[USCC] Fwd: Ventura County Star: Bill could prevent hauling of sludge out of the county

[Jim McNelly]

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>Ventura County Star
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>Bill could prevent hauling of sludge out of the county
>
>Public works officials say local solution is overdue
>
>By Charles Levin, 
><mailto:clevin at VenturaCountyStar.com>clevin at VenturaCountyStar.com
>March 11, 2007
>
>For 10 years, Oxnard trucked its wastewater 
>sludge to a Kern County farm, where the 
>sewage-treatment leftovers found new life as fertilizer.
>
>Regulators, however, closed the farm last year 
>over environmental concerns, and in June, Kern 
>County voters banned the use of sludge in 
>unincorporated areas, worried about potential groundwater contamination.
>
>Oxnard has worked its way around the ban by 
>sending its sludge, also called biosolids, to a 
>composting facility in Kern County. However, a 
>new bill by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, 
>could add more red tape and costs to such efforts.
>
>"It's going to be more and more difficult as 
>time goes by to haul biosolids to other 
>locations," said Mark Norris, Oxnard's wastewater superintendent.
>
>Oxnard's dilemma underscores the increasing 
>difficulties public agencies face in disposing of sludge.
>
>The Ventura Regional Sanitation District is 
>nearing final approval for a sludge-conversion 
>facility at its Toland Road Landfill between 
>Santa Paula and Fillmore. However, while local 
>public works officials support the facility, 
>some contend it won't meet the county's 
>long-term needs. Several Toland neighbors also 
>worry about traffic, and dust contaminating nearby crops.
>
>Thirty-five years ago, wastewater plants 
>discharged untreated sewage sludge into rivers, 
>creeks and the ocean. The Clean Water Act in 
>1972 forced agencies to seek cleaner methods of disposal.
>
>Treated sludge is one result. When not used as 
>fertilizer, it can be incinerated or buried in 
>landfills. To use it on crops or as compost, 
>disease-causing pathogens must be removed. 
>Ventura County farmers, however, won't touch it, 
>concerned about contamination.
>
>The Sanitation District's proposed facility 
>would heat sludge for several hours at 212 
>degrees to remove pathogens and meet the highest 
>federal standards. The process would also wring 
>out moisture, which often composes up to 85 
>percent of sludge. The remaining water would be 
>treated at the Toland site and again at a 
>wastewater treatment plant, according to Mark 
>Lawler, the Sanitation District's general manager.
>
>This would leave small brown pellets to be used 
>as ground cover at the landfill. Methane gas 
>already generated by the landfill would power the heating driers.
>
>Public works officials countywide say a local 
>solution for sludge disposal is long overdue. 
>Several agencies, such as the cities of Oxnard, 
>Thousand Oaks and Ventura, truck their biosolids 
>out of the county for composting. Simi Valley 
>sends its sludge to its landfill.
>
>Converting it to ground cover at Toland would 
>reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, 
>lower transportation costs and reduce garbage truck emissions.
>
>"It's a brilliant concept, and it's going to 
>save Fillmore residents a lot of money in the 
>long run," said Bert Rapp, the city's public works director.
>
>The Sanitation District would charge local 
>agencies to use the facility, Lawler said. He 
>declined to discuss fees but said most have agreed to use it.
>
>Oxnard processes 79 tons of sludge a day — 
>including wasttewater biosolids from Port 
>Hueneme — making it the county's largest 
>produceer, according to a recent Sanitation District analysis.
>
>Transporting it to Toland could cost from $8 to 
>$10 a ton, Norris said. Shipping costs to Kern 
>County were not available, but if the city had 
>to seek another outlet, such as Arizona, 
>transportation could cost $40 a ton, Norris said.
>
>Sludge production rising
>
>Reddy Pakala, Ventura County's wastewater 
>superintendent, supports the proposal but isn't 
>certain the facility can meet long-term needs as 
>the county's population swells.
>
>Sludge production in Ventura County is expected 
>to reach 302 tons a day by 2020, according to a 
>2005 analysis by the Sanitation District. 
