City off Toronto

Cit T t
BIOSOLIDS
MASTER PLAN
UPDATE

Executive Summary

Prepared for the City of Toronto

by:

AECOM Canada Ltd.

220 Advance Boulevard
Brampton, ON
L6T 4J5

October 2009
City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

Prepared by:
AECOM Canada Ltd.
220 Advance Boulevard, Brampton, ON, Canada L6T 4J5
T 905.459.4780 F 905.459.7869 www.aecom.com

Project Number:
2523

Date:
October, 2009
City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

Table of Contents
Page

1. Introduction ......................................................................................................1
2. Purpose .............................................................................................................2
3. The Class Environmental Assessment Master Planning Process ..............3
4. Development of Master Plan Update ..............................................................4
5. Source and Characteristics of Biosolids .......................................................5
6. Biosolids Status Review ..................................................................................5
7. Project Decision-Making............................................................................... 11
8. Description of Biosolids Management Options ......................................... 13
9. Detailed Evaluation of Management Options and Development of
Preferred Management Strategies ............................................................... 15
10. Implementation Plan ..................................................................................... 20
11. Addressing Public Questions and Concerns ............................................. 21

List of Tables
Table 1 Summary of City of Toronto Wastewater Treatment Plant Biosolids Management
Status.............................................................................................................................................. 8
Table 2 Summary of Problems, Opportunities and Constraints for Each Treatment Plant ......................... 9
Table 3 Long List of Biosolids Management Options ................................................................................ 13
Table 4 Total Weighted Scores for Ashbridges Bay TP Biosolids Management Options ......................... 15
Table 5 Total Weighted Scores for Humber TP Biosolids Management Options ..................................... 17
Table 6 Total Weighted Scores for Highland Creek TP Biosolids Management Options ......................... 18
Table 7 Treatment Plant Strategy Alternatives .......................................................................................... 20
Table 8 Summary of Implementation Plan for the BMP ............................................................................ 21

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) -i-

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

1. Introduction

All aspects of water production, transmission and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, and
stormwater collection, transmission and treatment in the City of Toronto are the responsibilities of Toronto
Water. The division manages and operates a large number of facilities. Just a few of these facilities
include four water treatment plants and four wastewater treatment plants.

Two major services that result from managing these facilities include:

• Providing high quality drinking water to consumers

• Treating the wastewater that flows from residences and industry to remove contaminants and
discharge a clean effluent back to the environment

The City owns and operates four water treatment plants (TPs), which treat water from Lake Ontario.
Toronto's water treatment process meets or exceeds all standards set for drinking water by the provincial
and federal environmental ministries. As a result of the process to treat water, a solids residue, referred
to as residuals, is generated. The residuals are mostly inorganic in nature. The City treats over 1.4
million cubic metres of water every day and generates approximately 2,600 tonnes (reported as dry
solids) of water residuals every year.

The City also owns and operates four wastewater treatment plants (TPs). Treated effluent from the three
largest plants is discharged through long outfall pipes into Lake Ontario. Effluent from the smallest plant,
North Toronto Treatment Plant, is discharged into the Don River, which eventually flows into Lake
Ontario. The treatment of wastewater generates a residue, referred to as sludge. The sludge is mostly
organic in nature, with high nutrient value, in terms of phosphorus and nitrogen. Currently at the City’s
wastewater treatment plants, sludge is further processed to stabilize the organics and reduce pathogen
content. The stabilized sludge is referred to as biosolids. The City treats over 1.3 million cubic metres of
wastewater every day and generates approximately 54,500 tonnes (reported as dry solids) of wastewater
biosolids every year.

As part of the City’s mandate to provide water and wastewater services, it is responsible for planning and
providing for the management of wastewater biosolids and water residuals.

In the fall of 2002, the City of Toronto initiated a Biosolids and Residuals Master Plan (BRMP) to provide
direction on the future management of biosolids and water residuals generated by the City’s water and
wastewater treatment plants to the year 2025. The BRMP was undertaken to fulfill planning requirements
defined in Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act, and according to the Municipal Engineers
Association Class Environmental Assessment (EA) process (MEA, 2000).

A draft of the BRMP was released for a 30-day public comment period on September 16, 2004. As a
result of some public comments about the recommended biosolids management options, the City of
Toronto undertook a Peer Review of the draft BRMP. The peer review results focused on the decision-

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) -1-

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

making model and the scoring criteria used to establish the recommendations related to biosolids
management, and made recommendations for improving the Master Planning process.

In light of these recommendations, and changes to the biosolids management opportunities, regulations,
costs and constraints since the draft BRMP was issued in 2004, the City of Toronto initiated the Biosolids
Master Plan (BMP) Update in 2008. The planning completed under this update project follows the Class
EA Master Planning process, including consultation with the public and project stakeholders.

The goal of this project is to deliver an updated BMP report that the City will use as a guide to plan for
future projects and activities for biosolids management.

Since the BRMP was released in 2004, the City has proceeded with separate planning studies and
design projects for the management of residuals from each of its water treatment plants. As such, this
BMP Update only provides an update of the status of those projects and focuses upon biosolids
management planning for the City’s four wastewater treatment plants.

