Veolia Fort St. James Wood Ash Management

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Client: 
Veolia North America

The Fort St. James Green Energy Facility operated by Veolia produced clean electricity for BC Hydro. This facility used wood waste from local sawmills, which in turn created thousands of tonnes of wood ash as a by-product which required ongoing management. Historically, wood ash has been landfilled in British Columbia. As the cost of landfilling increases, wood ash is being diverted to beneficial uses in agriculture to take advantage of this great resource.

Between 2017 and 2021 SYLVIS worked with Veolia to distribute their fly ash to local agricultural operations at four farms for use as a soil amendment. Fly ash generated from combustion of clean wood adds essential nutrients to soils and balances acidity. In British Columbia, fly ash applications must be completed and notified annually as per the Code of Practice for Soil Amendments (CoPSA). In 2020, SYLVIS also started to manage bottom ash produced at this facility under Approvals from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, effectively enabling the use of 100% of the wood ash produced on site. Bottom ash was used at two farms to improve soil tilth and decrease soil compaction. Large stockpiles of wood residues unsuitable for burning required management prior to the sale of the facility in 2021. SYLVIS worked with a local farm to utilize the wood waste to improve soil health and available nutrients. Wood waste also requires an annual notification and applications as per CoPSA requirements.

SYLVIS completed characterization of the residuals (fly and bottom ash, wood waste), coordinated residuals management with several local landowners, authored Land Application Plans, and ensured that all activities were completed in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. Throughout the program over 15,000 tonnes of fly ash, 4,700 tonnes of bottom ash, and 20,000 tonnes of wood waste were diverted from landfills and instead used to improve soils for the benefit of local farms.