Biosolids News

September 1, 2011

NBP News

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Around the Nation

Hydrogen Cars Fill Up at Orange County Sanitation District  

The August 22 Orange County, CA Register reported that the Orange County Sanitation District facility in Fountain Valley is  producing both hydrogen and electricity from waste gas and  has been turned into a filling station for hydrogen-powered cars. The Fountain Valley hydrogen station is a three-year demonstration project being funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the state Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. OCSD is a NBP EMS certified agency.. Full Story

Peachtree City, GA on Track to Reduce Carbon Footprint

The August 24 Atlanta, GA NeighborNewspapers.com reported that AGL Energy Services, a program of AGL Resources, and the Peachtree City, GA Water and Sewerage Authority dedicated a new biosolids treatment facility that will reduce the authority’s operational costs by eliminating expensive landfill fees and transportation expenses. Additional benefits include allowing the authority to decrease its carbon footprint by taking trucks off the road and converting waste into a completely reusable product. The Peachtree City Biosolids Treatment Facility relies on a natural gas-fired machine with an exhaust heat recovery system to transform sludge from the municipality’s wastewater treatment plant into pathogen-free material that can be used as fertilizer and soil amendment. The heat treatment also significantly reduces the volume of the sludge. Full Story

Ontario’s Durham, York Regions Break Ground on New Energy-from-Waste Facility

The Regional Municipalities of Durham and York in Ontario reported on August 22 that they recently broke ground on their new Durham York Energy Centre (DYEC), a state-of-the-art, energy-from-waste (EFW) facility that was made possible due to funding from the federal Gas Tax Fund. The DYEC will process the residential waste that remains after Durham and York Regions' aggressive and highly successful composting and recycling programs, while also recovering materials and energy. Through thermal mass burn technology, the municipal solid waste is fed into a furnace where it is burned at temperatures above 1,000 degrees Celsius. The remaining ash is then shipped to landfill or reused in product manufacturing. Full Story

Biosolids Spread without a Stink in Cottage Grove, OR

The August 23 Eugene, OR Register-Guard reported that after complaints about Cottage Grove spreading smelly treated sewage, the reaction to Eugene’s sludge is sweet. Workers from the city of Eugene have completed some of their annual spreading of biosolids — the goopy remnants of sewage sludge that has been treated at a wastewater facility — on a field just west of Junction City. And so far, in contrast with the high-profile stink kicked up by rural neighbors of Cottage Grove earlier this month in reaction to that city’s sludge-spreading, no one is complaining about the smell. Michelle Cahill, Eugene’s Wastewater Division director, said that’s because the city’s elaborate treatment process creates a high-quality biosolids product with a mild odor. The sludge waste, Cahill explained, is stored in a lagoon system throughout the year. “(It’s) covered with water, and that helps with the decomposition process,” she said. Full Story

Nearly 6,000 Tons of Human Waste in Saginaw, MI Converted to Fertilizer for Farms

The August 11 Saginaw, MI News reported that thanks to about 275,000 flushes across the city each day, Saginaw is flush with fertilizer, courtesy of the commode. And the city shares its wealth — for free — with farmers across the Great Lakes Bay Region to use as human waste fertilizer. Saginaw began converting sewage sludge for farm application beginning in 1989, following strict Department of Environmental Quality rules. Before that, it was “dewatered” and sent to landfills. Biosolids provide farmers $60 to $160 per acre worth of fertilizer, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. About 40 farmers now are signed up to receive the biosolids, the gunk left over after sewage is cleansed. Full Story

Biosolids Application and the Precautionary Principle - Comparison with Current Agricultural Practices - New publication by Québec Ministry of Environment

In recent years, certain rural municipalities in Québec have banned the application of municipal biosolids on municipal land, a decision they often justify by citing the precautionary principle. However, case law in 2011 established that such bans do not fall under municipal jurisdiction. But, the question remains, what is the result of applying the precautionary principle to land application of biosolids? Full Report