2. Purpose

The purpose of the Biosolids Master Plan (BMP) Update study is to plan for the future management of
biosolids from each of the four wastewater treatment plants in the City of Toronto in a manner that is
sustainable, reliable, environmentally sound, cost-effective and flexible.

The development of the Master Plan had the following objectives:

• To document the status of the existing biosolids program at each treatment plant, in terms of process
capacity, availability and reliability
• To prepare a Problem/Opportunities statement, which identifies the limitations in the existing program
at each of the City’s wastewater treatment plants and opportunities and constraints related to future
management of biosolids
• To complete a comprehensive review of a broad range of biosolids management options available
locally and globally and identify those feasible for each individual wastewater treatment plant
• To develop a decision-making process, that reflects the priorities and goals of the City, public and
other stakeholders, to be used in selecting preferred options for each plant
• To identify a biosolids management strategy for each plant, that includes one or more of the preferred
options and to define a plan for implementing the strategy
• To fulfill the requirements of Phases 1 and 2 of the Municipal Engineers Association Class
Environmental Assessment Master Planning (MEA, 2000 as amended in 2007) process in the
preparation of the Biosolids Master Plan Update.

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) -2-

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

3. The Class Environmental Assessment Master

Planning Process

The BMP Update has been completed following the Master Plan process defined in the Municipal Class
Environmental Assessment (EA) for water, wastewater and road projects, prepared by the Municipal
Engineers Association (October 2000, as amended in 2007). The Master Plan satisfies the requirements
of Phases 1 and 2 of the Class EA process, described as follows:

• Phase 1 Problem Definition

• Phase 2 Identification and Evaluation of Alternative Solutions to Determine a Preferred Solution

The Master Plan must document public and agency consultation at each phase of the process and a
reasonable range of alternative solutions must be identified and systematically evaluated. Public
consultation activities completed as part of the BMP Update included:

• A Project Initiation notice

• A letter informing stakeholders of next steps in the BMP Update
• A project web site at www.toronto.ca/biosolids_masterplan
• A project mailing list
• Two project newsletters for the BMP Update, in addition to 5 newsletters issued as part of the draft
BRMP
• City staff contact: A Public Consultation Co-ordinator, who is available to respond to comments or
questions about the project, at (416) 392-4390, TTY (416)-397-0831, Fax: (416) 392-2974
• Project email address, [email protected]
• Public information sessions at two points during the BMP update, in addition to the two sets of public
information sessions held as part of the draft BRMP. In total, four sets of public information sessions
were held, for a total of 18 events.
• Notice of Completion

In addition to the above noted public consultation activities, there was significant public consultation
undertaken as part of the draft BRMP process, including the formation of an Advisory Committee, and
input from that program was used in the completion of the BMP Update as well.

This report has been prepared to document the City of Toronto Biosolids Master Plan (BMP) and its
development. A Notice of Completion has been published in local newspapers and has been distributed
to those on the project contact list. A 30-day public review period commenced October 1, 2009.

The City’s Project Team will work to resolve all outstanding issues prior to the close of the 30-day public
review period. It may be noted that the BMP is not eligible for a Part II Order request to the Minister of
the Environment, since it is being developed as a municipal Master Plan under the Class EA process.
Furthermore, it can be noted that all projects being recommended in this BMP Update document fall into
the category of Schedule A projects, as described above; and therefore, once approved by Council, the

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) -3-

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

City can proceed to implement recommendations with no further planning under the Class Environmental
Assessment Act.

4. Development of Master Plan Update

As discussed in Section 1, the City of Toronto initiated a Biosolids and Residuals Master Plan (BRMP) in
2002 to provide direction on the future management of biosolids and water residuals generated by the
City’s water and wastewater treatment plants to the year 2025. As a result of some public comments
about the recommended biosolids management options, the City of Toronto undertook a Peer Review of
the draft BRMP. The peer review results focused on the decision-making model and the scoring criteria
used to establish the recommendations related to biosolids management and made recommendations for
improving the Master Planning process.

In light of these recommendations and changes to the biosolids management opportunities, regulations,
costs and constraints since the draft BRMP was issued in 2004, the City of Toronto initiated the Biosolids
Master Plan (BMP) Update in 2008.

The BMP Update was developed in the following steps:

1. The decision-making methodology used to evaluate biosolids management options for each
treatment plant was reviewed and updated. In addition, the City retained Ipsos Reid, a marketing
research firm, to complete a public opinion survey to identify the values of residents as related to
factors affecting biosolids management. The information obtained from this survey was used in
the update of the evaluation methodology.

2. The operational status of the City’s wastewater treatment plants and biosolids management
program was updated based on recent data.

3. The review of biosolids management options available in Canada and around the world, completed
for the draft BRMP, was updated based on the most recent regulations, markets, technologies and
experience.

4. The long list of biosolids management options was reviewed for each plant, considering plant
needs and constraints, to identify those options feasible for each plant.

5. Information on each biosolids management option presented in the draft BRMP was updated. This
information includes capital and operation costs, greenhouse gas impacts and pollutant emissions.

6. The updated decision-making methodology was used to complete a comparative evaluation of

options for each plant and to identify those that ranked highest, indicating they best met the

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) -4-

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

evaluation criteria. Information from the Ipsos Reid survey regarding public opinion about the
management options was considered in the evaluation.

