Clarification Document

Clarification Document

A series of reports were submitted as part of the application to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change for the Renewable Energy Approval of the Anaerobic Digester at the Toronto Zoo. During the review process changes were made to some of the reports to provide clarification and updates. The purpose of this clarification document is to summarize the changes made to the various reports.

Summary Table of Report Updates
Project Description Report
Section / Description / Existing Text / Updated Text
1.1 / The purpose of this draft Project Description Report… / The purpose of this Project Description Report… The word “draft” was removed from this section as the report is now final.
1.4 / “No water taking is required for this project.” / The Geotechnical Report indicates that some dewatering may be required for the construction of the in-ground tanks. Therefore out of an abundance of caution, an application for a Permit To Take Water has been made in order to prevent further delays in the event that dewatering is required during construction. Details and rationale for the water taking are found in the Geotechnical Report and SWM Report.
1.6 / “TRCA has approved the construction of the plant on the site”. / While TRCA has approved the construction of the plant on the site in principle, the agreement between the Toronto Zoo and ZooShare requires that TRCA approve the final design of the plant before a building permit is granted.
2.2 / There is no mention of Rouge National Urban Park in the Project Description Report because the proposed park had not been announced at the time the report was written. / Since the Rouge National Urban Park was announced as part of a Federal government initiative, a dialogue with Parks Canada staff has been undertaken. ZooShare has responded to a series of questions and comments brought forward by staff. At this time no substantive changes to the project have been identified. Parks Canada will continue to be involved in the detailed review of the plant design during the TRCA final review process prior to building permit.
2.5 / “…two 21 m diameter vessels, a 38 m diameter storage vessel…” / “…two 21.4 m diameter vessels, a 39 m diameter storage vessel…”.
2.6 / “The major components of the biogas plant include: [list of the components]…” / Amend Section 2.6 so that it reads:
“The major components of the biogas plant include:

One pasteurizer receiving tank (input tank)
One pasteurizer tank
One pasteurizer buffer tank
One liquid biomass receiving tank (liquid input tank, hydrolysis receiving tank)
One hydrolysis tank
One hydrolysis buffer tank
One underground biogas cooling system
One 500 kW engine generator
One biogas flare
One sealed concrete digester
Two concrete storage vessels
One roof water storage tank
200 meter overhead pole line to the point of common coupling
Three activated carbon adsorption units”

