Sewage Spreading Proposal in Inverary

Jeff Green | Jan 10, 2024

It was an early Christmas present that was not particularly well received.
A number of Inverary residents living on Latimer Road, (East of Perth Road) Round Lake Road and Greenfield Road received letters from McIintosh Perry on December 18 informing them of an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) application to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for a proposed hauled sewage site at an adjacent farm property, which is accessed off of Latimer Road.
The farm is a 89.2 acre parcel that runs between Latimer and Greenfield. It is currently being used for cash crops, including hay and corn. The applicant is Frontenac Septic Services.
According to the letter from McIntosh Perry, “untreated hauled sewage from holding tanks and septic tanks may be disposed of on land in accordance with an ECA (Environmental Compliance Approval) under the Environmental Protection Act.” This particular proposal is for “residential sewage sources”.
The letter also outlines the approval requirements that would have to be met prior to a site being approved.
These include: written reporting procedures; training in spill prevention for anyone involved in the operation; reporting of all spills; that the company ensures that there are no unnecessary off-site effects from the operation; written records; no spreading on frozen, ice or snow covered ground, and no spreading in winter months.
There would be a maximum spread rate, no spreading within specified distances from sensitive features, a clear flagging or digital designation of the spreading and, and only hauled sewage will be disposed at the site.
As part of the application process, anyone who received the McIntosh Perry letter had the opportunity to provide comments to the ministry within 15 days, essentially by the end of the year.
Some of the people who received letters said the timing was not great for them since they were travelling over the holidays.
One of them is Rick Hatton, who lives with his wife on Round Lake Road. In his letter, he said that he has “concerns regarding the impact, not only as it would affect the enjoyment, continued viability and value of our property, but also for the local environment.”
He said that country residents expect to be “practical, understanding, and accommodating of rural situations such as local farms and businesses”, but do not expect to have our “residential septic systems pumped out and then dumped onto a field immediately behind our family homes.”
He pointed out as well that the property in question drains directly into two nearby lakes, Collins and Inverary, and mentioned the detrimental impact the dumping would have on property values for nearby residents.
“I hope you can imagine how the newly introduced stench and unsightliness of untreated sewage in the vicinity of our family homes, the infection of our wells, … , would dramatically reduce the quality of our area and suppress the value of our homes.
He concluded by saying that as a retired army officer he has seen some very dodgy local practices of dumping and sewage, during his military career, in conflict areas such as Bosnia, Afghanistan and Haiti, “but I have never expected to see such a thing proposed here in Canada as viable plan in a residential area.”
Frontenac Septic Services was established last spring. The local owners of the company purchased the equipment and customer list from Orser Septic, and incorporated Frontenac Septic as a newly created company. One of the owners of Frontenac Septic also owns a separate company that provides porta-potties, but this application is not for the porta-potty business, only for septic pump outs done under the Frontenac Septic Service license.
Currently, the company is hauling all of their sewage to Kingston to the wastewater treatment plant, which is an expensive option that became more expensive at the beginning of this year. According to the company, the cost went up $100 per truckload on January 1st.
They also point out that they contracted McIntosh Perry to handle the matter with the ministry, which is at the pre-application stage, because they are experts in compliance with ministry and municipal regulations.
There is at least one other septic pumping and hauling company in South Frontenac, and at least one in rural Kingston, who are doing exactly what Frontenac Septic Services is proposing to do, “managing hauled sewage on an agricultural field”.
In an emailed response to the Frontenac News, the company said that this practice “reduces greenhouse gas emissions from trucking the material to distant wastewater treatment plants. It is also a form of recycling as the material is returned to the earth to provide nutrients and it reduces reliance on synthetic fertilizers.”
If the ministry decides Frontenac Septic Services can proceed with the application, it will only be the beginning of the process. Soil conditions, drainage, and other aspects of the proposal will need to be fleshed out, and once the next phase of the application is completed, background and supporting information will be made available to the public and another formal comment period will follow before the possible issuance of an ECA.