The National Biosolids Partnership will conduct September 22 free webcast on the topic, Combined Heat and Power Generation Opportunities at Wastewater Treatment Facilities. Combined heat and power (CHP) projects are becoming more and more popular at wastewater treatment facilities. Evidence of this enthusiasm for CHP projects was on display at WEF’s most recent Residuals and Biosolids Specialty Conference held in Savannah, GA. This webcast will bring together plant operators, utility managers, consultants, engineers, equipment/process vendors, regulators, and academics interested in learning about the state of the practice and opportunities for combined heat and power generation from wastewater treatment plant operations and the various technologies to achieve that objective.
Join NBP for the third in a series of “no charge” quarterly webcasts based on critical biosolids technical topics. The webcast will be held on September 22 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm EDT. Online Registration. More information. Last Day to register is Monday, September 20, 2010. There will be professional development hours (PDH) offered for registrants requiring these training credits. Webcast login instructions and call-in instructions will be sent to all registrants just prior to the webcasts along with instructions on downloading the PDF copies of the power point presentations.
Speakers:
- John Willis – (Brown and Caldwell, Atlanta, GA) – Overview of Technology Options for CHP – Discussion of Engines, Combustion Turbines, Microturbines, Fuel Cells, and Boiler-Steam Turbine Systems
- Dan O’Brien – (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Boston, MA) MWRA’s Deer Island Heat First-Power Second CHP with Boilers and Steam Turbines
- Srinivas Jalla – (Gwinnett County, GA) – Making the Case for a CHP Project in Gwinnett County, GA
- Dale Doerr – (Sheboygan, WI) – Sheboygan, WI’s Journey to Energy Independence Experience with CHP
California Association of Sanitary Agencies (CASA) published its annual summary of biosolids management options. The tonnages of biosolids generated and biosolids used, disposed, and stored, continued to decline in 2009 from previous years. Biosolids production was down almost 90,000 dry metric tons from 2008.
On May 20, 2010, the California Water Environment Association (CWEA) Los Angeles Basin Section (LABS) presented a regional composting update at the Monterey Hill Steakhouse in Monterey Park. The featured speaker was Jeff Ziegenbein, Deputy Manager of Operations for Inland Empire Regional Composting Facility (IERCF). The IERCA was created in 2002 by a joint powers agreement between the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) and the County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County (CSDLAC). The agencies have evaluated composting as an economically and environmentally sound method of beneficially reusing biosolids from publically owned treatment works (POTWs).
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 1 refused to hear claims from the city of Los Angeles that the Kern County sludge ban violated the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. As is customary, the court did not explain its decision not to hear the challenge to the Kern County ban. Approved in 2006, Measure E made it illegal to spread biosolids on farmland as fertilizer. Los Angeles, Orange County and the businesses that haul and spread their waste here filed a lawsuit with a number of claims against Measure E. The June 1 Supreme Court decision not to take L.A.’s case leaves in place a previous victory for Kern County in the form of rulings by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that declared Measure E did not illegally hamper interstate commerce protections. The Supreme Court action removes the last federal claim against Measure E — leaving only two state-level legal challenges to the sludge ban’s validity: a claim that Measure E violated state recycling rules in the Integrated Waste Management Act and that Kern County overstepped its police powers by creating a law that polices another government entity.
Biosolids Recycling
With the help of the CWEA biosolids committee, WEF has developed and just released a nationally recognized fact sheet on land application and composting of biosolids. Download the Fact Sheet.
This new resource is available under the Educational Resources header on the Communications Resources page of WEF’s Access Water Knowledge Biosolids Channel.
The fact sheet and other communications resources are designed to help WEF members and utilities more effectively communicate with and educate the public, media outlets, and local officials about biosolids recycling. The AWK Communications Resources page will be updated on a regular basis to ensure that it remains a valuable tool for local outreach/educational efforts.
The National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) announces the second in a series of free quarterly webcasts for water quality and biosolids professionals on
Participants Will:
- Learn about the state of the practice in sludge reduction technologies.
