Class “A” Part Two. After Achieving Class A Designation, Our Path To Building A Sustainable Class A Program

The City of Bend utilized a unique partnership with the United States Forest Service, to designate their biosolids as Class A Exceptional Quality (EQ). This designation of Class A EQ biosolids paved the way for a new biosolids program for the City of Bend. This new designation opened many options for biosolids application and left City staff with the challenge of building a sustainable Class A program. This presentation will discuss some unique partners and the path the City utilized to garnish community support, develop new customers, and update their Biosolids Management Plan.The City of Bend, Oregon’s Water Reclamation Facility is an 8.5 MGD Class IV wastewater reclamation facility. Biosolids are anaerobically digested, and dewatered using a belt filter press prior to drying on 12 acres of asphalt drying beds.The City typically dries a year’s accumulation of biosolids on asphalt drying beds. In this manner, moisture is reduced to less than 10% total moisture by August each year. The dried solids are then stored under roof to prevent further moisture accumulation. The facility has historically applied Class B biosolids to local area farms using City labor and equipment. In 2014, the City worked with the United States Forest Service (USFS) to apply biosolids as a test fertilizer on forest service land reclamation projects. In order to facilitate this biosolids application, the USFS paid for testing of the City’s dried biosolids to determine that they met Class A status. The material met Class A biosolids requirements under EPA Part 503 Subpart D Class A Alternative 4 and the USFS applied the Class A EQ biosolids on test plots of land on a mining reclamation site in Eastern Oregon. This application was to study plant growth rates for biosolids application compared to the current forest management practice of using bio char as a fertilizer. This study is ongoing and will be monitored for success until 2018. With newly designated Class A EQ biosolids, the City became determined to expand their existing Class B program. This next step required community education, development of a new customer base, and a comprehensive update of the Biosolids Management Plan. The Class A EQ program was developed to be cost-effective and sustainable to future use of Class A EQ biosolids.With the new Class A EQ designation the City worked with Kennedy/Jenks to comprehensively update the Biosolids Management Plan. This plan was updated to reflect the recent expansion of the secondary treatment process, and detail the process utilized to achieve Class A status.Critical to the success of a Class A EQ program is the development of Community support. The City started with a partnership with the local Environmental Center to help with this effort. This program started initially with Environmental Center educators providing in-classroom education on the water cycle and wastewater treatment process. The Environmental Center also helped facilitate tours at the Water Reclamation Facility. This partnership led the development of a Victory Garden for public biosolids education at the Environmental Center location, and grew a local advocate and partner for biosolids education.The City also worked with Sally Brown of the University of Washington and the Oregon State Master Gardeners to educate Master Gardeners on the quality of biosolids as a soil amendment and promote use of Class A EQ biosolids in gardens. This partnership helped build not only local, but state support for biosolids. The Victory Garden will be a critical demonstration site for master gardeners of biosolids effectiveness.With the Class A EQ biosolids designation, the City next conducted a survey of large scale uses of material and marketing. Although an ongoing effort, the development of this new market for Class A EQ biosolids has fully transitioned the City from a Waste to Commodity Utility. This paper details the steps taken to develop this program and foster the partnerships to fully develop a sustainable, cost effective Class A EQ biosolids program.