Pierre Cyr
Pontiac March 27, 2023
Last fall, during Radio-Canada’s La Semaine Verte and Enquête programs, the unknown long-term impact of importing and spreading biosolids from the United States as agricultural fertilizer was brought to light. To put it bluntly, we are talking about the importation of human manure from American municipal sewage treatment plants. A question posed to elected officals on who was concerned by the risk of contamination from biosolids from Maine was raised at the February MRC Pontiac Council of Mayors meeting by Robert Boulet, a local farmer, which prompted THE EQUITY to look into it.
The Radio Canada report detailed the problem as follows:
American states such as Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York have banned or restricted greatly the spreading of biosolids on their agricultural land. Why? Because soil and drinking water tests have revealed that these sludges may contain unacceptable levels of PFAS. These Per-and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) found in waste are a group of around 5000 chemical solutions otherwise used to make fluoropolymer coatings and products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease and water. This classification of chemicals has been around since the 1950s. PFAS are highly toxic and can have major impacts on human and animal health and permanently contaminate land and waterways. PFAS are referred to as “forever contaminants”.
According to the report, over 700 farms and nearby waterways in Maine were permanently contaminated. Livestock had to be slaughtered. Affected, farmers and their families have levels up to 50 times above the acceptable standard for PFAS. Because of the pollution, Maine passed a law banning the use of these biowastes from agriculture.
Municipalities in Maine and their waste managers, such as the multinational Casella Waste Systems, were then forced to landfill or burn their biosolids. This represents a very high financial cost compared to agricultural spreading which only cost them the transportation of the biosolids to the farmer who receives the human manure for free. The easiest solution for them was to export these biosolids outside of their state to avoid regulatory prohibitions. Why not Canada?
Under trade agreements with the US biosolids are considered a product instead of waste. These American biosolids, without notice, started to be imported here as both the regulatory authorities of the federal and provincial governments were in what they call on ‘surveillance mode’ as far as PFAS levels are concerned. Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick had a major increase in the importation of these biosolids since the fall of 2022. More than 70,000 tons in 2022 at the Sarnia US border crossing. New Brunswick is receiving 3,600 tons a month (130 truckloads) and a maximum of 100,000 tons a year.
It was therefore legal to transport US human manure across the border without being tested by an independent authority for toxicity. Although the use of PFAS for industrial purposes is still legal in the US, the industries emitting it in Maine have reportedly not been in operation for 20 years. With rare exceptions, the production and import of PFAS for industrial purposes has been banned in Canada since 2012.
The Quebec Ministry of the Environment (MELCCFP) relied on the good faith of big corporations such as Englobe, Viridis and Casella to assess the quality of biosolids and to respect the standards surrounding their application on Quebec farmland. There have been 712 inspections of the MELCCFP since 2017, 205 were revealed to have regulatory non-conformities, a rate of 29 per cent.
Four months after the television reports and dozens of requests from municipalities and MRCs for the government of Quebec to act on US biosolids, in early March 2023, Minister Benoit Charrette finally announced a moratorium on the storage and spreading of human manure from the US until proper standards are developed.
The federal government has also taken action and is launching a 60-day public consultation process, which ends on April 12, 2023. The plan is to establish an acceptable standard for PFAS of 30 nanograms per liter (ng/l). This is the equivalent of four tablespoons in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium filled to the roof. Europe, which still produces PFAS on a large scale, is aiming for 100 ng/l in 2026.
Thierry Raimbault, one of the MRC’s environmental specialists, indicated that the MRC does not know the source, quantities or quality of the biosolids being spread on Pontiac land. It is unclear whether the MRC has the capacity or authority to act proactively to clearly prohibit the spreading of sludge from the US.
THE EQUITY was curious and wanted to investigate who was accountable since the authority responsible for the Residual Waste Management Plan 2023-2029 doesn’t apparently play a significant role in the quality management of biosolids and in protecting the population from possible contamination.
Pierre Belanger, and his agronomic firm in Gatineau, said that they are sub-contracting from the firm Uteau in Portage-du-Fort to run the quality process and overall management of the biosolids in the Pontiac. Belanger is a certified agronomist and has been involved in agriculture since 1992. Belanger informed us that biosolids use in the Pontiac are from Gatineau and the few towns in the Pontiac like Shawville and Fort-Coulonge. It is between 10,000 and 15,000 tons of biosolids annually that are being spread on agricultural land in the Pontiac. The biosolids are checked for their conformity to regulations six times a year and two of these tests are done by an independent lab. The biosolids are not allowed to be spread on cultures destinated for human consumption like vegetables or field fruits.
Following the crisis with possible contamination of biosolids with PFAS, Uteau and Belanger ordered a precautionary analysis of the biosolids from Gatineau just to be 100 per cent sure the solids used in the Pontiac were safe. Belanger stated that we have an agronomic concentration of PFAS that is far lower than the astronomic level detected on some farms in Maine. He stated that the temporary ban in place by Quebec since March 2 was needed and responsible. Martin Gascon, president of Uteau, also mentioned that his installation was receiving compost for the City of Ottawa. Gascon claimed that the management of biosolids in Quebec is safe.
The Equity also contacted a Shawville dairy farmer, Robbie Beck, who had been using biosolids for the last 6 years on his farmland. Beck said he is satisfied with the product and the professionalism of the people involved locally. Beck also mentioned that the spreading of the product is done by another farmer, Ralph Lang, who has the specialized equipment. Beck described the process as using a very small amount after which a tillage operation has to be done within 48 hours to cover the biosolids. Beck admits it is smelly but not really worst than common manure. Beck wishes he and other farmers could get more availability of good quality biosolids to reduce the usage of expensive and polluting chemical fertilizers. To his knowledge, only one inspection was done by a MELCCFP representative over that period and was not made aware of the results.
We also had the opportunity to discuss the issue with Claude Vallières, the UPA representative for the Pontiac. Vallières also happens to work at the Fort-Coulonge water system and waste facility. He is well aware of the processes involved in making biowaste that has good quality control and monitoring in place to protect public health. Vallières confirmed he has not received complaints regarding biosolids. He is very confident in the quality management system in place in Quebec. He stated the preservation of our water from any contamination is really important.
Sébastien Sauvé, PhD in soil chemistry and environmental quality, is the director of a research team at the University of Montreal. Sauvé also participated in the Radio-Canada reportages on US biosolids imports. He stated in a webinar that it would be environmentally irresponsible to prohibit the use of biosolids in Canada. However, Sauvé believes that governments need to establish clear guidelines to better manage these new emerging contaminants. For him, the problem is more upstream at the industry level. Why are we using so much PFAS when we probably could develop more environmentally friendly alternatives?
As of now, it appears that no one in the Pontiac is too concerned with the current state of the use of biosolids in the Pontiac. More news on the development of the use of biosolids will surely follow the conclusion of the Canadian government’s consultation.
