CITY CLERK

 Clause embodied in Report No. 2 of the Works Committee, as adopted by the Council of the City of Toronto at its meeting held on July 27, 28, 29 and 30, 1999.

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Negotiations with USF Canada on the Contract for

Transportation, Marketing and Distribution of Pellets

(City Council on July 27, 28, 29 and 30, 1999, amended this Clause by adding thereto the following:

"It is further recommended that:

(1)an Advisory Group be convened, as soon as possible, with the following responsibilities, to provide input to the City in its negotiations with USF Canada, regarding the transportation, marketing and distribution of biosolids pellets:

(a)to develop a set of criteria, for consideration by the City, to assist in its negotiations with USF Canada. The criteria will be based on protecting human and environmental health in Toronto and anywhere else the pellets might end up; and

(b)to report back to the Works Committee, prior to signing of the contract; and

(2)the membership of the Advisory Group be established by interested members of the Works Committee and include members of the Works Committee, City staff, including a representative of Purchasing and Materials Management, representatives from CUPE Local 416, and members of the Environmental Community.")

The Works Committee reports having requested the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services to submit a report directly to Council for its meeting on July 27, 28 and 29, 1999, on the following communications from Councillor Jack Layton, Don River:

(July 14, 1999)

Recommendations:

(1)That an advisory group be convened to advise the City in its negotiations with USF Canada regarding the transportation, marketing and distribution of pellets with the following responsibilities:

(a)to develop a set of criteria to guide and assist the City in its negotiations with USF Canada. These criteria should be based on maximizing human and environmental health in Toronto and anywhere else the pellets might end up; and

(b)to report back to the Works Committee prior to the signing of the contract; and

(2)membership of the advisory group will be established by interested Works Committee members and shall include Works Committee members, City staff, representatives from CUPE Local 416 and members of the environmental community.

Rationale:

At a June 19, 1999 workshop sponsored by CUPE and the Toronto Environmental Alliance to look at the City's biosolids program (see attached agenda), a number of questions about the pellet contract with USF Canada were raised. Some of these are outlined in my memo. CUPE and the environmental community proposed some innovative ideas that would be very helpful in negotiating a good contract with USF Canada. The proposed advisory group would provide an opportunity for such input. It would only meet a few times and would disband once the contract is signed.

(June 30, 1999)

The following letter was sent to Mr. Bob Pickett and copied to Councillors Saundercook, Disero, McConnell, Bussin, and to Commissioner Barry Gutteridge, Mike Price and James Anderson on June 24. It asks for information on, and an update on the status of the negotiations with USF Canada.

Given the importance of these negotiations, I have asked Mr. Pickett to provide the Works Committee with this information at the July 14 Works Committee meeting.

June 24, 1999

Dear Bob,

Thanks for the excellent presentation on Saturday at the CUPE Biosolids Conference. As you know, I think the Works Department is doing a great job in facilitating the shutdown of the MTP incinerator.

Now, we need to ensure the biosolids going into the plant is of "champagne" quality and that anything coming out of the MTP is dealt with in an environmentally responsible manner.

I understand that the Works Department is in the process of negotiating with USF Canada about the transportation, marketing and distribution of pellets.

As you know, there were concerns raised at the conference about various aspects of these negotiations. I kept a list and would appreciate your help in answering them.

(1)Is the City legally obligated to negotiating a 15-year contract? What would be the consequences to the City of lessening the contract length?

(2)At what point does the City lose liability over the pellets, if ever?

(3)What provisions are being considered to ensure that as the City's biosolids get cleaner, any added revenue gained by USF Canada is shared with the City?

(4)What is being done to ensure that City pellets will not be mixed with contaminated biosolids or pellets derived from contaminated biosolids?

(5)Are there criteria being used to determine where USF Canada can take City pellets?

(6)What is the process and timeline for negotiating the contract with USF Canada? What provision is there for stakeholder input into the negotiations?

Maybe you could come to an informal meeting with some of the participants of the workgroup and others, once you have answers to these questions.

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The Works Committee reports, for the information of Council, having also before it during consideration of the foregoing matter a communication (July 14, 1999) from Mr. Peter Leiss, Executive Vice-President, Toronto Civic Employees' Union Local 416, respecting the status of negotiations with USF Canada on the contract for the transportation, marketing and distribution of pellets; stating that any pelletization facility must remain publicly operated, publicly staffed and publicly accountable; and supporting the suggestion of an informal meeting.

(A copy of the attachment referred to in the foregoing communication dated July 14, 1999, from Councillor Layton is on file in the office of the City Clerk.)

(City Council on July 27, 28, 29 and 30, 1999, had before it, during consideration of the foregoing Clause, the following report (July 22, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services:

Purpose:

To report on recommendations from Councillor Layton as requested by the Works Committee at its meeting of July 14, 1999.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

There are no financial implications arising from this report.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that this report be received for information.

Council Reference/Background/History:

At its meeting of March 2,3, and 4, 1999, by adoption of Clause No. 23 of Report No. 5 of The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee, Council granted authority to enter into agreements with USF Canada to design and build a biosolids pelletization facility at the ABTP and to market and distribute the biosolids pellets produced.

Following negotiations, an agreement was entered into with USF Canada to design and construct the pelletization facility. Work on this project has been already initiated with the facility to be fully operational by December 31, 2000.

In accordance with Council authority we are currently in the process of negotiating an agreement with USF Canada to market and distribute the biosolids pellets.

Works Committee at its meeting of July 14, 1999, requested the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services to report to the following Council meeting on recommendations from Councillor Layton regarding negotiations with USF Canada on the marketing and distribution of the pellets.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

Prior to submission of this report staff have discussed and agreed with Councillor Layton's office to the following revised recommendations:

(1)That an advisory group be convened as soon as possible to provide input to the City in its negotiations with USF Canada regarding the transportation, marketing and distribution of biosolids pellets with the following responsibilities:

(a)to develop a set of criteria, for consideration by the City, to assist in its negotiations with USF Canada. The criteria will be based on protecting human and environmental health in Toronto and anywhere else the pellets might end up; and

(b)to report back to the Works Committee prior to signing of the contract.

(2)Membership of the advisory group will be established by interested Works Committee members and shall include Works Committee members, City staff, representatives from CUPE Local 416 and members of the environmental community.

In order to provide a forum for public input in the future, we intend to establish a committee to assist in the ongoing development and implementation of the City's biosolids program. This committee will be similar to the Biosolids Multi-Stakeholder Committee that assisted the City in the development of the Request for Proposals (RFPs) for beneficial use contractors and recommendations of the preferred proposals.

Conclusions:

In accordance with Councillor Layton's recommendations, the criteria developed by the advisory group will be considered in negotiating an agreement with USF Canada for the marketing and distribution of biosolids pellets produced at the ABTP.

We anticipate that the negotiations with USF Canada will continue over the next several months and will be finalized by November 1999.

Contact Name:

R.M. Pickett

Director, Water Pollution Control

Water and Wastewater Services Division

Telephone: 392-8230)