2.6 / “3 tanks in series that can be used for pasteurization if required” / “3 tanks in series to be used for pasteurization”
2.7.1 / “Additional solid materials may be available in the area.” / Replace with:
“Additional manure may be available in the area, in the event that the Toronto Zoo is not able to provide sufficient manure to the facility.”
2.7.2 / “Approximately 12,000 tonnes of grocery…” / Approximately 12,000 tonnes of liquid grocery store source will be provided by a major retailer in the Toronto area. Approximately 2,000 tonnes of liquid fats, oils and greases (FOG) will be provided.
2.7.2 / “Other liquids may also be available in the area.” / Replace with:
“Other liquid organic wasteof the same type as from grocery stores may also be available in the area such as from distribution centres, food processing companies, bakeries, and waste management companies.”
2.9.1 / The material will be received in a 100 m3 tank. The pasteurizer is 45 m3 in size and the buffer tank is 90m3 in size. / The material will be received in a 102m3 tank. The pasteurizer is 62m3 in size and the buffer tank is 123m3 in size.
2.10.2 / Arriving liquid materials will also be received in the in-ground 160 m3 receiving tank. / Arriving liquid materials will also be received in the in-ground 159 m3 receiving tank.
2.11.1 / The digester is constructed of reinforced concrete and has a centre column. It is 21 meters in diameter and 6 meters high. Total volume is 2,077 cubic meters; operating capacity is 1,731 cubic meters. / The digester is constructed of reinforced concrete and has a centre column. It is 21.0 metres inside diameter and 21.4 metres outside diameter and 6 metres high. Total volume is 2,077 cubic metres; operating capacity is 1,731 cubic metres.
2.12 / The first digestate storage vessel is the same size and dimensions as the digester. This vessel will have heat lines in its walls to permit it to be converted to a digester at a later date. The second storage vessel is 39 meters in diameter and 4.3m high with a storage capacity of 4,700 m3. / The first digestate storage vessel is the same size and dimensions as the digester. This vessel will have heat lines in its walls to permit it to be converted to a digester at a later date. The second storage vessel is 38.6 metres inside diameter and 39.0 metres outside diameter and 4.3m high with a storage capacity of 5,029 m3.
3.0 / No mention of overflow basin, bioplanting / infiltration area as per revised SWM report. / Add to section 3.0: “If dewatering is required for excavations, before dewatering can occur, a primary and an overflow sedimentation trap shall be constructed in accordance with the design shown on CV2 in the Storm Water Management report.”
3.1 / Construction of the project is scheduled to commence in Summer 2014 and be completed by the fall of 2014. / Construction is expected to commence late summer 2015 and be complete by spring 2016.
4.4 / “…Should a leak occur in a vessel, it will be readily apparent in the monitoring well…” / Add to section 4.4:
”Spill contingency measures are included in Section 13 of the Design and Operations Report.”
5.7 / “…The construction and operation of the biogas facility is not expected to have any impact on the ground water environment.” / The construction of the biogas facility will not have any impact on the ground water environment. In the event that dewatering of excavations is required the sediment traps designed as part of the storm water management report will ensure that no impact on the ground water environment occurs. After construction is complete, the final infiltration facility will be constructed at the south eastern corner of the site. Details of the design are contained in CV1 of the Storm Water Management report.
8.0 / No mention of the revised SWM and Hydrogeological reports. / After the Project Description Report was prepared, the Hydrogeological and Storm Water Management reports were prepared. The Storm Water Management reportincludes a design for the construction of a sediment trap together with an overflow trap to manage any dewatering activity if required.
9.2 / There is no mention of Rouge National Urban Park because the proposed park had not been announced at the time the report was written. / Since the Rouge National Urban Park was announced as part of a Federal government initiative, a dialogue with Parks Canada staff has been undertaken. ZooShare has responded to a series of questions and comments brought forward by staff. At this time no substantive changes to the project have been identified. Parks Canada will continue to be involved in the detailed review of the plant design during the TRCA final review process prior to building permit.
Appendix 12.2 / The site plan does not show the temporary sediment traps or infiltration feature. / Revised site plan attached.
Construction Plan Report
3.0 / Construction of the facility is scheduled for summer 2014 with completion and grid connection expected in the fall of 2014 / Construction is expected to commence late summer 2015 and be complete by spring 2016.
4.0 / No mention of the activities as per the revised SWM and Hydrogeological reports. / Add to section 4.2 the following: “in the event that dewatering is required for foundation excavation, the primary sedimentation trap and the overflow sedimentation trap as shown on CV2 in the Storm Water Management report will be constructed. When construction is complete, the final infiltration feature will be constructed. See the Storm Water Management report for details.
8.0 / “There will be no temporary uses on the site.” / Revise section 8.0 to add the following: “In the event that dewatering is required for foundation construction, the temporary primary sedimentation trap and the temporary overflow sedimentation trap as shown on CV2 in the Storm Water Management report will be constructed. When dewatering is complete these traps will be filled. When construction is complete the final infiltration feature will be constructed.”
10.1 / There will be no change in the storm drainage during the construction period. / Amend section 10.1 by adding: “In the event that dewatering is required during construction, water will be discharged to the temporary primary and overflow sediment traps as shown on CV2 of the Storm Water management Report. At the completion of construction, the final infiltration feature will be constructed as shown on CV1 of the Storm Water Management report. No potential negative environmental effects are expected.”
10.5 / No water taking is required for this project. / The Geotechnical Report indicates that some dewatering may be required for the construction of the in-ground tanks. Therefor out of an abundance of caution, an application for a Permit To Take Water has been made in order to prevent further delays in the event that dewatering is required during construction.
12.0 / “Environmental effects monitoring is not warranted during the construction period for this project”. / Amend section 12 to add: “Monitoring will take place to assess the impact for water taking if dewatering is required. Testing to verify the estimated percolation rate at the sediment traps will also be undertaken.”
Appendix 2 / The site plan does not show the sedimentation traps and the infiltration feature. / The amended site plan is attached.
Decommissioning Report
5.0 / Decommissioning Requirements and Process / Add to section 7.0 the following: “Fill the infiltration feature with native materials on site and grade to preconstruction elevations.”
12.0 / No financial assurance is required / The Ministry is requiring that financial assurance be provided in the amount of $83,480.21.
Design and Operations Report
3.0 / There is no mention of Rouge National Urban Park because the proposed park had not been announced at the time the report was written. / Add to Section 3.0: “Since the Rouge National Urban Park was announced as part of a Federal government initiative, a dialogue with Parks Canada staff has been undertaken. ZooShare has responded to a series of questions and comments brought forward by staff. At this time no substantive changes to the project have been identified. Parks Canada will continue to be involved in the detailed review of the plant design during the TRCA final review process prior to building permit.”
3.0 / “The principle elements of the site plan are: [list of the principle elements]…” / Amend section 3.0 so that it reads::
“The principle elements of the site plan are:

One pasteurizer receiving tank (input tank)
One pasteurizer tank
One pasteurizer buffer tank
One liquid biomass receiving tank (liquid input tank, hydrolysis receiving tank)
One hydrolysis tank
One hydrolysis buffer tank
One underground biogas cooling system
One 500 kW engine generator
One biogas flare
One sealed concrete digester
Two concrete storage vessels
One roof water storage tank
200 meter overhead pole line to the point of common coupling
Three activated carbon adsorption units”

