Getting Our Poop in a Group: A Biosolids Regionalization Study in New England

There is a biosolids crisis occurring in New England, and one method for mitigating the effects of the crisis is to form an alliance to develop a regional biosolids solution. Such a solution is in progress amongst three utilities in New England who have committed to a study that evaluates the feasibility of a regional solution. The Study is especially timely, as the recent 2023 NACWA PFAS study on biosolids costs indicated: proactive biosolids management solutions lead to a more manageable cost when compared to a reactive approach to find a solution after regulatory drivers mandate action. These utilities seek to uphold their fiduciary responsibility to their customers and each bring distinct drivers to the New England Regional Biosolids Study (the Study). While one utility may be motivated purely by the economics, others may be driven based on Renewable Energy production goals that have been implemented by their State government. These drivers have an influence on how these analyses are framed and which data are most appealing for other stakeholders whose approval is essential for the Study to come to fruition as built infrastructure. The process for the Study includes activities such as a regulatory investigation, baseline costs, market and value chain study, siting alternatives, technology operating scenarios, cost evaluation, and non-financial evaluation. With this largely quantitative approach, the project team has grappled with the question of how to navigate through the complexities of different organizations that cross State lines to arrive at an agreeable solution that considers the quantitative and qualitative factors that drive this decision. Regulatory issues have become an increasingly difficult aspect of biosolids management in New England due the dynamic landscape. Many practitioners within this space around New England are aware of Maine's ban on biosolids application via LD1911 and proposed legislation in other states such as H.130 in Vermont which would place restrictions on biosolids end use due to microplastics pollution. This limits potential outlets and end uses for the processed biosolids product. This Study evaluated regulatory considerations not only in New England, but also neighboring territories such as Montreal who also imposed a ban on importing US-generated biosolids during the course of this project. Critical rules such as this further push utilities to find a solution, as they impose increased management costs for biosolids and residuals due to further restrictions on already strained outlets. With an understanding of the current state of regulatory issues documented, the team sought to establish baseline cases for each of the four facilities included within the Study. This task collected sludge loading for calendar years 2017 through 2021 to establish the current year, and projected expected sludge loading through year 2028 to determine future year conditions. The findings indicate the average and maximum month sludge loading are estimated to be 440,000 and 530,000 dry pounds per day, respectively. After the baseline costs were established, the project team completed a series of screening activities to evolve from the world of biosolids technology options to three proposed operating scenarios. The three operating scenarios that were proposed include the following technologies: THP, anaerobic digestion, incineration, and direct drying. Preliminary sizing was developed for the proposed operating scenarios to determine equipment sizing. From the equipment sizing, the preliminary site layouts and costs were established. The methodology and conclusions from this quantitative analysis will be shared during the presentation. The qualitative portion of the Study included non-financial evaluation of social, environmental, and technical aspects of the project. The decision criteria considered and debated amongst the project team which included the utilities, technical advisory committee, and consultants. The methodology for arriving at the final ranking included pair-wise ranking of the criteria as a group and ranking the criteria in order of importance by each utility. The pair-wise and order of importance rankings were averaged to arrive at an overall rankings that were used for developing scores for each alternative in an effort to quantify which operating scenarios allowed the utilities to satisfy more of the drivers that inspired the Study. The process utilized for this Study invited greater collaboration and allowed for consideration of all important aspects of the project, both financial and non-financial. Additionally, it covers not only the technical aspects of this Study, but also the qualitative criteria. This well-rounded approach provided learning opportunities about how consensus and collaboration were pivotal to progressing this project to the next phase. This presentation will cover the main milestones and deliberation amongst the project team to arrive at the recommendation for the main question: is regionalization the solution for biosolids in this area?