7. Implementation considerations and strategies for each wastewater treatment plant were
developed.

Several related studies were referenced in the preparation of the BMP update, including:

• BRMP Peer Review

• Ipsos Reid Public Opinion Research Study
• Toronto Public Health Studies
• Wet Weather Flow Management Master Plan

5. Source and Characteristics of Biosolids

Biosolids may be described as a nutrient-rich material that results from the biological treatment of
municipal wastewater. Biosolids are generated in liquid form and typically have a solids content of
approximately 2 to 4%. The material may be further mechanically processed to remove water, to make
the remaining dewatered biosolids into a cake like material containing about 25 to 30% solids, making it
amenable to a number of management methods.

• Biosolids contain nutrients important to plant growth, including nitrogen and phosphorus compounds
at levels suitable for use as fertilizers
• Biosolids used as a soil amendment improves pH buffer capacity and water retention capacity
• The volatile solids portion of biosolids offer a fuel value that is approximately half that of natural gas
• When dewatered to a solids content greater than 20%, biosolids resemble a soil-like cake. This
significantly reduces their volume and weight
• Anaerobic digestion significantly reduces the pathogen content and vector attractiveness of biosolids
• The levels of metals and trace contaminants in biosolids can be reduced through appropriate control
of industrial discharges to the wastewater collection system. Toronto biosolids readily meet the
metals standards for application to agricultural land and for use as fertilizers.

6. Biosolids Status Review

Wastewater generated in the City of Toronto is treated in one of four treatment plants (TP):

• Ashbridges Bay TP
• Humber TP
• Highland Creek TP

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) -5-

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

• North Toronto TP

The four plants use conventional activated sludge (CAS) processes that generate biosolids through
anaerobic digestion. Ashbridges Bay TP and Highland Creek TP both mechanically dewater their
biosolids to generate a biosolids cake with 26-28% solids content, while Humber TP and North Toronto
TP generate liquid biosolids with 2-4% solids content.

Biosolids Management at Ashbridges Bay TP

Currently, biosolids from Ashbridges Bay TP are managed in the following manner:

• Pelletization for use as a fertilizer product

• Beneficial use of biosolids in cake form, including:
• Beneficial use on agricultural land
• Alkaline stabilization
• Degraded site reclamation
• Municipal solid waste landfill

Pelletization

Following a fire in August 2003, the reconstruction of the pelletizer facility commenced in 2005 and was
completed in 2008. The pelletizer facility is now operated under an agreement with Veolia Water which
includes the operation and maintenance of the facility as well as the marketing of pellets. In 2008,
during commissioning, the pelletizer facility processed 9,000 dry tonnes of pellets.

Beneficial Use on Agricultural Land

The City has a contract for the agricultural land application of biosolids cake with Terratec Environmental,
who has been the contractor since the program commenced in 1996. The terms of the contract require
that Terratec take responsibility for all necessary approvals and permits for both the hauling operations
and the agricultural sites receiving biosolids. The City is responsible for ensuring that the biosolids quality
meets all regulatory requirements to be suitable for agricultural land application in Ontario. In addition to
the Terratec contract, the City has entered into several other short-term biosolids management contracts,
including GSI Environmental Inc. (GSI), who also manages a portion of biosolids by beneficial use on
agricultural land in Eastern Ontario.

Approximately 6,200 dry tonnes of biosolids was applied to agricultural land during 2008, representing
approximately 14% of the biosolids generated at Ashbridges Bay TP.

Alkaline Stabilization

Integrated Municipal Services (IMS) is currently contracted to manage a minimum of 2,700 dry tonnes per
year of biosolids at their N-Viro technology site in New York State. The N-Viro technology involves adding

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) -6-

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

an alkaline material to the biosolids in order to further stabilize it. The resulting material is used as a
fertilizer. The services provided by IMS include transport and haulage to the site and marketing of the
fertilizer produced. In 2008, 2,720 dry tonnes of biosolids was managed using this alkaline stabilization
process.

Degraded Site Reclamation

A portion of the biosolids managed by GSI is currently managed using land application at mine
degradation and rehabilitation sites in Quebec. In 2008, 2,217 dry tonnes of biosolids was managed by
application to degraded sites.

Landfill

The City has contracts in place with Terratec Environmental, GSI and IMS to provide haulage of the City’s
biosolids to various approved landfill sites, including the City’s recently purchased Green Lane landfill
site. In 2008, 22,544 dry tonnes of biosolids were disposed of in landfills, representing approximately
53% of the biosolids generated at the Ashbridges Bay TP.

Biosolids Management at Humber TP

Liquid biosolids and some waste activated sludge is discharged to the Mid-Toronto Interceptor (MTI),
where it is blended with wastewater from other parts of the City before entering the Ashbridges Bay TP
for management.

Biosolids Management at Highland Creek TP

Biosolids generated at the Highland Creek TP are incinerated onsite by multiple hearth incinerators.
There are two incinerators available for this purpose, each with reported capacity for about 35 dry tonnes
of biosolids per day. One incinerator is intended to operate as duty, with the second in stand-by and
contingency mode. Incinerator ash is stored in on-site ash storage lagoons. Ash is removed from the
lagoons once a year and hauled off site to be disposed of at Green Lane landfill.

