HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-177-92 ~°Fi GOSH®SATI Tht T'Oi~ O~ hl~ICAST`L~
DN: BIOMED.GPA
Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File ~ 4
~~feo Monday, July 20, 1992 ~e~•
PD-177-92 PLN. 17 .4.7 ~y-La'n~
F~eert File
Subject: "A STRATEGY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW BIOMEDICAL WASTE
MANAGEMENT FACILITIES IN ONTARIO" - A DISCUSSION DOCUMENT
ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO"
FILE: PLN. 17.4.7
S~~o~`?~'?~r~~t1®t~ e
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and
Administration Committee recommend to Council the following:
1. THAT Report PD-177-92 be received;
2. THAT Report PD°177-92 be forwarded to the Ministry of the
Environment Waste Management Branch as the comments of the
Town of Newcastle on the Discussion Paper entitled "A Strategy
For The Development of New Biomedical Waste Management
Facilities in Ontario"; and,
3. THAT a copy of this report and Council's decision be forwarded
to the Ministry of the Environment, Durham Region Planning
Department and Bowmanville Memorial Hospital.
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 On June 3, 1992, the Minister of the Environment (MOE) and the
Minister of Health (MOH), in co-operation with the Ontario
.Hospital Association (OHA), released a document entitled "A
Strategy for the Management of Biomedical Waste in Ontario".
A 60 day public consultation period, ending August 4, 1992,
was initiated.
1.2 On June 22, 1992, Council received correspondence from the two
Ministers requesting the Town's comments on the proposed
Strategy. Council resolved to refer the correspondence to the
Director of Planning and Development for review and
preparation of a report.
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REPORT NO. PD-177-92 PAGE 2
1.3 This Report has been prepared in response to Council's
direction. Section 2 provides a summary of the major points
of the proposed Strategy which are of interest to the Town of
Newcastle, with the Town's comments on the document presented
in bold type.
2 . SUNQ~1Al'2Y OF PROPOSED STRATEGY AND TOWN' S COMMENTS
2.1 Overview
2.1.1 Approximately 150,000 tonnes of medical waste are
generated in Ontario each year. About 90 percent of this
waste is not hazardous and requires no special treatment
prior to disposal in landfills. The remaining waste (ie.
10,000 - 15,000 tonnes) is referred to as 'biomedical
waste' and includes human anatomical wastes, infectious
animal wastes, microbiological wastes, blood and blood
products, 'sharps' such as needles, and waste from
patients with highly communicable diseases.
2.1.2 Currently, 60 percent of Ontario's biomedical waste is
exported to Quebec and the United States for disposal.
The remaining 40 percent is burned in approximately 100
hospital incinerators across the province. Although these
incinerators operate in accordance with current air
pollution regulations, they lack modern pollution control
systems.
(Bowmanville Memorial Hospital produces less than one
tonne of biomedical waste per year. This waste is
currently transported under contract by Laidlaw Waste
Systems to an incinerator in Gatineau, Quebec. The
Hospital also has an autoclave (steam sterilizer) with
which it treats non-biomedical waste prior to disposal
in a municipal landfill site.)
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REPORT NO. PD-177-92 PAGE 3
2.2 Basic Principles of Strateav
2.2.1 The following principles were used to develop the
proposed Strategy on biomedical waste:
Ontario should become self-sufficient in the
management of bio-medical waste;
new regional facilities will be constructed for the
treatment of biomedical and pharmaceutical wastes;
non-incineration technologies are to be employed at
these regional facilities;
incineration will only be used where alternative
technologies are not technically or economically
feasible;
existing biomedical waste incinerators lacking best
available air pollution control will be phased out
as new regional facilities become operational.
2.3 Regional Incineration Facilities
2.3.1 The Strategy indicates that on-site facilities for the
treatment of biomedical waste in individual hospitals is
cost-prohibitive. As well, MOE and MOH have taken the
position that the use of one central disposal facility
for the province is not preferred since biomedical wastes
should be managed and disposed of close to their point
of generation.