- Understand the many types of technologies currently available and different general mechanistic principles behind them, and the key factors that determine their consideration for a particular application.
- Identify the potential and requirements associated with implementation of these technologies in your facility in the search for reduced sludge disposal requirements, better sludge quality, increased in-plant energy production, and general decreased life-cycle costs.
Join NBP for the second in a series of free quarterly webcasts based on critical biosolids technical topics. Registration and Professional Development Hour (PDH) information will appear on the Water Environment Federation’s Website under the “Conference & Events” section/webcasts, at www.wef.org. Online Registration
For PDF copies of the presentations click here>
The southern meeting took place in the conference center at LACSD's Joint Adminstration Office. (credit: Wendy Wert)
By Wendy Wert
CWEA Training Coordination Committee Chair
LACSD
and Jon Hay
CWEA Biosolids Committee Chair
Black & Veatch
On January 26, 2010, the California Water Environment Association (CWEA) Biosolids Committee hosted a specialty conference “Understanding Future Regulatory Trends and Impacts on Biosolids Management in California” at the Los Angeles Sanitation Districts Joint Administration Office in Whittier. This one-day biosolids specialty conference, which trained 76 people, consisted of a series of technical presentations separated by interactive discussions between leading experts and attendees. The morning session consisted of opening remarks and a review of the Part 503 regulations presented by the conference Chair, followed by six technical presentations. The innovative networking lunch also served as a venue for an update on Assembly Bill 32 and Green House Gas emissions standards (GHGs) presented by Patrick Griffith. The afternoon session, consisted of five technical presentations, and closing remarks delivered by the conference co-chair.
The National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) will be hosting a free webcast - Carbon Footprint Implications from Biosolids Management Practices – on Wednesday, January 27 from 2-4 pm EST. The webcast will bring together wastewater utilities and regulators who will explore the regulatory environment, implications of land application of biosolids for reducing carbon footprint and costs, green aspects of biosolids processing and use, and a case study of how a utility’s biosolids program got green.
Join NBP for the first of four free quarterly webcasts based on critical biosolids technical topics.
CWEA members Miles Ferris, City of Santa Rosa Director of Utilities, and Deputy Director of Subregional Operations - Dan Carlson during the November 18th Utilities Department Meeting (credit: City of Santa Rosa)
WEF announced this week the City of Santa Rosa’s biosolids program has now been certified and admitted into the National Biosolids Partnership environmental management system (EMS). Santa Rosa is the 25th utility to be certified by the NBP.
From WEF…
The achievement recognizes the City has an effective biosolids environmental management system. It is one of 100 organizations currently participating in the NBP EMS program. The department’s biosolids EMS program was independently verified on July 29 under the Strategic Registrations program of audit firm NSF–International.
The City completed several projects over the last few years in order to obtain national certification. Learn more about the City’s biosolids program here.
CWEA member Barry Pomeroy received the prestigious Gascoigne Wastewater Treatment Plant Operational Improvement Medal from the Water Environment Federation. The award was presented during a ceremony at WEFTEC 2009.
The Gascoigne Medal was established in recognition of George Bradley Gascoigne, a prominent consultant who exhibited a great deal of interest in the operation of wastewater treatment plants. The medal is awarded to the author(s) of an article that presents the solution of an important and complicated operational problem within a full-scale, operating wastewater treatment plant that is appropriately staffed. Mr. Pomeroy is being recognized for his article, “Odors Get The Chute”, that was published in the May 2008 issue of WEF’s flagship publication, Water Environment & Technology (WE&T).
The article describes how the operating and maintenance staff for the Vallejo (Calif.) Sanitation and Flood Control District applied ingenuity and an understanding of their particular facility to design and construct an odor controlled biosolids truck loading station. The article details a “do-it-yourself” problem solution procedure that is appropriate for most wastewater treatment plants.
Barry Pomery, Vallejo Sanitation and Flood Control District
Mr. Pomeroy is Director of Operations and Maintenance at Vallejo Sanitation and Flood Control District, and is a Director on the Board of the Redwood Empire Section of CWEA.
