Landfills best solution for sewer sludge
Thursday, June 5, 2003
Study: Landfills are best solution for sewer sludge
BY ROBERT J. SMITH
Friday, May 30, 2003
ROGERS — A consultant told the Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority on Thursday that disposing of sludge in a
landfill is the best short-term option.
Clyde Burnett, a consultant with Little Rock engineering firm Carter-Burgess, suggested the board consider building a facility
west of Springdale where sludge could be stabilized by adding lime. "The lime kills the pathogens," Burnett said. "It’s killing
bacteria so it’s not a health hazard."
After the sludge is stabilized, it would be available for a number of uses. Trucking it to the Arkansas River Valley and
spreading it on fields is one possibility, Burnett said.
Burnett estimated a regional sludge processing facility could cost $2.3 million to build. Trucks, trailers and other equipment
needed to transport sludge from sewer treatment plants would total another $1.8 million, and annual operations and
maintenance would be $2.2 million, he said.
The conservation authority paid $45,000 to complete its study.
Sludge is a semisolid material that’s left after sewage flows through a wastewater treatment plant.
The engineering firm’s recommendation comes as authority members from Rogers and Springdale are trying to determine how
to best dispose of sludge in the long term. Both cities currently apply the watery material to fields where hay and other crops
are grown.
That practice has been called into question because sludge contains phosphorus, a substance that at high levels can cause
degradation of streams. Oklahoma officials have pressured Northwest Arkansas cities and Arkansas’ poultry industry to do
more to keep phosphorus out of Northwest Arkansas streams, many of which flow into Oklahoma.
The poultry industry contributes phosphorus to the environment when excess litter from poultry houses is spread to fertilize
crops.
Benton and Washington county sewage treatment plants produce 28.6 dry tons of sludge a day. The biggest cities —
Springdale, Fayetteville and Rogers — account for 24.9 dry tons of that.
Burnett didn’t recommend the cheapest disposal option he researched. Composting would have cost far less — $18 per dry
ton — than the lime stabilization process at $34 per dry ton.
Burnett didn’t recommend the composting option because he doesn’t believe there’s enough of a market for the material, he
said.
Lynne Moss ofAustin, Texasbased Camp Dresser & McKee Inc. helped Burnett evaluate what could be done with the
sludge.
She said Waste Management Inc. has expressed interest in using a compost material as cover for its Tontitown landfill.
Landfill operators cover buried trash with soil at the end of each day, and the dried sludge-lime combination could replace the
soil that’s used, Burnett said.
Most Arkansas cities with sewer plants get rid of sludge by applying it to farmland or by disposing of it in landfills.
There are other options, according to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. Hot Springs, Eureka Springs,
Bentonville and Cherry Valley, which is south of Jonesboro, are among the few cities in the state that turn a portion of their
sludge into a composting material, said Doug Szenher, a spokesman for the state environmental agency. Bentonville’s material
sells for $12 per cubic yard, Burnett said.
Several Northwest Arkansas cities have found new ways to dispose of their sludge.
Siloam Springs and Springdale pay Roll Off Services of Springdale to transport sludge to Oklahoma landfills. Some of
Springdale’s sludge goes to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site north of Joplin, Mo., where it’s used as
part of a land reclamation project.
Fayetteville is among cities that apply sludge to fields, but it plans to end that practice in June or July, said Greg Boettcher, the
city’s public works director. High phosphorus levels on the acreage where the city spreads sludgeare among the reasons the
city plans to begin trucking its sludge to the BFI Landfill in Porter, Okla.
Study: Landfills are best solution for sewer sludge
BY ROBERT J. SMITH
Friday, May 30, 2003
ROGERS — A consultant told the Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority on Thursday that disposing of sludge in a
landfill is the best short-term option.
Clyde Burnett, a consultant with Little Rock engineering firm Carter-Burgess, suggested the board consider building a facility
west of Springdale where sludge could be stabilized by adding lime. "The lime kills the pathogens," Burnett said. "It’s killing
bacteria so it’s not a health hazard."
After the sludge is stabilized, it would be available for a number of uses. Trucking it to the Arkansas River Valley and
spreading it on fields is one possibility, Burnett said.
Burnett estimated a regional sludge processing facility could cost $2.3 million to build. Trucks, trailers and other equipment
needed to transport sludge from sewer treatment plants would total another $1.8 million, and annual operations and
maintenance would be $2.2 million, he said.
The conservation authority paid $45,000 to complete its study.
Sludge is a semisolid material that’s left after sewage flows through a wastewater treatment plant.
The engineering firm’s recommendation comes as authority members from Rogers and Springdale are trying to determine how
to best dispose of sludge in the long term. Both cities currently apply the watery material to fields where hay and other crops
are grown.
That practice has been called into question because sludge contains phosphorus, a substance that at high levels can cause
degradation of streams. Oklahoma officials have pressured Northwest Arkansas cities and Arkansas’ poultry industry to do
more to keep phosphorus out of Northwest Arkansas streams, many of which flow into Oklahoma.
The poultry industry contributes phosphorus to the environment when excess litter from poultry houses is spread to fertilize
crops.
Benton and Washington county sewage treatment plants produce 28.6 dry tons of sludge a day. The biggest cities —
Springdale, Fayetteville and Rogers — account for 24.9 dry tons of that.
Burnett didn’t recommend the cheapest disposal option he researched. Composting would have cost far less — $18 per dry
ton — than the lime stabilization process at $34 per dry ton.
Burnett didn’t recommend the composting option because he doesn’t believe there’s enough of a market for the material, he
said.
Lynne Moss ofAustin, Texasbased Camp Dresser & McKee Inc. helped Burnett evaluate what could be done with the
sludge.
She said Waste Management Inc. has expressed interest in using a compost material as cover for its Tontitown landfill.
Landfill operators cover buried trash with soil at the end of each day, and the dried sludge-lime combination could replace the
soil that’s used, Burnett said.
Most Arkansas cities with sewer plants get rid of sludge by applying it to farmland or by disposing of it in landfills.
There are other options, according to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. Hot Springs, Eureka Springs,
Bentonville and Cherry Valley, which is south of Jonesboro, are among the few cities in the state that turn a portion of their
sludge into a composting material, said Doug Szenher, a spokesman for the state environmental agency. Bentonville’s material
sells for $12 per cubic yard, Burnett said.
Several Northwest Arkansas cities have found new ways to dispose of their sludge.
Siloam Springs and Springdale pay Roll Off Services of Springdale to transport sludge to Oklahoma landfills. Some of
Springdale’s sludge goes to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site north of Joplin, Mo., where it’s used as
part of a land reclamation project.
Fayetteville is among cities that apply sludge to fields, but it plans to end that practice in June or July, said Greg Boettcher, the
city’s public works director. High phosphorus levels on the acreage where the city spreads sludgeare among the reasons the
city plans to begin trucking its sludge to the BFI Landfill in Porter, Okla.
posted by Sludge at 4:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home