Biosolids News
December 15, 2011
NBP News
NBP Webcast: When Opportunity Knocks, How Can Municipalities and POTWs Partner with the Biofuels Industry
The National Biosolids Partnership (NBP), in conjunction with WEF, is hosting a no charge webcast on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm EST. The theme of this webcast is: When Opportunity Knocks, How Can Municipalities and POTWs Partner with the Biofuels Industry. As POTWs are recognized as a stable and valuable source of carbon, energy and nutrient there is interest from the private sector in developing projects to create numerous products such as biofuels and recovered materials. For POTW managers and directors these opportunities provide a new set of challenges of working with the private sector, alternative financing, confidentiality and differences in project expectations. This webcast will provide a background on the status of the industry and identify potential areas of collaboration between the two sectors. This interactive webcast also seeks to create a dialogue among POTWs and between the Biofuels industry and POTWs to identify areas of concern and potential conflict. Finally, the webcast will identify potential paths to resolve these issues so that collaborations have a high likelihood of success. There will be 1.5 Professional Development Hours (PDH) offered. Please register for this webcast through GoToMeeting. For more information, click here
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Around the Nation
CA Biomass Conference Tour to Feature Two Digesters
The December 7 issue of Biomass Power and Thermal reported that the Pacific West Biomass Conference & Trade Show being held in San Francisco, CA on January 16-18, will include the city of Santa Rosa, CA’s Laguna Wastewater Treatment Plant (LTP) and its award-winning Fuel from Aquatic Biomass research project, as well as the Giacomini dairy digester operation in Point Reyes, CA. The LTP is a tertiary facility that uses ultraviolet disinfection and houses four 1-million-gallon anaerobic digesters that produce Class B biosolids, which are sent across the street to a facility that transforms them into Class A biosolids. Along with utility gas, the biogas emitted from the digesters is combusted by three 0.8-MW-engines to create a total of one-third of the plant’s electrical needs Full Story
Oceanside, CA to Pay $4.4 Million for Biosolids Hauling
The December 8 SignOn San Diego News reported that Oceanside, CA biosolids has been shipped to Arizona for years, costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. The City Council last week approved a five-year extension to the existing contract with Terra Renewal West, LLC worth $4.4 million. Water Utilities Department officials said the contract is necessary because it is becoming more and more difficult to find contractors who can adequately do the work and who have a variety of locations to take the biosolids. Some CA wastewater districts, however, have taken steps I to convert biosolids to pellets and sold as biofuels. Full Story
Hinkley, CA Compost Recycling Plant Moves Forward
The December 13 Victorville, CA Daily Press reported that leaders of a proposed compost recycling plant near Hinkley, CA say the facility could be built as early as next month after a judge on Monday approved the company's environmental impact report. Nursery Products LLC has been trying to build the plant for six years, but has been stalled because of litigation from environmental firms associated with HelpHinkley .org, a group dedicated to fighting environmental l issues on behalf of Hinkley residents. Chris Seney, director of operations for Nursery Products, said he believed this was the last legal obstacle the company had to clear. Full Story
Ontario, Canada Province Uncertain Over Energy-from Waste Facility at Landfill
The December 5 Orangeville, Ontario, Canada News reported that the province outlays more cash for gas generation recovery at landfills than it’s willing to consider for energy-from-waste (EFW) facilities, which leaves county officials and Navitus Plasma Inc. with a potential problem on the Dufferin Eco Energy Park (DEEP) front. Earlier this year, county officials were told the province would consider paying eight cents per kWh of electricity created at its proposed EFW facility scheduled to be built in East Luther Grand Valley. According to East Garafraxa Mayor Allen Taylor, chair of the county’s Community Development Committee (CDC), “Eight cents won’t do it.” “We could probably live with 10 cents, but really what we should be getting is 11 or 12.”
Alberta, Canada Harvests First Crop of Waste-raised Willows
The December 10 Vancouver, Canada Sun reported that after flourishing on wastewater from the town’s treatment plant for more than two years, Whitecourt’s biomass crop of willows and poplars was ripe for harvest. And last week, researchers brought in three different machines to cut, chip or bundle the various varieties of the fast-growing wood. While trees aren’t usually on the list when farmers decide what crops they will plant, these species are being tested as both fuel and a way to naturally dispose of treated wastewater and biosolids. Full Story
West Perth Australian Government Unveils $500 Million Wastewater Plan to Protect City from Water Shortage
The November 29 Australian reported that the West Australian government has unveiled a $500 million plan to drought-proof Perth by drilling deep into aquifers to draw water and replenish them with treated wastewater. The radical plan builds on a trial in Craigie in Perth's northern suburbs where the WA Water Corporation has spent the past year injecting a gigalitre of recycled wastewater into an aquifer to monitor the effect on water quality. The WA Water Corporation has forecast another 20 percent decline in rainfall by 2030 as the state continues to dry, and has warned households and businesses they need to reduce consumption. Full Story
West Sudbury, Ontario Receiving $11 Million Funding for Biosolids Facility
The December 5 Northern Life, Canada reported that Ontario federal government is pouring $11 million into a new biosolids facility in Sudbury to modernize wastewater practices. The funding will cover 25 per cent of the total cost of a project that will see the construction of a centralized biosolids end-product storage facility at the wastewater treatment plant on Kelly Lake Road. The city will be responsible for the remaining 75 per cent of the project. Ownership of the facility will remain with the city; however, once selected, private sector partners will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the biosolids management facility. Full Story
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Conferences
Registration Open for 2012 Residuals and Biosolids Specialty Conference
Join WEF in Raleigh, N.C. March 25–28, 2012 for the 26th Annual Residuals and Biosolids Conference. This conference will highlight beneficial reuse options, science, and technologies currently available to leverage biosolids as a valuable resource. This is one show you won't want to miss, so register today! To view list of WEF conferences and webcasts, click here
Exhibition and Sponsorship Opportunities Selling Fast at Residuals and Biosolids 2012
Exhibiting at the 26th Annual Residuals and Biosolids 2012 Conference provides networking access to a targeted audience of new and returning attendees with a high level of buying intent. Consider sponsoring to receive unparalleled exposure before, during, and after the show with registration giveaway items such as eco-friendly lanyards or water bottles.
To view WEF conferences and webcasts, click here
Training
NBP Webcast: When Opportunity Knocks, How Can Municipalities and POTWs Partner with the Biofuels Industry
The National Biosolids Partnership (NBP), in conjunction with WEF, is hosting a no charge webcast on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm EST. The theme of this webcast is: When Opportunity Knocks, How Can Municipalities and POTWs Partner with the Biofuels Industry. This webcast will provide a background on the status of the biofuels industry and identify potential areas of collaboration between the two sectors. This interactive webcast also seeks to create a dialogue among POTWs and between the Biofuels industry and POTWs to identify areas of concern and potential conflict. Finally, the webcast will identify potential paths to resolve these issues so that collaborations have a high likelihood of success. Please register for this webcast through GoToMeeting. For more information, click here
NBP December 7, 2011 Webcast Recording Available
For those of you who missed the NBP December 7, 2011 webcast - Renewable Green Energy from Wastewater and Biosolids: POTW Case Studies Attempting to Achieve Net Energy Production – click here to view the audio-video.
Past NBP Webcast Audio Links
To view NBP webcast presentations, click here