Sanitary Discharge Agreement -
Flint Ink Corporation of Canada
The Works and Utilities Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (August21, 1998) from the
Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services:
Purpose:
To allow Flint Ink Corporation of Canada to enter into a Sanitary Discharge Agreement with the City of Toronto permitting
it to discharge from its private water system into the sanitary sewer system and pay a surcharge fee.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
This Department maintains approximately 30 Sanitary Discharge Agreements, which allow for the recovery of
approximately $700,000.00 per year in treatment costs. These charges reflect a user pay philosophy and directly recover the
cost of operation of our treatment plants.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that we be authorized to enter into a Sanitary Discharge Agreement with Flint Ink Corporation of
Canada for the discharge of treated groundwater from its private water system at 4590 Dufferin Street to the sanitary sewer
system, under terms and conditions satisfactory to the City Solicitor and the Commissioner of Works and Emergency
Services.
Council Reference/Background/History:
On June 24, 1980, Metropolitan Council adopted Clause No. 1 of Report No. 10 of The Works Committee, approving
By-law No. 96-80, authorizing execution of agreements with industries permitting them to discharge effluent from a private
water system into the Metropolitan Toronto sanitary sewer system, or any sewer system draining into the Metropolitan
Toronto sanitary sewer system, under condition of payment for treatment. Otherwise, Toronto would not receive payment
for water pollution control treatment purposes that are normally obtained from a surcharge on the water supplied by the
public municipal system.
Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:
Golder Associates Ltd. is assisting Flint Ink Corporation of Canada in the remediation of subsurface toluence
contamination at the former Flint Ink site located at 4590 Dufferin Street.
Groundwater will be collected using vacuum enhanced recovery (VER) technology whereby a vacuum is applied to an
extraction well network consisting of seven VER extraction points. The collected groundwater will be transferred to an
isolation tank to remove any floating product. The water phase will be treated on-site using primary and secondary granular
activated carbon filters, stored in two canisters, before discharging to the sanitary sewer on Dufferin Street.
The remediation program is expected to last for about five years, and the anticipated maximum discharge rate into the
sanitary sewer will be three litres per minute. Water quality will be monitored by Golder Associates Ltd. initially on a
weekly basis to ensure that concentrations of dissolved organic constituents do not exceed the Ministry of the
Environment's 1997 Guideline for Use at Contaminated Sites in Ontario, Table B, Industrial/Commercial Land Use
Criteria in a Non-potable Groundwater Situation. In addition, the effluent will also be tested to ensure compliance with
Toronto Sewer Use By-law No. 153-89. Once system performance has been assessed, monitoring of water quality will be
done on a monthly basis.
Conclusions:
In accordance with our policy with regard to By-law No. 96-80, Flint Ink Corporation of Canada has been notified of the
surcharge rate of 38.59 cents per cubic metre to be levied in 1998, and has signified agreement to the surcharge.
Contact Name:
Vic Lim, P.Eng., Chief Engineer - Environmental Services
Water Pollution Control
Phone: (416) 392-2966; Fax: (416) 397-0908
E-mail: victor_lim@metrodesk.metrotor.on.ca.