Our fourth annual Waste Treatment Symposium, Oct. 9-10, in Orlando, Fla., attracted 120 folks from as far away as Oregon, California, and Puerto Rico. Two pumpers, in competing businesses, traveled from Guam. More than 50 percent of those present were repeats, some with a perfect attendance record.
Participants felt the symposium focused on the facts and financial numbers they needed to gain a better perspective on the dewatering industry. They especially enjoyed seeing various dewatering equipment operating side by side and comparing the differences.
The symposium consisted of classroom training, visiting a dewatering facility, watching vendor-provided equipment in action, and networking. Networking begins the moment the doors open and is in full swing before the scheduled roundtable discussions. The opportunity to develop contacts to draw upon after everyone goes home is a terrific value for the dollars invested.
CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS
Leonard Brown of Del Norte, Colo., summed up the feelings of most first-time pumpers at the symposium: “I arrived confused,” he says, “but am leaving with a lot of excellent information and contacts. I hope to accomplish my plans by applying this knowledge.”
The most talked about presentation on Friday was by Luke Deshotels, owner of Big Mamou Bio-Solids Inc. in Mamou, La. He uses plate frame filter technology to process 20,000 gpd of septage, grease trap, and portable toilet wastes. Deshotels told how Tim and Tom Frank went to Louisiana to meet with permitting regulators, and how NAWT provided influential data from operating facilities. “Without help from NAWT, I would not have my facility,” Deshotels says.
He also talked about the effect the local municipal wastewater treatment plant had on his business by lowering discharge fees and undercutting his prices. Deshotels is working with state and local regulators and the regional U.S. Environmental Protection Agency office to establish and verify the usefulness of his facility to the municipality. “It’s beneficial for pumpers to have more than one disposal option,” Deshotels says. “Without intervention, my business will go away. However, I’m optimistic that the agencies with which I’m working will reach a positive agreement with the municipality.”
Deshotels emphasized that just because a dewatering facility is operational doesn’t mean changes won’t happen. For example, the ammonia levels in the effluent at his facility were causing the municipal treatment plant to exceed its discharge permit parameters. Deshotels built a scale model of a prototype that stripped ammonia from the effluent. His design ran a film of effluent across a concrete slab, enabling the ammonia to volatilize into the atmosphere. Tests proved that the effluent met the discharge limit, so Deshotels is building a full-scale design. The odor controls at the facility contain the ammonia vapors.
REVIEWING THE PRESENTATIONS
Friday’s educational courses also included PowerPoint presentations that can be downloaded at www.nawt.org. Topics covered:
1) “Analyzing Your Resources: How to Work with What You Have” by Dave Gustafson, P.E., Extension engineer at the University of Minnesota and Onsite Sewage Treatment Program trainer.
2) “Regulations: EPA 503 and Class A Biosolids” by Robert Rubin, Ph.D., McKim & Creed, P.A., Raleigh, N.C.; professor emeritus, North Carolina State University.
3) “Case History: Big Mamou Bio-Solids Inc.” by Luke Deshotels, Mamou, La.
4) “Solving Regional Needs of Haulers and Wastewater Treatment Plans” by Therese Wheaton, Crystal Environmental Services Inc., Springboro, Pa.
Every vendor had 15 minutes to explain his equipment or product. Attendees heard from:
1) Jim Millard, Aqua Ben Corp., Oswego, Ill.
2) Wes Bond, FKC Co. Screw Press, Port Angeles, Wash.
3) Peter Gagne, Fournier Industries Inc., Thetford Mines, Québec.
4) Josh VanPatten, Prime Solutions Inc., Allegan, Mich.
5) Dave Deaton, MSD Environmental Services, Centerville, Ohio.
6) Therese Wheaton, Crystal Environmental Services Inc., Springboro, Pa.
7) Rick Hicks, FloTrend Inc., Houston, Texas.
8) Jeff Seaton, Boerger Pumps LLC, Minneapolis, Minn.
9) Kevin Taylor, USA BlueBook, Gurnee, Ill.
10) Corey Sechler, Bucks Fabrications, Hadley, Pa.
11) Hal Kroeger, BioFuelBox Corp., San Jose, Calif.
12) Doug McCord,?Lakeside Equipment Corp., Bartlett, IL
SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS
Saturday was divided into classroom sessions in the morning and a field trip after lunch. The most talked about presentation was “Orange County (Fla.) Grease Management and Industrial User Discharge Permits” by Susanna Littell, Orange County Utilities services coordinator. She outlined the entire permitting process and the hoops through which potential builders must jump. Littell listed the information pumpers had to present, how each stage of the permitting process went, and the importance of planning ahead to avoid an expensive surprise that could stop the facility from getting off the ground.
The best example Littell gave of such a surprise was the impact fee municipalities charge to tie-in to the sanitary sewer. “For an industrial connection, the City of Orlando charges $3,688 for every equivalent residential unit or 300 gallons per day discharged,” Littell says. “If your facility will discharge effluent to a municipal plant, the impact fee could be the killer, not the cost per gallon to discharge.”
Participants also heard:
• “Trap Grease: Transforming a Liability to an Asset” by Emily Landsburg, BlackGold Biofuels, Philadelphia, Pa.
• “Biomethane Production and Utilization in North America” by Dr. Dave Parry, P.E., BCEE, CDM, Bellevue, Wash.
• “Odor Control” by Martin Crawfold, Bay Products Inc., Stateline, Nev.
• “Case History: Select Processing of Orlando” by Steve Macchio, ClearFlo Technologies Inc., North Lindenhurst, N.Y.
FIELD TRIP
At Select Processing, pumpers had the opportunity to see the different equipment dewatering septage and grease trap waste, and to compare technologies and the resulting sludge cake. “They see options, from a simple dewatering box or bag all the way up to screw and rotary fan presses,” says Jim Anderson, Ph.D., professor in the department of soil, water and climate at the University of Minnesota. “Realizing they don’t have to start out dewatering at the high end is one of the symposium’s biggest values. These folks can start their facilities with low-end equipment, plan for growth, and perhaps move up to another technology. And they have seen them all together right here.”
LOOKING AHEAD
The 2010 Waste Treatment Symposium will be in early October. The date and location are not yet confirmed.