Biosolids Management at North Toronto TP

Liquid biosolids from the North Toronto TP are discharged to the Coxwell Trunk Sewer and combined
with raw wastewater collected in this sewer, for treatment with incoming raw wastewater at Ashbridges
Bay TP.

Table 1 summarizes information for all four of Toronto’s wastewater treatment facilities for comparative
purposes.

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) -7-

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

Table 1 Summary of City of Toronto Wastewater Treatment Plant Biosolids Management Status

Facility
Feature1
Ashbridges Bay TP Humber TP Highland Creek TP North Toronto TP
Wastewater All facilities are conventional activated sludge plants with chemically assisted phosphorus
treatment process removal and effluent disinfection.
Approved plant 818,000 473,000 219,000 45,500
wastewater capacity
(m3/d)
Biosolids processes Centrifuge None Centrifuge None
following anaerobic dewatering dewatering
digestion
Current biosolids Beneficial use of Discharge to Mid- Multiple hearth Discharge to
management biosolids cake: Toronto Interceptor incineration Coxwell Trunk
approaches sewer for co- Sewer for co-
− Agricultural land Ash storage in
management at lagoons management at
application
Ashbridges Bay TP Ashbridges Bay TP
− Alkaline Ash disposal at
stabilization Green Lane landfill
− Land reclamation
Drying/ pelletization
and product
distribution
Municipal waste
landfill (contingency)
Current Average 106.12 58.54 29.2 1.2
Biosolids (dry 57.43
tonnes of solids/d)
Biosolids generation 138.12 73.75 31.5 1.8
estimates – at rated 76.63
capacity (dry tonnes
of solids/d)
Notes:
1. m3/d – volumetric raw wastewater flow rate measured in cubic metres per day
2. Includes amounts generated as a result of treating solids discharged from Humber TP and North Toronto
TP.
3. Excludes Humber TP management at Ashbridges Bay TP.
4. Current estimate includes unprocessed WAS discharged to Ashbridges Bay TP.
5. Future is based on digestion of all raw sludge and WAS at Humber TP.

Table 2 summarizes problem and opportunities for each facility in order to develop biosolids management
options specific to each facility.

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) -8-

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

Table 2 Summary of Problems, Opportunities and Constraints for Each Treatment Plant

Feature Facility

Ashbridges Bay TP Humber TP Highland Creek TP North Toronto TP

Existing • Beneficial use program • Discharge to Mid-Toronto • Multiple hearth incineration • Discharge to Coxwell
management (agricultural land application) Interceptor for co- Trunk Sewer for
• Ash storage in lagoons
strategy management at Ashbridges co-management at
• Drying/pelletization and product
Bay TP • Ash disposal in municipal Ashbridges Bay TP
distribution
waste landfill
• Several short-term contracts
(alkaline stabilization, land
reclamation, landfilling)
Problems • Agricultural land availability is • Ashbridges Bay TP, where • Based on operation of one • Ashbridges Bay TP,
limited, and capacity for only Humber TP biosolids are incinerator as duty and the where North Toronto TP
approximately 15% has been managed, does not currently other as standby, the biosolids are managed,
provided in the last several have sufficient capacity to existing incinerators do not does not currently have
years manage all biosolids provide adequate capacity sufficient capacity to
manage all the biosolids
for current and projected
• Pelletizer has capacity for
peak month solids
approximately 25-30% of the
generation rates.
biosolids generated at the plant
• Short-term contracts to manage
biosolids that exceed the
capacity of the pelletizer or land
application program can result
in an increase in costs and do
not provide a reliable or
sustainable solution

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) -9-

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

Feature Facility

Ashbridges Bay TP Humber TP Highland Creek TP North Toronto TP

Opportunities • Utilize pelletizer to its maximum • Develop a sustainable plan • Develop a sustainable plan • Continue to manage
capacity to take advantage of for future management of for future management of biosolids at Ashbridges
City’s capital investment and biosolids to provide biosolids to replace Bay TP because North
operating agreement contingency and ensure capacity of multiple hearth Toronto TP generates a
reliable operation incinerators, to provide small amount of biosolids
• Maintain beneficial use program
contingency and ensure that do not affect
to the extent possible
reliable operation processes at Ashbridges
• Develop a sustainable plan for Bay TP
future management of biosolids
to provide contingency and
ensure reliable operation
Constraints • Existing incinerators at the • There is very limited space • The existing incinerators at • The smallest of Toronto’s
Ashbridges Bay TP site are no available at the Humber TP the Highland Creek TP are wastewater treatment
longer operational and cannot site, especially in view of the currently undergoing plants with limited
be readily replaced with newer close proximity of residential repairs and upgrades; opportunity to benefit
incinerators unless an Individual properties. Space for however remaining reliable from economies of scale
Environmental Assessment is dewatering and truck loading service life is estimated at
• Plant location and access
completed, as required by the facilities is available; 5 to 10 years with these
makes any increase in
Ashbridges Bay TP Mediation however, further on-site upgrades
the facility footprint or
Agreement processing is not feasible at
traffic volume problematic
the Humber TP site

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 10 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

7. Project Decision-Making

In overview, project decision-making for the BMP Update followed these steps:

1. Identify Long List of Biosolids Management Options

A long-list of options was identified following a review of biosolids management practices in North
America, Europe, Japan and Australia.

