A letter came in the mail the other day from a Pumper reader (who preferred not to be named), exasperated over the state of septage disposal in his Midwestern region. His is the same story of frustration I hear from many of you: Approved municipal dumping options are on the decline, and the price to dump a load is growing out of control.
“What options do we have as business owners?’’ the pumper asked. “We question this all the time to all sorts of people … but they don’t seem to care … I don’t expect you to have the answer to this problem, but if you have any suggestions, I’m all ears! It sure is making life difficult.’’
For some haulers, the biggest issue is driving great distances to find a municipal plant that will take on waste. For others, like your fellow operators in Michigan, the once-accepted practice of land application of septage is being discouraged. For our writer at his wit’s end, the county is suggesting he increase land application of sludge by working hand-in-hand with local farmers.
LOTS OF CHALLENGES
Trouble is, fewer farmers control more land, and to coordinate spreading with pumpers isn’t a high priority for them, this pumper reports. The corporate farmers don’t let fields lay empty for long, often taking a crop off in the morning and replacing it in the afternoon, leaving little opportunity for spreading waste, he says.
At a time when many forces test the profitability of a small family business, rising fuel costs, healthcare and employee retention among them, this disposal bugaboo is at the top of the heap of challenges faced by many pumpers. Until you can empty the truck somewhere — and at a reasonable cost — you sure can’t fill it up again.
What would you do as a business owner if there is no place to dispose of the product?’’ our pumper friend asks. “This is a tough question … Some way, somehow, we will get answers.’’
The topic is not all doom and gloom. An enterprising group of pumping professionals is taking a proactive approach to disposal challenges. Brought together by the National Association of Wastewater Transporters, these business owners met in September in Missouri to seek good answers.
They gathered at David Flagg’s Septic Services’ treatment facility for the third annual Waste Treatment Symposium, testing a variety of small-scale waste processing systems. Faced with indifference at municipal facilities, from regulators and those farmers who have no real motivation to encourage spreading, the pumpers believe private business has the greatest stake in the issue and will find the best solutions.
WORKING ON ANSWERS
You can read about the symposium in Tom Ferrero’s NAWT News column in this issue. The number of pumpers I meet who have their own treatment facilities is also on the rise. When you attend the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo next February, I am sure these private disposal solutions will be a hot topic as contractors gather at informal roundtable discussions.
I called my new pumper friend, not with a solution to his immediate problem, but with a hopeful message: Help is on the way. Industry entrepreneurs are working hard on his questions. And hopefully they’ll be able to point the way to a good answer.