2.3.2 The Strategy identifies six health regions within the
province, with one biomedical waste treatment facility
for each region (see Attachment No. 1). The Region of
Durham would be located within the 'Central East' Health
Region. This Region would also include all of
Metropolitan Toronto, as well the Regions of Peel and
York, the Counties of Northumberland, Victoria,
Peterborough, Simcoe and Haliburton, and the southern
portion of the District of Muskoka. ....4
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REPORT NO. PD-177-92 PAGE 4.
2.3.2 C~.~.ent: No explanation is given in the proposed
Strategy as to how the boundaries of the six Health
Regions were identified, other than they were based on
MOH administrative regions. However, it would appear that
the Central East Region would include the majority of
biomedical waste generators in the province given that
it houses the bulk of the province's population. The
biomedical waste treatment facility for this Region, and
the impacts associated with it, would therefore be much
larger than those servicing the other Regions. The
Central East Region should be divided into several sub-
regions so that more but smaller treatment facilities
could be developed to minimize local impacts, rather than
one large facility.
2.4 Planning Process
2.4.1 The Strategy proposes that planning committees be created
for each of the Health Regions with the objective of
developing a biomedical waste management plan for the
Region. The final Terms of Reference for the planning
committees will be prepared by the MOH, MOE and the OHA
after receiving and considering public comments on
proposed Strategy. It is proposed that hospitals, as
principal generators of waste, will chair these
committees and lead the planning process. Non-hospital
waste generators and local municipal/regional governments
and the public would also be represented on the planning
committees.
2.4.2 Each planning committee is to carry out a technical,
environmental and economic analysis of alternatives based
on the needs of the Region. Issues of technology,
performance and cost-effectiveness, facility size, site
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REPORT NO. PD-177-92 PAGE 5
location, environmental impacts, and facility ownership
must be addressed. Preference is to be given to non-
. incineration technologies, where possible. The ownership
and operation of the facility is to be proposed by the
committee. A final biomedical waste management plan
should be submitted to the Provincial Government within
one year of the committee start-up.
2.4.3 The regional planning committee would be responsible for
initiating and chairing at least two public meetings. The
first public meeting would be held at the outset of the
planning process after the formation of the committee.
The purpose of the meeting would be to introduce and
outline for the public the planning process for that
region. A second public meeting would be held at the
conclusion of the planning process at which the committee
recommendations would be presented to the public.
2.4.4 C.,......ent: The proposed Strategy does not provide any
guidance as to how members of the planning c~,.,...ittee are
to be selected, the proportional representation of each
interest group on the c~~,.....ittee, and by what means the
c..~....~.ittee will reach decisions (ie. majority vote,
weighted voting, decision by the executive of the
C~„?~.~.ittee etc.) . Given the proposed size of the Central
East Region, the concerns of small municipalities such
as the Town of Newcastle and small waste generators such
as the Bowmanville Memorial Hospital, may be over-
whelmed by the concerns of other larger municipalities
and waste generators.
It is also possible, given that the committee is proposed
to be chaired by hospital representatives, that the
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REPORT NO. PD-177-92 PAGE 6
concerns of various municipalities with respect to such
planning matters as land use and environmental issues may
not be adequately addressed. The chairmanship of the
c...u...ittee should therefore be shared jointly by a waste
generator and a municipality.
The Terms of Reference for the regional planning
c........ittees are proposed to be developed by the MOE, the
MOH and the OHA. However, these three agencies are also
stakeholders in the review process, thereby bringing the
objectivity of the planning process into question. The
Terms of Reference should therefore be subject to full
public review or consultation with all local
municipalities prior to their being finalized.
The Terms of Reference for the regional planning
committees should also specify that participation on the
c.........ittee by any interest group, including
municipalities, would not in any way imply the
concurrence of that interest group with the selection of
the c.,......ittee, nor would it prejudice the ability of that
interest group to pursue its objections and/or concerns
with the c~...,.,ittee's selection before any subsequent
tribunals or public hearings.