2. Identify Feasible Options for Each Wastewater Treatment Plant

Management options unique to each treatment plant were identified to address the limitations and take
advantage of the opportunities identified in the problems/opportunities statement for each treatment plant.

3. Identify the Highest Ranking Management Options for Each Wastewater Treatment Plant

Using the decision-making tool selected for the project, each feasible management option was evaluated
to identify the management option(s) that best met the selection criteria for each wastewater treatment
plant.

4. Assess Decision Making Process and Results

Both the decision-making process and results of the evaluation were assessed against the principles of
good governance.

Decision-Making Principles

The world of biosolids management presents many complex choices. Management options (such as
beneficial use, landfill, etc.) and processing technologies (such as dewatering, pelletization, alkaline
stabilization, incineration, etc.) should be optimally combined to meet the needs of each individual
treatment plant and community. This involves the consideration of a range of biosolids management and
process technology combinations for each of the four treatment plants in the development of the Master
Plan for the City of Toronto.

To this end, two important principles guided the development of the BMP Update:

• Decision-making must follow internationally recognized principles of good governance, such as

participation, transparency and accountability
• The decision-making tool adopted must be appropriate to this study and to the assessment of
sustainability

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 11 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

For the draft BRMP and this BMP Update, the multi-criteria analysis (MCA) decision-making model was
utilized. The project team acknowledged the need to develop and weight the criteria through consultation
with stakeholders. Members of the general public, the Biosolids and Residual Master Plan Advisory
Committee and City staff were consulted during development of the draft BRMP. Public opinion research
and additional public input received during public information sessions was used to augment this
information in this BMP Update. A reasonable, reproducible and robust decision-making process, as
required by Ontario's Class Environmental Assessment Master Planning process, was ensured by:

• Seeking a broad range of opinion

• Attempting to build consensus in the development of the decision-making process
• Considering input from an extensive consultation process with a broad range of stakeholders

During the peer review and the February 2009 public consultation sessions, a number of suggestions for
improvement in the model were tabled. As a result, the model has been revised for this BMP Update with
the overall objective being to make the evaluation process more easily understood by stakeholders.
Specifically, the objectives were to:

• Eliminate overlap among criteria

• Reduce the number of criteria
• Provide clear definitions for the criteria
• Explain how options are to be evaluated relative to one another
• Establish the relative importance of the criteria (i.e., weights) based on information available from the
draft BRMP as well as public opinion research and public consultation undertaken during this BMP
Update

In order to make the decision-making process more easily understood, this BMP Update has adopted the
‘Triple Bottom Line’ approach, which is represented by three performance indices: an Environmental
Index, a Social Index and an Economic Index. The Environmental Index reflects risks and impacts to the
natural environment of each biosolids management option, the Social Index reflects the human social
environment, while the Economic Index reflects cost and risks and impacts to the fiscal environment. All
evaluation criteria in the BMP Update fall under one of these three major categories.

Although in this type of model, weightings are usually evenly distributed between the three indices, for the
BMP Update, the Environmental Index was weighed more heavily, followed by the Social and Cost
indices. This is to reflect the level of importance of each criteria group to the public and consulted
stakeholders.

It was this model that was used to evaluate the biosolids management options considered for each of the
City’s wastewater treatment plants.

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 12 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

8. Description of Biosolids Management Options

One of the first steps in the Master Planning process was to review local and global technologies and
experiences of other municipalities to develop a broad list of potential ways to manage the City of
Toronto’s biosolids.

The purpose of the management options assessment was to gather and analyze sufficient information
regarding each of the long list of biosolids management options to be able to make rational and
transparent decisions regarding the feasibility of each option for use by each Toronto wastewater
treatment plant.

Table 3 presents the long list of biosolids management options considered in the development of the
Master Plan Update.

Table 3 Long List of Biosolids Management Options

Management Option Processing and Resulting Material Requiring Markets/End Use

management

Beneficial Use • Liquid biosolids • Agricultural land application

• Biosolids cake (dewatered) • Land rehabilitation
• Enhanced digested biosolids cake • Silviculture (tree farming)
• Thermally dried biosolids (to pellets) • Fertilizer blending (specialty
horticultural market)
• Alkaline Stabilized biosolids (addition of basic
material such as lime)
• Composted biosolids
Thermal Reduction • Incineration of biosolids cake, resulting in • Municipal waste landfill
inorganic residual ash
• Incorporation into cement
− Multiple hearth incineration

− Fluidized bed incineration

• Emerging thermal technologies for biosolids
cake, resulting in residual ash
− Steam reformation/pyrolysis

− Plasma assisted sludge oxidation

− Sludge Total Energy Recuperator

Module (STERMTM)

Landfilling • Biosolids cake (dewatered) • Municipal landfill and landfill cover

• Monofill (dedicated landfill)
Co-management with • Biosolids cake (dewatered) • Management with source separated
Municipal Solid Waste organics

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 13 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

Management Option Processing and Resulting Material Requiring Markets/End Use

management

Feed to Industrial • Biosolids cake (dewatered) • Fertilizer manufacturing

Process • Direct feed to cement manufacturing
• Feed to fuel production

Based on the review of available technologies and end uses of biosolids, as well as the current practices
in Ontario and worldwide, the following summary of biosolids management options has been provided to
document the feasible options considered for the City of Toronto.