4.0 / Biogas Plant Design / Update Section 4.7 to indicate that the pasteurizer has an outside diameter of 6m and a nominal capacity of 70 cubic meters.
Update Section 4.8 to indicate that the outside diameter of the buffer tank is 6 meters.
4.1 / Add:
Additional manure may be available in the area, in the event that the Toronto Zoo is not able to provide sufficient manure to the facility. Other liquid organic waste of the same type as from grocery stores may also be available in the area such as from distribution centres, food processing companies, bakeries, and waste management companies.
4.3 / The hydrolysis input tank is 2.5m high and 9.1 m in diameter with a volume of 160 m3 / Replace with:
The hydrolysis input tank is 2.5 m high and 9.0 m inside diameter and 9.2 m outside diameter with a volume of 159 m3
4.4 / This tank is 9.1m diameter and 4.9m high… / Replace with:
This tank is 9.0 m inside diameter and 9.2 m outside diameter and 5.1 m high, and a capacity of 324m3.
4.5 / This tank is 9.1m diameter and 4.9m high. / Replace with:
This tank is 9.0 m inside diameter and 9.2 m outside diameter and 5.1 m high, and a capacity of 324 m3.
4.6 / The pasteurizer receiving tank is 7.3m in diameter and 2.5 m high with a capacity of 100m3. / Replace with:
The pasteurizer receiving tank is 7.2 m inside diameter and 7.4 m outside diameter and 2.5 m high with a capacity of 102m3.
4.7 / The pasteurizer is 2.5 m high with a diameter of 4.9 m and a capacity of 30m3 / Replace with:
The pasteurizer is 2.5 m high with an inside diameter of 5.6 m and outside diameter of 6.0 m and a capacity of 62m3.
4.8 / The pasteurizer buffer tank is 4.9 m high and 4.9 m diameter with a capacity of 120m3. / Replace with:
The pasteurizer buffer tank is 5.0 m high and 5.6 m inside diameter and 6.0 m outside diameter with a capacity of 123 m3.
4.9 / The digester is constructed of reinforced concrete, 6 meters high and 21 m in diameter. / Replace with:
The digester is constructed of reinforced concrete, 6 m high and 21 m inside diameter and 21.4 m outside diameter.
4.10 / The capacity of this vessel is 2,000m3. The second storage vessel is a standard farm manure storage, 36.5 m in diameter, 4.3m high with a capacity of 4,500m3. Total digestate storage capacity on the site is 6,500m3. / Replace with:
The capacity of this vessel is 2,077 m3. The second storage vessel is a standard farm manure storage, 38.6 m inside diameter and 39.0 m outside diameter and 4.3 m high with a capacity of 5,029 m3. Total digestate storage capacity on the site is 7,106 m3.
4.11 / The solids are piled on the concrete pad. / Replace with:
The solids are piled into a roll off box to be placed on the concrete separator pad. The size of the pad is 10m x 10m. When the roll off box is full it will be removed from the site and replaced with an empty one. Bagging and further processing of the solids will be done at another location.
6.2 / Add the following to section 6.2:
“In addition the Storm Water Management report provides for the construction of an additional infiltration feature which will further decrease the amount of storm water leaving the site and increase ground water recharge in the area.
12.0 / The total Financial Assurance required is $18,700. / The Ministry requires that the Financial Assurance be $83,480.21.
Appendix 2 / The site plan does not show the sedimentation traps and the infiltration feature. / The amended site plan is attached
NEW SECTION / Add the following as Section 13 to the Design and Operations Report:
Communications Strategy
The purpose of this communications strategy is to outline how information will be communicated to a wider audience in the event of an accident, spill or significant malfunction at the biogas facility.
Important telephone numbers include:

MOECC Spills Action Centre 1-800-268-6060, 416-325-3000
MOECC District Office 416-326-6700
Toronto Fire Department 911
Toronto Police 911
Toronto Ambulance 911
Senior Manager
Executive Director ZooShare Biogas Co-operative Daniel Bida 416-258-1306

Emergencies
Spills
Should a spill occur, containment / rehabilitation should commence immediately and an outline of the nature of the spill should be sent by the operator to:

MOECC, Spills Action Centre
Senior manager in charge of plant operations
Executive Director of ZooShare Biogas Co-operative

