City of Greater Sudbury Biosolids Management Facility: On Time and On Budget

For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 7, 2015

City of Greater Sudbury Biosolids Management Facility: On Time and On Budget

The City of Greater Sudbury is pleased to announce that the City of Greater Sudbury Biosolids Management Facility is now operational. This state-of-the-art, award-winning, facility is the first of its kind in northern Ontario and establishes Greater Sudbury as a leader in environmentally sound water/wastewater processing. 

The City had been using Vale’s tailings ponds near Lively for over 30 years as a disposal site for waste activated sludge from its wastewater treatment facilities. While this was once an acceptable practice, changing environmental standards and episodes of odour in nearby communities lead the City to find a more permanent and sustainable method of sludge disposal and treatment.

“The new Biosolids Management Facility will reduce the impact of our waste on the environment while providing effective use of taxpayer dollars,” said Mayor Brian Bigger. “I want to thank Vale for allowing us to use their site over the years.”

The Biosolids Management Facility is a centralized wastewater sludge dewatering and stabilization facility producing Class A biosolids at the Sudbury Wastewater treatment plant on Kelly Lake Road. The newly constructed biosolids facility will respond to the current restraints placed on the City’s disposal practices as an environmentally responsible and sustainable plant that is safe to all surrounding communities, delivering a long-term, modern approach to wastewater management.

The City-owned facility, and public-private partnership (P3) Biosolids Management Facility, will be operated by N-Viro®, a Walker Environmental Group Company (N-Viro); a family-owned diverse company with more than 125 years of experience in the industry. 

“In implementing the P3 model, we are able to realize a number of benefits such as leveraging the experience of the private sector in operating this facility and distributing the end product,” said Tony Cecutti, General Manager of Infrastructure Services for the City of Greater Sudbury. “Utilizing the expertise of N-Viro allows us the opportunity to reduce operational costs and keep in line with industry best standards.” 

The total price tag of the project is $63.1 million, with the Government of Canada contributing up to $11 million through the P3 Canada Fund. The City has committed to the balance, through capital reserves over the 20 year operating term outlined in the contract. 

“This project is another great example of how public-private partnerships bring together important public infrastructure initiatives and the expertise of the private sector,” said John McBride, CEO PPP Canada. “The City of Greater Sudbury demonstrated a clear need for this project. Public infrastructure projects such as water treatment facilities improve public health and enhance the quality of life of all Canadian families.”

The project has been in progress since 2007 as a way to improve sludge disposal practices in Greater Sudbury. In 2012, the City entered into an agreement with N-Viro Systems Canada LP, now part of the Walker Environmental Group, for the Design, Build, Finance, Operation and Maintenance (DBFOM) of a City-owned biosolids management facility, with N-Viro committing to a financing plan over the full 20-year term of the contract. As part of the agreement, the City will also receive revenue from sales of the biosolids end-product.

“Walker Environmental Group is very proud to be investing in the City of Greater Sudbury’s Biosolids initiative,” said Mike Watt, Executive Vice-President, Walker Environmental Group Inc. “We successfully process and produce fertilizer in five other locations across Canada. Our process turns organic residuals into an agricultural and beneficial soil amendment called N-Rich®, used primarily in the agricultural sector and for land reclamation projects.”

The Biosolids Management Facility has been in its start up and commissioning phase for the last two months and is taking sludge produced at all City wastewater treatment plants to produce biosolids. This final phase of the project has been completed allowing the plant to proceed as scheduled. 

The official grand opening of the facility is expected in summer 2015. For more information on the Biosolids Management Facility, please visit www.greatersudbury.ca/biosolids. 

Backgrounder: Biosolids Management Facility

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