Webpage Update Notice (copied from "current project updates" in the "planning" section below) for greater visibility:

December 5, 2024:

• A report to the Environment, Infrastructure & Transportation Policies Committee (EITP) regarding this project has been prepared and will be reviewed at next week's December 10, 2024 EITP meeting. The report should be available at the City's EITP webpage by the end of this week. 

Background

Utilities Kingston manages the water and wastewater infrastructure for the City of Kingston. Through long range planning and identification of operational efficiencies, customers are assured of safe, reliable services at a fair price. A holistic approach to managing the water supply and treatment ensures protection of this valuable resource, minimizes greenhouse gas emissions and protects the natural environment. 

The main processes used at the Ravensview and Cataraqui Bay Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs), to clean wastewater prior to discharge back to the environment are:

• Screening and grit removal to take out untreatable materials;
• Settling of organic solid materials;
• Biological treatment to remove dissolved carbon and nutrients; and
• Disinfection to remove pathogens.

‘Biosolids Management’ refers to the processing and handling of the settled organic solid material and material from the biological treatment processes. At both WWTPs, these materials are currently stabilized in anaerobic digesters to reduce odour, pathogens and mass. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biochemical process where microorganisms convert organic compounds into methane and carbon dioxide. The end products of the AD process are methane and carbon dioxide gases and a nutrient and carbon rich solid soil amendment that can be applied to farm fields as fertilizer.  The methane produced by the process is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) which can either be flared to reduce its GHG potential or collected and further refined for use as a renewable natural gas or biogas fuel.

Master Plan

A 2012 Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) for a major expansion to the Cataraqui Bay WWTP identified a preferred alternative for biosolids management to include a new mesophilic anaerobic digester. Although UK proceeded with implementation of most of the 2012 Class EA recommendations for the balance of the WWTP in 2016, the new digester and other digester upgrades were deferred due to budget constraints and the identification that existing capacity could service short-term needs. With Ontario’s implementation of the Cap and Trade program, UK identified the opportunity to positively contribute to CO₂ emission reductions through the biosolids stabilization process within wastewater treatment operations, and saw the deferred digester upgrades as an opportunity to holistically reassess options for biosolids management at all of its WWTP facilities.

Ultimately, UK undertook a Master Planning exercise to review opportunities to enhance biogas generation and manage biosolids at both WWTP facilities, and later expanded the scope to review the co-digestion of other waste products such as source-separated organics (SSOs) collected through the City's Green Bin Program given developments in Ontario to consider wastes as resources within the context of a circular economy. 

The Master Plan for Enhanced Biosolids Management and Biogas Utilization (Master Plan) was completed in 2020, which culminated with a recommendation to “Develop an integrated biosolids and source separated organics processing facility at a greenfield development site. The opportunity site for consideration would be located within the property boundary of Knox Farm.”.  This project aligns with the City of Kingston and Utilities Kingston’s Strategic Plans to Demonstrate Leadership on Climate Action, with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions City-wide.

Class EA

Utilities Kingston has completed the next phase of the planning process to further assess the environmental, technical and financial feasibility of implementing the Master Plan recommendation, including a more detailed assessment of the City-owned Knox Farm property, and the development and review of design concepts. A Schedule C Municipal Class EA was undertaken from 2022 to 2024. An Environmental Study Report was posted for a 30-day public review period from August 13 to September 11, 2024.