Should the spill be determined to be significant, notification to the Director of the Toronto Zoo and the Toronto and Region Conservation authority may also be desirable.
Notification and regular status updates should be put on the ZooShare website. This will advise all of the co-op members as well as members of the public.
Accidents or Fire
Should an accident or fire occur on site, the appropriate medical or emergency personnel should be notified via 911. The senior manager and the executive director of ZooShare Biogas Co-operative should be notified by email or telephone. If the accident resulted in significant damage or injury, an appropriate posting with regular updates should be posted on the project website.
Malfunctions
Should a significant malfunction occur, the senior manager of the facility should be contacted to initiate an appropriate technical response or repair. The Executive Director of ZooShare Biogas Co-operative should be advised. The malfunction together with status updates should be posted on the ZooShare website.
Non-Emergency Communications
Responses to matters of a non-emergency basis such as requests / complaints from the public, the municipality or others should be as reasonably prompt as possible. Enquiries and complaints will be handled by the senior manager in charge of the site. If the information required will take some time to collect, the requester should be advised of the expected timeframe for a response as soon as possible. More complex requests or those that are of interest to a broader audience, should be discussed with the Executive Director before a response is made. In some cases posting on the project’s website may be appropriate.
Significant changes in operation of the plant, changes in management or updated information will be posted on the project’s website.
Contingency Plan
In the event that negative human health and/or environmental impacts occur as a result of the operation of the plant, the following contingency plan will be utilized:
Spills
Spills of solid material can occur when zoo manure is dumped into the receiving tank. Any spilled should be cleaned up as quickly as possible by shoveling the material into the receiving tank and then closing the cover.
Spills of liquid materials are unlikely but can occur when a pipe breaks. Should this occur the section of pipe should be isolated as quickly as possible by closing off the nearest valves at each end. This will limit the volume of the spill. The spilled liquid will then be vacuumed up by a vacuum truck and disposed of at an appropriate facility. The affected area would then be washed down with water. In the event of a large spill, such as the breach of one of the vessels, the liquid material would flow toward and be contained within the small pond on site or, if larger, it would be contained within the berms on surrounding the site. The drainage location exiting the site would be blocked by hay bales or solid digestate.
In all case, when a spill occurs, the MOECC Spills Action Center is to be notified.
When the site has been recovered, a review must be completed to determine the cause of the spill and how future spills are to be prevented.
Fire
In the event of a fire, the Toronto Fire Department is to be called at 911 to extinguish the blaze.
Accident
In the event of a personal injury, call the ambulance at 911.
General
In the event that mitigation measures fail to meet the performance expected at the plant a review of the design and operation of the facility will be conducted. Areas that will be assessed include:

General preparedness
Staff training to minimize the likelihood of failures.
Staff training to improve appropriate response to contingency situations.
Adequate emergency response supplies available on site to respond.
Daily and weekly monitoring checklists to ensure that preventative maintenance is carried out and adequate supervision occurs.

Spills
Ensure that spill prevention training for staff is implemented.
Develop a spills response plan that site staff can access and follow.
Develop and maintain a list of emergency contacts that are available to respond to spills or need to be informed.
Ensure that the appropriate emergency equipment is available on site.

Equipment Malfunction
Ensure that equipment manuals are available on site.
Staff training in preventative maintenance and trouble shooting.
Staff training in proper safety measures to undertake in the event of equipment malfunction.
Equipment redesign or improvement.
Call number available to operators to make effective calls for equipment repair or service.

Fire
Staff training to minimize fire risks.
Staff training in responding to fire particularly requesting fire department assistance.
Adequate fire extinguishers and alarms available on site.

Stormwater Management Report
The original Stormwater Management Report is dated October 29, 2013. The final report is dated July 20, 2015 / The final storm water management report includes the design a the temporary primary sedimentation trap and a temporary overflow sedimentation trap as shown on CV2 in the Storm Water Management report will be constructed. These sediment traps will be constructed if dewatering is required when foundations are excavated. When dewatering is complete these traps will be filled. When construction is complete the final infiltration feature as shown on CV2 will be constructed.
Emission Summary and Dispersion Modelling Report
The original ESDM Report is dated October 2, 2013 and a supplemental report was issued on March 23, 2015. / The supplemental report reviewed in detail the potential H2S emissions from the engine and the flare. The report modeled the emissions from the facility and concluded that they would be insignificant.
Hydrogeological Report
The original Hydrogeological Report by Terraprobe Limited is dated December 18, 2013. Updated memos are dated March 20, 2015 and April 30, 2015 / The March 20, 2015 memo indicates that ground water pumped from the ground during foundation excavation would probably exceed the limits established in the Provincial Drinking Water Objectives and therefore should not be discharged to surface. The memo recommends the construction of sedimentation/infiltration ponds to discharge the flow into the ground. The April 30, 2015 memo provides a monitoring and contingency plan for the dewatering operation in the event that dewatering is required when foundations are excavated. On the basis of this memo, the two sediment traps having a capacity of 200,000 liters each were designed in the Storm Water Management report drawing CV2.

Tank Size Summary