It may be a while before Rocky View residents see an organics facility.
At the advice of staff, Rocky View County councillors turned down a $3.1 million grant from Rural Alberta Development Fund, on Oct. 11. The grant was enough to cover the costs of a proposed organics waste-learning centre and would have also provided $1.4 million towards construction of an organics processing facility.
The move came as a result of a feasibility study, started by staff in July 2010, that showed the facility would put the County $9.5 million into debt and not be profitable for at least 17 years.
“I don’t think it is going to work at this time,” said Councillor Lois Habberfield. “It doesn’t make sense, unfortunately. I don’t think you should take the money.”
The regional facility, which was to be one of the first of its kind in Canada, would have processed about 50,000 tonnes per year of residential and commercial organic waste and created approximately 22,000 tonnes of compost and 2,500 tonnes of soil amendment product.
The facility, which would have used both composting and anaerobic digestion, a relatively uncommon processing method, to break down waste. This method would have produced biogas, composed mainly of methane, to power and heat the facility’s buildings.
Although the feasibility study and business plan, done by Iris Environmental Systems Inc. and CH2M Hill, showed that while technology exists to break down untreated sewage, food waste and industrial organics, it would cost too much to build and run the facility.
The County had proposed selling the soil amendment and compost to farmers, municipalities, landscapers and through retail channels, in hopes of making the facility financially independent.
Council received letters of support for the facility from several surrounding jurisdictions including Calgary, Airdrie, Irricana, Cochrane, Chestermere and Beiseker.
According to Cole Nelson, Rocky View’s manager of waste and recycling, a regional facility is not off the table.
“I am sure it will be part of the regular conversation,” he said. “Administration and my department in particular recognize that it is a very important part of the waste stream. We need to take a good look at organics.”
Nelson said the Province has a goal to divert 80 per cent of the waste from landfills by 2020, a number only possible by recycling organic waste, meaning municipalities have a mandate to look at organics.
Currently, 30 per cent of waste generated in Alberta goes to the landfill, said Nelson, adding that many municipalities now have organics facilities.
In an interesting twist to the decision, several councillors received an unsolicited offer from a company over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Although specific details are not available, according to Councillor Rick Butler, the letter suggested the company would not need any financial input from the County.
“I would suggest that we postpone this decision so we can talk to the company,” said Butler. “We have a company willing to take care of it at no financial cost to the County. I would hate to throw out this proposition.”
Several councillors agreed.
“I don’t know why you would want to throw this out,” said Councillor Earl Solberg. “This is the future and it is not so far into the future.”
However, the correspondence was not sent to staff or all councillors, prompting concern.
“You don’t just send a memorandum of understanding out to the councillors,” said Habberfield. “We are open for interesting ideas but there are places where it can be publicly presented. This isn’t the way we typically do business in Rocky View.”
County Manager Rob Coon said responding to the unsolicited communication would “set a terrible precedent.”
Councillor Margaret Bahcheli called the situation “chilling.”
“You either like it or you don’t, to start working at it is bad business,” she said.
Councillors Solberg and Butler, along with Reeve Rolly Ashdown, were in favour of postponing the decision to refuse the grant money, while councillors Paul McLean, Al Sacuta, Habberfield, Boehlke, Bahcheli and Magnuson were opposed.