2.5 Environmental Ant~rovals
2.5.1 The Strategy proposes that the technical approval
mechanism for the facilities developed as part of the
biomedical waste management plan be pursued under Part
V of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), regardless
of whether the facility is a public, private or joint
venture. Any undertakings proposed with the support of
the regional planning committee and developed in
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REPORT NO. PD-177-92 PAGE 7
accordance with the terms of reference principles for the
committee, would be approved pursuant to the EPA
approvals process. The proposed facilities would not be
subject to the more stringent procedures and requirements
of the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA).
2.5.2 Any facilities accepting off-site waste and not developed
in accordance with the plan, may be designated under the
EAA. The need for the facility, a review of alternatives
and type of technology chosen, the site selection process
undertaken,. and the extent of public consultation in the
proposal will be considered by the Minister of the
Environment in any EAA designation decision.
2.5.3 The Strategy also proposes that, for approval under Part
V of the EPA, there would be a mandatory public hearing
where interested or affected parties may further express
their support or concerns with the proposal. If a
facility requires approval under the EAA, interested
parties can make submissions to the Minister of the
Environment before the Minister accepts the environmental
assessment, or refers the matter to the Environmental
Assessment Board.
2.5.4 C....r.,.ent: It would appear that the biomedical waste
facility proposed by the individual regional planning
committees would only require technical approval under
Part V of the Environmental Protection Act. The proposed
facility would not be subject to the more rigorous
requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act which
requires the proponent to undertake a comprehensive
planning exercise, including a review of alternatives to
the proposal. This exemption from the requirements of the
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REPORT NO. PD-x.77-92 PAGE 8
EAA is unacceptable and contrary to the public interest.
There would be no mechanism to ensure that the planning
process undertaken by the various regional c~~.....ittees is
sufficiently comprehensive and objective. As well, it
would eliminate the requirement for the planning
c~a?u?.ittee to justify their selection before an
Environmental Assessment Board, thus impinging on the
right of individual citizens and municipalities for a
full and fair hearing before an independent tribunal.
The Strategy should also make it clear that all the
proposed facilities would be subject to municipal
Official Plan, zoning by-law and site plan control
requirements under the Planning Act.
The Strategy also cont~...rlates exempting all public,
private and joint venture proposals from the EAA if
submitted in accordance with the planning process
prepared by the regional planning c........ittee. This is of
concern to the Town of Newcastle, especially in respect
of the proposal submitted by BFI to develop a medical
waste incinerator in the Tvwaa. The Strategy raises the
possibility that the BFI proposal, which was designated
by the MOE in October 1989 as an undertaking to which the
EAA applies, would no longer be subject to the
requirements of the Act if the site is recommended by the
planning c.,..,a,.ittee for the regional treatment facility.
3. CONCLUSION
3.1 It is apparent that there are significant deficiencies with
the Provincial Government's proposed Strategy for the
management of biomedical waste, as noted in the preceding
comments. The most notable of these deficiencies are the size
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REPORT NO. PD-177-92 PAGE 9
of the Central - East Region and the proposal to exempt the
process undertaken by the Regional Planning Committees from
the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act.
3.2 Staff will continue to monitor the Province's proposed
Strategy and will advise Council of any significant new
developments.
Respectfully submitted, Recommended for presentation
to the Committee
~1
Franklin Wu, M.C.I.P. Lawrence E. Kotseffl
Director of Planning Chief Administrative
and Development Officer
JAS*FW*cc
*Attach
9 July 1992
Interested parties to be notified of Council and Committee's
decision:
Biomedical Waste Strategy
Waste Management Branch
Ministry of the Environment
135 5t. Clair Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario M4V 1P5
Mr. Andrew Hendriks
Director, Environmental Services
Bowmanville Memorial Hospital
47 Liberty Street South
Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 2N4
,
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Attachment No. 1
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