Beneficial Use Options:

• Liquid biosolids
• Dewatered biosolids and dewatered Class A biosolids
• Thermally dried pellets
• Alkaline stabilized material
• Compost (from biosolids)

The following beneficial use destinations/markets were assessed:

• Agricultural land application

• Land rehabilitation (at mine tailings areas)
• Silviculture (tree farming)
• Specialty agricultural and horticultural products

Other Biosolids Management Options:

Based on the review of other biosolids management options, the following conclusions were summarized:

1. Incineration is a proven, feasible option for managing biosolids. Incinerator ash may be disposed
in municipal landfills or recycled, with demonstrated experience in cement and brick
manufacturing. While both multiple hearth and fluidized bed incineration technologies are used,
nearly all new incinerators installed in the last 20 years have been fluidized bed incinerators due to
improved performance and emissions control.
2. Emerging thermal technologies, such as gasification, while showing future potential, are not
adequately demonstrated to the point that their applicability for biosolids management can be
confirmed.
3. Biosolids as a waste feed to the municipal solid waste program now and in the future, is not
generally compatible with municipal waste management options being planned by the City of
Toronto.
4. There are a number of proven and emerging management options where biosolids would be a
feedstream to an industrial process. These options include:

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 14 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

• Dewatered biosolids as feed to cement manufacturing

• Biosolids/sludge as feed to fertilizer manufacturing
• Biosolids/sludge as feed to fuel product manufacturing, where fuel would be primarily used in
cement manufacturing

9. Detailed Evaluation of Management Options and

Development of Preferred Management Strategies

The purpose of this section is to present the detailed results from the evaluation of the long-list of
biosolids management options being considered for each City of Toronto wastewater treatment plant.

Detailed information was used in the evaluation and scoring of management options for each wastewater
treatment plant. In order to complete a comparative evaluation of all management options using the
decision-making process, technical and cost information on each option was required. To that end,
additional data were compiled and information was generated to support the evaluation of biosolids
management options and the basis of their development.

Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant

For Ashbridges Bay TP, there were eleven feasible management options evaluated, in addition to the “do
nothing” alternative that compares the existing situation to those options being considered.

Table 4 presents a summary of the final scores for each of the environmental, social and economic
indices used in the decision making process for each of the twelve management options considered.

Table 4 Total Weighted Scores for Ashbridges Bay TP Biosolids Management Options

Final
Environmental Social Economic
Biosolids Management Option Weighted
Index Index Index
Score
A0: “Do nothing” - Short term contracts for
28.2 29.3 12.6 70
beneficial use and landfilling

A1: Beneficial use of biosolids cake 32.7 28.6 19.2 80

A2: Thermal Drying (pelletization) On-site 26.3 31.2 11.4 69

A3: Thermal Drying (pelletization) Off-site 25.1 29.7 10.9 66

A4: Alkaline stabilization On-site 30.9 27.8 11.0 70

A5: Alkaline stabilization Off-site 30.7 26.3 10.4 67

A6: Composting (including Vermiculture) On-site 31.0 28.6 12.3 72

A7: Composting (including Vermiculture) Off-site 30.7 25.5 12.2 68

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 15 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

Final
Environmental Social Economic
Biosolids Management Option Weighted
Index Index Index
Score
A8: Thermal reduction On-site 27.1 31.2 17.8 76

A9: Thermal reduction Off-site 26.3 30.5 16.6 73

A10: Landfilling (and landfill cover) 32.9 27.0 17.9 78

A11: Feedstream to off-site private sector

27.6 30.1 9.4 67
industrial process

Based on the results, the recommended strategy includes the following:

1. Maximizing the program for beneficial use of biosolids cake. This will include dedicating City
staff time to marketing and sourcing new opportunities for beneficial use such as land rehabilitation
and tree farming, and will require expanding the City’s program to establish long-term,
competitively-bid contracts for management of the biosolids in a diverse range of beneficial use
applications.
2. Using landfill as a contingency measure to backstop the program as well as dispose of varying
quantities of biosolids that cannot be beneficially used at any given time. This will include hauling
biosolids cake for disposal in the City’s Green Lane landfill, and potentially other landfills, as
established through competitively-bid long term contracts.

The primary benefits of this program over the existing ‘do-nothing’ solution are:

1. Lower cost: Existing short-term contracts were not competitively-bid and therefore potentially
represent an increase in cost to the City.
2. Better long term cost predictability: With long term contracts, the City can negotiate pricing and be
less exposed to price increases due to frequent renewals.
3. Reliability: Entering into long term contracts will ensure the City has a more reliable management
program.
4. Fastest implementation schedule: Both beneficial use and landfilling options are operating now
and can continue without any additional capital investments by the City.

While on-site thermal reduction scored third among the options, it is not recommended as part of the
program for the Ashbridges Bay TP, for the following reasons:

1. Delayed implementation: Given that additional studies and environmental assessment would be
required and the timelines and costs associated with the required capital investment, this project
would take a minimum of 6 years to be commissioned – assuming funds were available for an
immediate start.
2. Capital budget: The Ashbridges Bay TP has significant and pressing upgrade needs, to maintain
reliable wastewater treatment and on-site solids processing. As well, anticipated new regulatory
changes are expected to require that significant capital investment be made in order for the facility
to remain in regulatory compliance.

