TMACOG ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL MARCH 28, 2013, 2013 MINUTES

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1 TMACOG ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL MARCH 28, 2013, 2013 MINUTES The regular meeting of the Environmental Council was held on Thursday, March 28, 2013 in the Boardroom of TMACOG, Toledo, Ohio at 1:30 p.m. Those members in attendance are indicated on the Environmental Council Attendance Roster and the guest sign in sheet for the meeting. Round table introductions were made. Call to Order: Mr. Ken Fallows, Chair of Council, and Lucas County Representative called the meeting to order. Approval of Minutes and Agenda: A motion was made by Rob Pauley, Village of Oak Harbor, to approve the minutes from the January 28, 2013 Environmental Council meeting and the agenda for today s meeting. Ted Rutherford, Village of Green Springs representative, seconded. Motion carried. Reports from Environmental Committees: Portage River Basin Council: Kurt Erichsen, TMACOG, reported on the upcoming meeting of the PRBC being held, Thursday, April 4, at the Bowling Green Municipal Courthouse Council meeting room, 5 th floor at 2:00 p.m. the main presentation of the meeting will be the updates to the Portage River Watershed Plan. A report on the status of the Portage River clean-up process will be given by the Wood County engineer s office. Stormwater Coalition: Jason Sisco, Bowling Green, and Kari Gerwin TMACOG reported. The Stormwater Coalition February meeting focused on annual reports required under the EPA stormwater permits. A presentation on EPA stormwater audits was given by Brian Miller of the Lucas County Engineer s Office. A Stormwater Erosion and Sediment Control Workshop was held at the Home Builders Association on March 26 the event was very well attended and provided training for CPESC certification. Ms. Gerwin also gave an overview of the Annual Work Plan for 2014 for SWC. Air Quality: Karen Granata, Air Quality representative was absent from today s meeting. No Report. PRESENTATION: Nu-Soil Reuse of Toledo Wastewater and Water Sludges wtih Dredge Sediment A panel discussion on Nu-Soil was conducted by the following panelists: Andy Gall, Environmental Specialist, Ohio EPA NW District 1

2 Alan Ruffell, division of Water Reclamation, City of Toledo Joe Cappel, Director of Cargo Development, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Terry Perry, S&L Fertilizer Andy Gall, Ohio EPA, began the presentation with and overview and history of biosolids and sewage sludge under Ohio EPA and US EPA rules. Mr. Gall reviewed OEPA sewage sludge rules, testing requirements, and the distinction between Class A and Class B biosolids. He outlined ultimate disposal options: agricultural land application or landfill. OEPA has changed the way it manages biosolids over the past several years, and has issued an NPDES permit for Nu-Soil. Ohio EPA has received complaints about discharges from Nu-Soil into the lake. After conducting investigations, OEPA did not observe discharges. OEPA included in the NPDES permit a requirement that potential impacts on water quality be addressed through sampling and a computer modeling. That work is underway. Shannon Nabors of OEPA added that their office has investigated complaints of leachate running off from the S&L site, and has not found evidence to support them. The question is whether it is causing problems in the Western Basin. Ohio EDPA thinks it highly unlikely. The agency wishes to collect scientific evidence to support a definite conclusion. Alan Ruffell, Division of Water Reclamation, City of Toledo, described the treatment facilities at the Bay View WWTP. They consist of conventional and wet weather treatment processes, both of which generate sludge. The sludge is digested and dewatered, trucked to Facility Three, where S&L mixes it with water treatment sludge and dredgings to produce Nu-Soil. This process was selected because it is the most cost effective, and has been in use since Chris McGibbeny, also Division of Water Reclamation, reviewed the history of Toledo s sludge disposal methods. Nu-Soil is considered a Blass B biosolid; Toledo s sludge can meet Class A metals standards, but not pathogen reduction. Meeting that standard would require additional capital improvements. Joe Cappel, Director of Cargo Development, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, explained that Toledo s port is one of the busiest on the Great Lakes, with 12 million tons of cargo per year and 700 ships. Toledo has one of the largest dredging challenges; Toledo s annual dredging need is a third of the total for the entire Great Lakes. Most of the dredgings are disposed of back in the lake, a controversial process that may exacerbate the lake s phosphorus enrichment. Placing dredgings in a Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) removes dredgings from the ecosystem. Nu-Soil is important because it moves dredge material out of the CDF, freeing up disposal capacity. Terry Perry, S&L Fertilizer, explained the company was started in The company developed a process for land applying Toledo s sewage sludge on farmland without causing odor problems. In the mid 1980s, S&L worked with the Port Authority and OEPA to develop Nu-Soil as it is today, a combination of 88% dredgings, 10% biosolids, and 2% spent lime to form a low-grade topsoil. S&L is now producing about 100,000 tons of Nu-Soil annually. Nu-Soil is used by the city as topsoil, and as daily cover at the Hoffman Road landfill. Nu-Soil is mixed at CDF 3. The mix is left in windrows for a year before final use. The purpose of the aging process is to allow further digestion of biosolids and pathogens. Mr. Ruffell called the attention of the group to a handout from the City of Toledo s Division of Environmental Services. He explained that preliminary sampling has been conducted in near shore waters at CDF 3, testing for E. coli and phosphorus. The reports show phosphorus levels under 0.5 ppm (compared with an effluent limit of 1 ppm for the Bay View WWTP) and E. coli counts from 4 to 30 cfu/100 ml (compared with the US EPA contact standard for bathing beaches of 235 cfu/100 ml). 2

3 The panel discussion was followed by a question and answer session. Responding to a question about A/B biosolids classification, Chris McGibbeny explained that Nu-Soil is currently considered Class B. Every batch is tested. The City believes the results meet Class A standards, and plans to submit test results to US EPA with a request for reclassification. Andy Gall added that US EPA s determination of Class A requires test result compliance, but also requires a defined process that guarantees compliance after x days. The defined process is the criterion Nu-Soil has not met. Joe Cappel added that there is a dike surrounding the area in which Nu-Soil is made. Its top is about ten feet above the working surface. Weirs control dewatering through a series of cells, allowing sediment to settle out, and discharge only clear water back to the lake. Northwest Region Scenic River Program Christina Kuchle Ms. Kuchle is the Northwest Region Assistant Scenic Rivers manager from ODNR. Ms. Kuchle s program areas are the Maumee (about 110 miles) and Sandusky Rivers (from Upper Sandusky in Wyandot County to the southern end of Fremont). The goal of Scenic Rivers is public outreach and advocacy, along with the monitoring of the health of the rivers. Volunteers for the spring monitoring program are being sought. Ms. Kuchle is available to help with grant writing for projects involving the rivers. Please refer to the handout regarding the Ohio Scenic River Laws and contact information for Ms. Kuchle. TMACOG Staff Report Kurt Erichsen 208 Areawide Water Quality Management Plan April 1, 2013 is the response deadline for any updates or corrections, or comments for the 208 Plan. A public meeting is planned for early May, and a completed 208 Plan will be brought to the Environmental Council for approval in May. Five county-level meetings are being conducted to discuss the Plan. Notable changes to the 208 Plan include updates to sewerage needs and Facility Planning Areas, updates for the Critical Sewerage Areas, the environmental baseline chapter, and a re-write of the Agriculture, Habitat, and Drainage Chapter. Upon approval the Plan will be forward to the Board of Trustees, then onto OEPA for certification by the Governor as part of the State Water Quality Management Plan. Ohio EPA: Shannon Nabors, OEPA, nothing to report. Next meeting date set for May 23, Chair, Ken Fallows called for public comment. Hearing none, meeting was adjourned. 3

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