A rural Ottawa environmental group was unsuccessful Tuesday in an 11th-hour attempt to block the spreading of treated human waste on an 110-acre farm field just outside this hamlet.
Under certification from the Ministry of Environment and cleared by the City of Ottawa, delivery and unloading of the biosolids got underway in the afternoon, with Jim Poushinsky, chairman of Ottawa Citizens Against Pollution by Sewage, carrying on heated discussions with on-site officials, particularly about the possibility of 30-km winds blowing particulates towards Vernon.
However, both Christian Grothe, agricultural environmental officer with MOE, and Tyler Hicks, a city wastewater treatment engineer, told Poushinsky the process passed inspection. Third High Farms of Iroquois has a contract with the city to spread the biosolids on land owned by Dwight Foster of North Gower.
Earlier in the day, Poushinsky tried to convince a senior MOE bureaucrat to halt the spreading at least temporarily on grounds noxious fumes can lower a person’s immune resistance, making them more vulnerable to viruses such as H1N1.
Poushinsky has yet to hear back after placing a similar request with the city’s medical officer of health, Dr. Isra Levy.
Due to health concerns, a moratorium had been placed on spreading treated waste within the city, but council lifted the ban early in its mandate.