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 16 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

3. Community: While the technical evaluation shows that thermal reduction on-site would have
minimal community impacts, the City has plans to make significant investment in a 20-year
program to improve the waterfront in the Ashbridges Bay TP area.

Humber TP

For Humber TP, there were nine feasible management options evaluated, in addition to the “do nothing”
alternative that compares the existing situation to those options being considered.

Table 5 presents a summary of the final scores for each of the environmental, social and economic
indices for each of the ten management options considered.

Table 5 Total Weighted Scores for Humber TP Biosolids Management Options

Final
Environmental Social Economic
Biosolids Management Option Weighted
Index Index Index
Score
H0: “Do nothing” Discharge liquid biosolids
for treatment at ABTP via Mid-Toronto 39.2 30.9 17.9 88
Interceptor (MTI)

H1: Discharge liquid biosolids for management

at ABTP via new dedicated forcemain direct to 36.3 29.0 17.9 83
dewatering

H2: Land application of liquid biosolids 30.8 24.0 16.3 71

H3: Beneficial use of biosolids cake 32.7 28.6 19.2 80

H4: Thermal Drying (pelletization)

24.9 29.3 10.7 65
Off-site

H5: Alkaline stabilization Off-site 30.6 26.3 10.4 67

H6: Composting (including Vermiculture)

30.7 25.5 12.2 68
Off-site

H7: Thermal reduction Off-site 23.9 30.5 16.5 71

H8: Landfilling (and landfill cover) 32.7 26.7 17.9 77

H9: Feedstream to off-site private sector

27.6 30.1 9.4 67
industrial process

Based on the results, the recommended strategy for biosolids management at the Humber TP includes
the following:

1. Maintain the existing strategy of discharging liquid biosolids and waste activated sludge to
the MTI where they are co-managed with biosolids at the Ashbridges Bay TP.

The primary benefits of maintaining the existing ‘do-nothing’ solution are:

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 17 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

1. No capital cost: Discharging biosolids to the MTI does not require any capital investment by the
City for implementation.
2. Site capacity: The Humber TP site is very small and has limited space for new facilities.
3. Reliability: The existing practice ensures that the wastewater treatment processes at the Humber
TP will not be disrupted due to any construction at the Humber TP site required for all options
related to independent management of Humber TP biosolids.

Highland Creek TP

For Highland Creek TP, there were eleven feasible management options evaluated, in addition to the “do
nothing” alternative that compares the existing situation to those options being considered.

Table 6 presents a summary of the final scores for each of the environmental, social and economic
indices for each of the twelve options.

Table 6 Total Weighted Scores for Highland Creek TP Biosolids Management Options

Final
Environmental Social Economic
Biosolids Management Option Weighted
Index Index Index
Score
HC0: “Do nothing” Existing multiple hearth
25.7 35.4 7.8 69
incinerators

HC1: Beneficial use of biosolids cake 31.4 27.8 19.2 78

HC2: Thermal Drying (pelletization) On-site 26.0 32.0 11.4 69

HC3: Thermal Drying (pelletization) Off-site 24.9 30.5 10.9 66

HC4: Alkaline stabilization On-site 30.6 27.8 11.0 70

HC5: Alkaline stabilization Off-site 30.4 26.3 10.4 67

HC6: Composting (including Vermiculture) On-

30.7 27.8 12.3 71
site

HC7: Composting (including Vermiculture) Off-

30.5 25.5 12.2 68
site

HC8: Thermal reduction On-site 27.9 36.6 17.8 82

HC9: Thermal reduction Off-site 26.0 30.5 16.6 73

HC10: Landfilling (and landfill cover) 32.6 27.0 17.9 78

HC11: Feedstream to off-site private sector

27.3 30.1 9.4 67
industrial process

Based on the results, the recommended strategy for biosolids management at the Highland Creek TP
includes the following:

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 18 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

1. On-site thermal reduction. Replacement of existing multiple hearth incinerators with new
modern fluidized bed incinerators with state of the art scrubbing technology and energy recovery.
An additional incinerator is planned to provide the contingency necessary to ensure reliable
biosolids management capacity.

The primary benefits of this program over the existing ‘do-nothing’ solution are:

1. Reliability: Multiple hearth technology is outdated and the existing multiple hearth incinerators at
the Highland Creek TP are coming to the end of their useful life and do not provide adequate firm
capacity for the current and projected peak month biosolids generation rates. New modern
fluidized bed incineration will ensure state of the art technologies for biosolids processing and air
emission control.
2. Public acceptance: Public opinion research suggested that residents in areas surrounding the
Highland Creek TP prefer incineration to truck traffic, which would be far greater for all other
management options.
3. Operator familiarity and acceptance: The operations staff at the Highland Creek TP are familiar
with the incineration process, which provides consistency in operations and decreases operator
training requirements.

North Toronto TP

The North Toronto TP discharges digested liquid biosolids into the Coxwell trunk sewer, which ultimately
directs these solids with raw wastewater for treatment at the Ashbridges Bay TP. At present the biosolids
represent less than 2% of the total loading to the Ashbridges Bay TP.

