour control unit to treat air collected from the truck loading station, sludge blending tanks and sludge holding tank.

Social benefits

Improved staff health and safety: The facility was nearing its hydraulic capacity, and therefore the equipment and tanks were nearing their capacities. Expansion of various process tanks has improved operators' ability to make small adjustments over longer periods of time.

The expansion also allowed for tanks to be removed from service for maintenance activities, which ensures continuous service and reduces maintenance closures for the wastewater treatment plant. Permanent cranes were also added to give staff the ability to lift heavy objects more safely; previously they used winches and chains.

Opportunities for physical and recreational activities: The project's new odour control unit has minimized odours emanating from the wastewater treatment plant. This in turn encourages more use of the waterfront.

Promotion of a sustainable lifestyle: The expansion project demonstrates Barrie's commitment to creating a vibrant downtown, managing growth through intensification and protecting the environment and health of Lake Simcoe.

Public space: A healthy Kempenfelt Bay is a showcase for Lake Simcoe and an important centrepiece of the community.

Economic benefits

Improved conditions for tourism: A cleaner waterfront increases the city's ability to attract tourists, who generate revenue for area businesses.

Support for economic growth: The facility's expanded treatment capacity allows for further intensification in the city's land use, creating supportive conditions for economic growth, employment and municipal revenue.

Diverse sources of financing: The city was able to finance this project through revenue from utility rates and development charges, as well as through interim financing, debentures and a Green Municipal Fund grant and loan.

Decreased operating costs: The city installed high-efficiency motors for all pumps and mixers and high-efficiency UV bulbs to make the existing UV system more energy-efficient. The existing hydronic heating system, which uses the wastewater biogas for fuel rather than electricity or natural gas, was expanded, thus increasing energy efficiency.

Extended asset service life: The project expanded the capacity of the existing facility, saving the expense of building a new one.


 

Project contact information

Jessica Peters-Palfi
Senior Engineer
City of Barrie, ON
T. 705-739-4220, ext. 4740

Michael Jermey
Deputy Treasurer
City of Barrie, ON
T. 705-739-4220, ext. 4751