The Manitoba government is monitoring municipal efforts to address ongoing environmental concerns at the Flin Flon landfill.
Provincial concerns around the landfill have been well publicized in recent years, with city council required to study the condition and remaining lifespan of the site.
A provincial spokesperson told The Reminder the government is working with the city to ensure compliance with all aspects of its landfill permit.
Work continues to address issues such as inappropriate storage of hazardous materials, inadequate cover and compaction of waste and a lack of proper fencing, the spokesperson said.
There is also a need for leachate management and additional efforts to reduce the risk of surface water impacts to Schist Lake, said the spokesperson.
“There is no immediate risk to public health,” the spokesperson added, “but the province is monitoring the efforts to improve the operation and design of the landfill and will continue to ensure all municipalities are accountable for the protection of the
environment.”
Will comply
Coun. Bill Hanson said the city will comply with the rules, but it may not happen overnight.
“They’re going to have to be patient with us,” he said of the province. “I mean, we’re going to meet the recommendations. We always do what we have to do, but it just seems that every time we turn around, there’s another arm of the government telling us where to spend our money.”
Hanson said the city faces spending demands “from every sector” and can only do what it can afford.
He added that he would like to see the province return to the city a higher percentage of revenue from the recycling of tires and other materials that originate in Flin Flon.
Crescendo
Concerns over the Flin Flon landfill reached a crescendo in October 2011 when Manitoba Conservation issued an environmental protection order relative to the site.
According to the city-commissioned study conducted as a result, the order indicated there was reason to believe the landfill “had reached its maximum operational capacity” and that continued operation “would potentially pose a risk to the environment via flow of potentially contaminated runoff.”
The landfill was allowed to continue to operate, but a study of the site was required. The city hired CH2M Hill, a Winnipeg-based engineering consulting firm, to do the study.
The study, conducted in 2012, called for a long-term monitoring plan so the quality of groundwater and surface water leaving the landfill could be closely monitored for trends and possible risks to aquatic life and other ecological receptors.
The study also urged some form of leachate management, stating: “Contamination is already present outside the site boundary. A means of controlling and/or containing leachate generated at the site must be employed so as not to result in a cumulative effect on Schist Lake, in particular.”
The study further urged a master plan be developed to meet the recommendations and devise strategies for “optimization of waste streams, planning landfill infrastructure programs and future expansion of the site.”
Other recommendations involved ensuring the footprint of the waste at the site does not exceed the boundaries of city-owned land, and that consideration be given to landfill gas generation.
The study determined the landfill has a remaining lifespan on the order of 30 years, a sharp contrast from the Manitoba Conservation order that indicated reason to believe the site had reached capacity.
In another reassuring finding, the study stated that “the current level of impact related to the operation of the City landfill over the past nearly sixty years appears to be low.”
That said, “impacts have been observed outside the footprint of the [landfill] as a result of uncontrolled runoff and this must be addressed so as not to compound the effects of historical site activities.”
In May 2013, Mayor George Fontaine said he was hopeful that study of the landfill would avert the worst-case scenario for the site – closure.
Closing the landfill would cost “in the multi millions of dollars,” he said.
At the time, Fontaine said there had been a province-wide push for communities to move away from individual dumps and toward regional landfills.
He said the city was not interested in a proposed regional landfill that would have Flin Flon garbage shipped to a landfill at least an hour away at a significant cost.
Recommendations
In its 2012 study of the Flin Flon landfill, CH2M Hill made the following recommendations (includes some paraphrasing):
• A long-term monitoring plan must be implemented so the quality of groundwater and surface water leaving the site can be closely monitored for trends and potential risks to aquatic life and other ecological receptors. Groundwater monitoring should be undertaken at least once a year, and surface water sampling biannually.
• Consideration of landfill gas generation must be given. Based on the composition of the waste and the relatively small size of the site, landfill gas generation potential will be low. However, understanding the potential for landfill gas generation is important. Monitoring of gas probes should be undertaken.
• The footprint of waste at the site exceeded the boundaries of the city land ownership and the permitted area of operation. Some measure must be taken so the city is in compliance with this regulation, whether it be through excavation and re-deposition of waste within the landfill boundaries/buffer or the purchase of additional land for site expansion.
• Some form of leachate management is required to comply with regulations. Contamination is already present outside the site boundary. A means of controlling and/or containing leachate generated at the site must be employed so as not to result in a cumulative effect on Schist Lake, in particular.
• Operational procedures should be reviewed to enhance the sustainability of the landfill in its current location. A master plan should be developed that provides milestones for achieving resolutions to the above recommendations as well as strategies for optimization of waste streams, planning landfill infrastructure programs and future expansion of the site.
