Dear community members,
We would like to share with you the operational and odour management measures planned for the Summer season at our Rivière-des-Prairies plant, which we call our Ready for Summer program.
Since the beginning of 2020, we have made significant changes and investments to improve the stability and robustness of our plant. Many of these measures are now an integral part of our operations to further improve the performance of our facilities and consequently, odour management for the community. Additional measures are new or improved for this year.
As a reminder, over the past year we have, among other things:
- Significantly improved our preventive maintenance and follow-up processes and programs on our facilities and mobile assets, which have led to high operational reliability;
- Completely overhauled our weekly start-up process last July, which has had a significant and positive impact on odour management in the community;
- Implemented a weekend maintenance review every Sunday to ensure smooth start-up;
- Enhanced our driver training programs, resulting in a significant decrease in roadway incidents and spills;
- Installed tarps on all our trailers;
- Continued to implement and calibrate state-of-the-art technology to improve performance and reduce odours;
- Installed an air barrier system on the doors of one of our reception areas.
This is part of our preparation plan for this Summer. It is very important to understand that we are making significant changes to our operations during the Summer period to minimize as much as possible the impact on the surrounding community.
This plan, which is upgraded each year, has been updated for the upcoming warmer months.
For Summer 2021, the following measures are currently in place:
- Shifting the traffic of trucks of organic matter through the 7th Street entrance;
- Operating the ambient air odour abatement systems at all times;
- Using a misting system in the trailer waiting areas, weighing areas and along Maurice-Duplessis Boulevard;
- Increasing truck maintenance (damaged tarps and potential leaks);
- Increasing the cleaning frequency of trucks and trailers;
- Focus on reducing the average waiting time for trucks and trailers;
- Extending regular communication with the community through communication channels established last year (website, newsletters, Facebook group, etc.);
- Continuing to meet with the Citizens’ Committee of RDP-PAT and Sanimax;
- Maintaining transparent communications with regulatory and political authorities.
In addition to this program, we are continuing our investments in our facilities this year. For instance:
- Completion (soon) of the replacement of our power substation, an important project with Hydro-Quebec to significantly increase the electrical robustness of the plant while minimizing the risk of blackouts during stormy weather, which has an impact on odour management in the community. This project involves an investment of nearly $1 million.
- Installation of an air collection system in the chicken feather processing area, identified last year as a source of odours.
- Implementation of an air capture pilot project on a finished product silo, also identified as a potential source of odours.
We are committed to do everything necessary to ensure the best possible cohabitation with the community of Rivière-des-Prairies throughout the Summer.
To contact the City of Montreal or Sanimax, please find their phone numbers below:
- Sanimax Service de l’Environnement de la Ville de Montréal: 514-280-4330 (choose the “Environment” option)
- Sanimax – Citizen Services: 514-648-1083
Sincerely,
Vincent Brossard
Vice president, Operations – Sanimax