>Currently, the county produces 280 tons a day, 
>according to the latest figures.
>
>"What they're doing is a good first step," said 
>Pakala, whose agency offers wastewater treatment 
>services for Piru and Moorpark. "But I don't 
>think it's a holistic solution for Ventura County."
>
>Pakala hopes to meet soon with public works 
>officials to discuss other options. Alternatives 
>include burning sludge to provide energy or 
>mixing it with other materials for use as 
>construction material, said Lauren Fondahl, a 
>biosolids coordinator with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
>
>"We would love to find a commercial reuse for 
>this," Lawler said of the county's sludge. "We 
>just don't have one at the moment."
>
>However, he's confident the Toland facility can 
>handle all the county's sludge.
>
>Traffic, pollution concerns
>
>Despite a report that says the Toland project 
>won't harm the environment, some neighbors are 
>worried. Trucks enter the dump via Toland Road, 
>right off Highway 126 near Santa Clara School. 
>However, trucks on eastbound 126 have no 
>left-turn lane onto Toland, said Katie Brokaw, the school site president.
>
>The Sanitation District forbids truck deliveries 
>from 8 to 8:30 a.m. and 2 to 2:30 p.m. — when 
>parents drop off and pick up kids at the sschool 
>— but some trucks still come through, Brokaw 
>said. With sludge as an additional commodity, 
>Brokaw expects more traffic and violations.
>
>"It's a recipe for disaster right there at that clinch point," Brokaw said.
>
>Lawler said the Sanitation District has 
>monitored the intersection since hearing complaints but found no violations.
>
>Gordon Kimball, a Camarillo resident who farms 
>100 acres of avocados about a mile west of the 
>landfill, contends a sludge facility belongs at 
>a sewage treatment plant, not in an agricultural valley.
>
>"My greatest fear is that we have avocados that 
>end up making people sick, and we can't figure 
>out why," Kimball said, raising concerns about dust contamination.
>
>Edo McGowan, a retired water quality scientist 
>for Ventura County, said the federal 
>government's standards for treating pathogens 
>are weak. In a strong rain, pathogens could 
>percolate into groundwater aquifers, reaching 
>drinking supplies and the food chain, said McGowan of Ventura.
>
>Maureen Reilly, director of the Ontario, 
>Canada-based watchdog group Sludge Watch, said 
>treated pellets and dust can ignite from 
>spontaneous combustion if not stored properly. 
>Reilly cited several incidents in Toronto and New York City.
>
>Lawler disagreed, saying the Toland facility 
>would meet the Ventura County Air Pollution 
>Control District's highest standards for dust 
>control, and that heating sludge for several 
>hours as planned would sterilize it and destroy pathogens.
>
>Approval likely
>
>The Sanitation District wants to modify its 
>conditional use permit for the landfill to allow 
>the sludge facility, which requires a decision 
>by the county's planning manager but not the 
>Planning Commission. Approval is likely, said 
>Scott Ellison, a senior planner with Ventura 
>County. Opponents can appeal to the Planning 
>Commission or Board of Supervisors, Ellison said.
>
>Kimball said he would likely appeal an approval.
>
>Meanwhile, Kern County's ban on sludge is on 
>hold. In November, a federal judge ruled the 
>June initiative discriminated against Los 
>Angeles-based sanitation districts, undermined 
>the state's recycling law and exceeded the 
>county's regulatory powers. The case is now on appeal.
>
>Florez's new bill, SB55, would require 
>wastewater agencies to guarantee the quality of 
>sludge and assume financial responsibility for 
>problems caused by its disposal.
>
>It would also order local agencies to certify 
>that sludge meets and possibly exceeds federal standards.
>
>"You have to stand behind your product and take 
>the liability if something goes wrong with it," Florez said.
>
>Oxnard sewage official Norris said he believes 
>the bill duplicates existing regulations and 
>just makes it more onerous for local government.
>
>Meanwhile, sludge production will increase as 
>population grows, Norris said. "It's not going away."
>
><http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_5410548,00.html>http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_5410548,00.html
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