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Conferences

California Bioresources Alliance Symposium

Downtown Sacramento is once again the venue for the California Resources Alliance Symposium, (formerly called Pacific Southwest Organic Residuals Symposium), which brings together organic residuals industry professionals, municipalities, regulators, legislators, researchers, financers, and other stakeholders to find the best management options for manures, biosolids, food wastes, green wastes, animal wastes, and other organic residuals.  Sessions this year will focus on pricing, feed-in tariff issues and barriers to interconnection, stationary and mobile source issues and transportation case studies, utility companies' viewpoints, and new technologies for enhancing digester performance and cleaning biogas to pipeline quality, and algae.  Included is a field trip to Cal-Denier Dairy's anaerobic digester project. The symposium will be held on September 13-14. More Information

NBMA 2011 Biosolids Conference

The Northwest Biosolids Management Association (NBMA) will hold its 24th Annual Biosolids Management Conference at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, WA on September 11-13. Early registration fee of $415 includes all conference materials, 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches and the conference banquet.  Registration will open June 30. Continuing education units will also be available. You can reserve your hotel room now ($134 - $176 per night) by calling 1-800-221-7117 - request the "biosolids" room rate. Do you have a biosolids project to share? Reserve your poster space by sending your poster title, authors, short description and contact information to Dana Devin-Clarke, ddlarke@brwncald.com by July 29, 2011.

The 6th Canadian Biosolids and Residuals Conference

The Canadian Biosolids and Residuals Conference, 34th Waste Water Symposium and the 23th Drinking Water Workshop will be held Septembre 26-27, 2011 at the Québec City Hilton, 1100 René-Lévesque Est Boulevard, C.P. 157, Québec, CANADA G1R 4P3, phone: 1-800-447-2411. The Conference is hosted every two years by a Canadian Member Association of the Water Environment Federation. This year, RESEAU environnement will host the event under the theme: “Biosolids Beneficial Use Trends Here and There”. The event will bring together professionals on biosolids and wastewater management from across Canada who are interested in management of organic residues and biosolids from the treatment of municipal wastewater and industrial facilities such as pulp and paper mills and food processors. The technical program will cover treatment technologies, composting, energy production and land application, as well as government policies and regulations. Registration Conferences will be in French or English with simultaneous translation.

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Training

WEFTEC Biosolids Workshops

WEFTEC 2011 workshops provide participants with the knowledge and skills to operate under the most up-to-date requirements and practices.  Workshops are comprised of group exercises, hands-on activities, and extensive Q&A sessions.  The following workshops are related to Residuals and Biosolids Management: 

• W106: Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Methodologies and Inventorying for Biosolids Treatment
• W114: WEF/WERF Organic Waste Management: Integrated Solutions of a Sustainable Resource  
• W208: WEF/WERF Better Safe than Smelly: An Action Plan to Remedy Bacterial Regrowth, Odors, and Sudden Increase (ROSI) in Biosolids 
• W213: WEF/WERF Hands-on Selection of the Best Combined Heat and Power System for Your Plant (Companion to Workshop 114)  

NBP-WERF July 27 L.A. Terminal Island Renewable Energy Project Webcast Audio Recording Available for Viewing

The audio recording for the NBP-WERF July 27 webcast on the Terminal Island Renewable Energy - L.A.’s Biosolids Slurry & Brine Injection Project is available for viewing by clicking here. Power Point presentation slides are available by clicking here. The Power Point PDF files for the July 27 webcast and past NBP webcasts are available for downloading by clicking here.

Past NBP Webcast Audio Links

• April 21, 2011 Event: Implementing the New Sewage Sludge Incineration MACT Standards
• January 26, 2011 - Charting the Future of Biosolids Management: Forum Findings on Trends and Drivers
• September 20, 2010 - Combined Heat and Power Generation at WWTF

To view NBP webcast presentations, click here