Think Regionally, Act Locally: Enhancing Biosolids Program Redundancy and Resiliency

The National Capital Region experienced one of the wettest years on record in 2018. This disrupted biosolids land application in the region, forcing some of the water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) in the region to find alternative biosolids management options such as landfilling, off-site incineration, composting or onsite storage, all of which impacted the operating bottom line for these facilities. This challenge highlighted the need for increased redundancy in their biosolids programs and a desire to better understand available regional options for processing, storage, and hauling, as well as future opportunities to strengthen these networks. These developments led to the formation of a working group (Group), comprising eight regional WRRFs (generators) - Prince William County Service Authority (PWCSA), Upper Occoquan Service Authority (UOSA), Fairfax County, Loudoun Water, DC Water, Arlington County, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC Water), and Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew). This group, working through the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), commissioned Black & Veatch to assess and document the needs and implementation considerations for the development of technically-feasible regional options to provide greater redundancy and resiliency for biosolids management among the Group and also at a local level. This was a collaborative effort with continuous participation and involvement from the Group in monthly meetings, interviews, review of processing cost methodologies, co-ordination with other regional and state organizations, and providing input to multiple surveys. The primary goal of this planning study was to develop a practical framework for short-term interfacility transfer of solids for treatment and to maximize capacity utilization at the participating WRRFs during transient events such as equipment failures or planned outages. Individually, the WRRFs have limited excess capacity relative to processing needs, and in the event of equipment failures or planned outages, require expensive off-site solids handing using emergency contract mechanisms. The ability to economically offload excess solids has the potential to reduce redundancy requirements and the associated capital investments at participating utilities, while creating more reliable biosolids programs without overly complex contracts with haulers. While maximizing capacity utilization through regional collaboration is one of the opportunities for improving biosolids program resiliency, the practice of land application of biosolids is also dependent upon a strong partnership between the WRRFs to produce high-quality biosolids products, the solids haulers and farmers to distribute and apply the products, and the regulators to set science-based standards that protect public health and the environment while providing sufficient flexibility to maximize community benefits (Figure 1). This assessment used a multi-pronged approach to evaluate the three critical elements of a resilient biosolids program shown in Figure 1. Information on biosolids management contracting terms for participating utilities, contractor storage options, and regulatory considerations with storage was reviewed independent of the information related to regional collaboration and other potential steps by the generators to improve regional biosolids program resiliency and redundancy. The information gathered from these two parallel efforts was then analyzed to formulate the need for a more flexible regulatory approach to maximize program resiliency. The overall project approach is shown in Figure 2. The final manuscript will detail the findings from each of the project tasks identified in Figure 2, including: - Establish current needs and capacity to haul, process, and store biosolids at the individual WRRFs. - Develop costs and transfer options among the WRRFs to transfer and receive both liquid and dewatered cake. - Identify potential regulatory and permitting hurdles associated with the interagency biosolids solutions, including storage, biosolids transport, and processing. - Survey interjurisdictional partnerships and agreements that could be used as mechanisms to provide services between jurisdictions. - Develop conceptual management strategies to increase the redundancy of biosolids programs at a local and regional level. - Identify contractor perspectives on biosolids storage and options to alleviate storage concerns in the region. - Identify potential areas for regulatory flexibility to improve overall program resiliency. The key takeaways from these efforts are summarized in Table 1.