Jan 18, 2017

Comox Valley To Take Ladysmith Bio-Solids as an Interim Solution

The Town of Ladysmith has secured an agreement to send its bio-solids to the Comox Valley Sewerage Service composting facility for up to five weeks.

“On behalf of Council and our citizens, I want to express deep gratitude to the Comox Valley Regional District for agreeing to take Ladysmith’s bio-solids on an interim basis,” said Mayor Aaron Stone.  “This will allow us to temporarily stop processing new bio-solids at the Public Works Yard effective this week.”

While securing a suitable site to relocate its composting process and construct an appropriate facility to house the operation, Ladysmith officials continue to seek partners who can process the Town’s bio-solids until this new facility is up and running.   

Discussions with other potential partners continue and further announcements are expected in the coming days.

“Sending our bio-solids to the facility in Cumberland is the first step toward a solution that will carry us through until our own composting facility is fully operational,” added Mayor Stone.

In addition to the cost to transport the bio-solids from Ladysmith to Cumberland, the Town will pay a tipping fee of $100 per tonne of bio-solids to the Comox Valley Sewerage Service.

Composting of Waste Water Treatment Plant bio-solids has been carried out at the Town of Ladysmith Public Works Yard since the 1990s.  Provincial regulations require the operator of a Waste Water Treatment Plant to manage the resulting bio-solids.  Composting is a viable and beneficial option for responsible bio-solids management.  The Town must comply with regulations laid out in the Organic Material Recycling Regulation and the composting operation at the Public Works Yard has been authorized by the Ministry of Environment.  The final product is a high-quality nitrogen rich soil amendment (compost/fertilizer) that meets Class A standards.  The Town does not mix household compostables with the bio-solids.

The Town has always intended to deal with the odour from its bio-solids composting operation, and has a grant to help pay for construction of the facility.  Council voted last summer to delay construction until the composting operation could be moved to a more suitable location.   However, appropriate sites with the right location and zoning were not easy to find.  Council announced last week that it has secured a site at 4142 Thicke Road to house the composting operation.  The process of securing regulatory approvals has begun, and construction of the new composting facility should be completed in 2017.

Updates, FAQs and additional information can be found on the Bio-Solids page.

For information:

Mayor Aaron Stone                                          Guillermo Ferrero, City Manager
250.245.6403                                                   250.245.6401
mayor@ladysmith.ca                                        gferrero@ladysmith.ca

News Release Biosolids to Comox Valley RD