Two approaches to biosolids management were considered for the North Toronto TP. A detailed
evaluation was not completed for the North Toronto TP. Based on the small scale of the North Toronto
TP and the site and access limitations of the Don Valley location, the preferred management option for
the North Toronto TP includes the following:

1. Continue to discharge into the Coxwell trunk sewer for management at Ashbridges Bay TP.

The primary benefits of maintaining the existing ‘do-nothing’ solution are:

1. Economy of scale: Due to the size of the North Toronto TP, the incremental increase in costs or
impacts at Ashbridges Bay TP for management of the North Toronto TP biosolids will be negligible.
2. No capital cost: Discharging biosolids to the Coxwell trunk sewer does not require any capital
investment by the City for implementation.
3. Site Accessibility: The Don Valley location of the plant makes it not easily accessible and
increased truck traffic could potentially be problematic.
4. Future Uncertainty: The future of the North Toronto TP is not clear at this time due to the
implementation considerations of the Wet Weather Flow Management Master Plan.

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 19 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

Table 7 presents the biosolids management options for each treatment plant that scored highest using
the project decision-making process, and which are included in the long-term biosolids management plan
for the City of Toronto.

Table 7 Treatment Plant Strategy Alternatives

Alternative Description

Ashbridges Bay TP

Maximize existing long-term contracts for pelletization and beneficial use on agricultural land (30 to
35% of required capacity).

Maximize the program for beneficial use of biosolids cake using long-term contracts and sourcing
A1
new opportunities in a diverse range of beneficial use applications.

Use landfill as a contingency measure to backstop the program as well as dispose of varying
quantities of biosolids that cannot be beneficially used at any given time.

Humber TP

H0 Management at Ashbridges Bay TP via Mid-Toronto Interceptor (MTI).

Highland Creek TP

HC8 On-site thermal reduction using new state of the art fluidized bed incineration technology.

North Toronto TP

NT0 Management at the Ashbridges Bay TP via Coxwell Trunk Sewer.

10. Implementation Plan

This implementation plan has been prepared to present the activities, studies and projects required to
provide reliable, environmentally sound and cost-effective management of biosolids into the future. The
implementation strategy presents the following components for each plant:

• Activities for optimizing/maximizing the current biosolids management program

• Activities required to implement the preferred biosolids management options to address existing
problems/deficiencies
• Measures recommended for the City to consider to enhance the biosolids processes upstream, that
will realize benefits to the City, in terms of reducing biosolids quantities and/or enhancing the energy
recovery from biosolids.

In addition, this section also presents an approach to monitoring the success of the biosolids
management program to provide information that will enable the City to make continuous improvements
to the program.

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 20 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

The implementation plan, summarized in Table 8, proposes how to maximize the use of existing
infrastructure and programs in the short-term and what strategies will be used in the interim period while
the long-term strategy is implemented.

Table 8 Summary of Implementation Plan for the BMP

Plant Highest Ranking Strategy Implementation Plan

Ashbridges Maximize beneficial use of Dedicate staff and resources to enhance and diversify markets for
Bay TP biosolids cake and pellet product beneficial use
distribution
Investigate and secure alternative landfill as contingency
Use landfill as contingency
capacity
Humber TP Send to Ashbridges Bay TP via Continue to send to Ashbridges Bay TP via MTI for co-
MTI for co-management management
Investigate and potentially implement digestion improvements to
reduce solids and recover energy

Highland Replace existing multiple hearth Continue to operate and maintain the existing multiple hearth units
Creek TP incinerators with fluidized bed in the interim
facility
Since multiple hearth units are being upgraded, phase in new
incineration capacity as necessary
Investigate and potentially implement heat recovery from
incineration process
North Send to Ashbridges Bay TP via Continue to send to Ashbridges Bay TP via MTI for co-
Toronto TP Coxwell Trunk Sewer for co- management
management

Other components of the BMP Update include:

• On-going monitoring to ensure compliance with existing and future regulations, guidelines and
standards
• Annual plan development and assessment of the program against the goals set out in the Master
Plan, as defined for each biosolids plant strategy and also to identify opportunities for improvements
• 5 to 10 year BMP review

11. Addressing Public Questions and Concerns

The development of the BMP Update included an active public consultation program that sought out the
comments and concerns of the public and other stakeholders.

BMP Update comments were received primarily through the two sets of Public Information Sessions.

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 21 -

City of Toronto
Biosolids Master Plan Update
Executive Summary

From the outset of the project, the project team recognized that achieving full consensus on the issues at
hand was unlikely, given the controversy surrounding biosolids management in many communities,
including Toronto. Nevertheless, a Master Plan was required, and its development considered the full
range of comments and concerns received throughout the project. While the BMP Update and its
implementation plan will not entirely satisfy all stakeholders, the project team has reviewed it in order to
make sure all comments and concerns have been considered.

The City prepared detailed tables to highlight and address comments provided through the public
information sessions held as part of the BMP Update. The tables summarize comments and concerns
that were raised during the BMP Update study, and the project team’s responses, which highlight how
these concerns have been addressed. These tables are documented in the public consultation appendix
of the main BMP Update report that also outlines all the public consultation activities undertaken during
the BMP Update and the drafting of the BRMP.

(2523 091019 r toronto bmp update exec summary final.doc) - 22 -