The application made by…

The application made by Dwayne Andrew Wilson, operator of the Stool Bus, to allow spreading of septic tank residue should be denied.
Decades ago, while premiere of Ontario, Ernie Eves stated publicly that disposal of septic tank residue by spreading on agricultural land should end. Instead, the waste should be disposed of at wastewater treatment plants operated by municipalities. At the time, many rural municipalities could not handle this type of waste. Since then, many waste treatment plants were upgraded to permit this type of waste. In the area, Glencoe accepts hauled sewage and has for several years. Rather than spreading sewage on agricultural land, Mr. Wilson should make use of the Glencoe waste treatment plant where it will be handled appropriately.
Cost is the likely reason Mr. Wilson wishes to surface spread hauled sewage. Municipalities charge for disposal. If this application is denied and Mr. Wilson is forced to use waste treatment facilities, his cost will simply be passed to the consumer. Therefore, cost is not a reasonable argument supporting this application.
Two creeks/ditches pass through the proposed property. Section 14.1 of Regulation 347 of the Environmental Protection act requires:
14.1 The following are prescribed as standards for the location, maintenance and operation of waste disposal sites for hauled sewage:
1. A person shall not apply hauled sewage in any manner that permits it to enter a watercourse or drainage ditch.
2. A person shall not apply hauled sewage in any manner that results in runoff leaving the site.

Accordingly, berms must be installed and maintained to prevent runoff into these ditches. The amount of land that can be used for spreading is thereby reduced by almost 25%. Concentrations of sewage will increase as a result.
The highlights provided in the Environmental Registry state the minimum requirements for spreading hauled sewage on surfaces according to Section 16 of Regulation 347. Mr. Wilson made no attempt in the application to exceed these standards.
The application states:
The company must ensure that no unnecessary off-site effects, such as vermin, vectors, odour, dust, litter, noise or traffic, result from the operation of this site.
Sewage attracts mice, rats, racoons, and opossums. The application does not describe what methods will be used to eliminate these vermin. Without specific actions, the operator cannot meet this obligation.
In the event, Mr. Wilson is allowed to spread hauled sewage on this site, how are the regulations and the stipulations in the compliance certificate monitored and enforced? Regulation 347 has no mechanism for monitoring or enforcing the regulations. Daily logs are not sufficient. Without adequate monitoring by the Department of Environment, monitoring will fall to local citizenry. The regulations provide no procedure for compliant. The regulations provide no penalties or fines for improper dumping. After the compliance certificate is granted, no means exists to ensure proper operation of the site.
Mr. Wilson made four similar applications in 2018. All were denied. The sites were deemed inappropriate for hauled sewage. In 2021, an application was made to use the same site proposed in this application. At the time, twenty-six comments were submitted. All objected to the proposal. Mr. Wilson withdrew the application before a decision could be made. This application is identical to the one made in 2021. Trying again with the hope of fewer objections is scandalous.
Ernie Eves was correct. Spreading hauled sewage is wrong. The problems are too great and now municipalities can handle hauled sewage. This application should be rejected.