Sludge Watch ==> Lee County Florida - hope to dump drier kind of sludge on pasture lands

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Wednesday June 14, 2006

FT. MYERS NEWS PRESS



County wants to dry, ship waste to landfills



By Joel Moroney



Lee County wants to overhaul its contract to dispose of sewer sludge by 
hiring a company to dry the waste and take it to farm fields or a landfill.



This year, the county has produced 15 million gallons of sludge at 11 sites. 
On Monday, The News-Press reported that much of the sludge is sprayed on 
livestock fields east of LaBelle.



On May 31, the county sent a letter to Bernard Karle, owner of Karle 
Enviro-Organic Recycling Inc., that it intended to seek new bids on Sept. 7, 
the contract renewal date.



Ivan Valez, deputy director of Lee County Utilities, said the goal will be 
to seek a company willing to supply the equipment to remove water from the 
sludge in order to reduce the semitrailer traffic and odor in neighborhoods 
where treatment centers are located.



Valez said the goal is to get the county’s plants to produce a more 
environmentally friendly fertilizer, such as the type that plants in Cape 
Coral and Naples produce.



Krish Alexander, Karle’s Florida division manager, said it takes six to 
eight loads of liquid sludge to equal one load of sludge that has had water 
removed.



Alexander and Karle said it would require a significant investment by 
whoever is contracted to provide the new equipment and disposal.



And Karle said he has a five-year deal with the county that is in its second 
year.



The Florida Department of Environmental Protection found no serious 
violations during a visit to the Goodno Ranch site Monday, where The 
News-Press photographed liquid sludge being applied near cows and a stream 
Friday.



The company was cited for similar water and grazing violations earlier this 
year.



By law, livestock aren’t permitted to graze on land for 30 days after 
application to protect public health and the environment.



DEP investigator Maura Makuta said one cow was spotted close to where the 
sludge was sprayed and a strand of wire was used to keep livestock out.



“The fence enclosing the site didn’t appear adequate in preventing the entry 
of livestock,” Makuta wrote in her report.



Abdul Ahmadi, water facilities administrator for DEP’s southern district, 
said the department would like better fencing and marking of the perimeter 
of the site.



“For the most part, it looks like they are in compliance,” he said, “but I 
think they still need some improvements.”



Alexander said the company will address any concerns.



“You try to do the best you can, but it’s very unavoidable,” she said. “You 
build a privacy fence and put your dog back there and he digs under the 
fence and gets out and animal shelter picks him up, you still gotta pay the 
fine.”



She said the county contract accounts for more than 30 percent of the 
company’s business in Florida — business it will seek to retain.



But Karle said it was unusual to ask a hauler to provide the equipment to 
help treatment plants dewater sludge.

He said that would require the purchase of more equipment essentially to 
upgrade Lee County’s facilities.



And other upgrades would still be necessary to produce a cleaner sludge 
useful for lawn application, such as the kind being produced in treatment 
facilities in Cape Coral and Naples.



“If the public would just realize they’re saving tax dollars by going out 
here and spreading on fields,” Karle said, adding he has fertilized farms 
with it for three decades.



“You know what’s bad about it? The smell,” he said. “That’s why you have the 
public outcry on sludge. Because they don’t want it in their backyard.”



TYPES OF SLUDGE

§         Karle Enviro-Organic Recycling Inc. hauls Grade AA and Grade B 
sludge for Lee County and the cities of Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Bonita 
Springs.



GRADE

§         AA is being produced in Cape Coral and Naples. It is sold without 
restriction and may be bought by the public. There are no harvesting or 
grazing restrictions. It may be produced in several forms, including cake 
(dewatered) or liquid.

§         B is being produced in Fort Myers and Lee County. Some chemicals 
and bacteria may remain but die over time. Public access to a site where 
Class B residuals are applied may be limited for up to one year. Grazing, 
harvesting and water restrictions apply. Maximum annual and lifetime site 
limits apply. It can be produced in liquid or cake form.

§         Wet Sludge: It is produced at 10 of 11 Lee County plants and can 
be either Grade B or AA.

§         Dewatered Sludge: It can be either grade. It’s produced by Fort 
Myers and Cape Coral and by the county’s Fort Myers Beach plant.

§         Lee County has paid more than $4 million since its contract with 
Karle began in 2004 for the annual removal of about 15 million gallons of 
sludge from 11 local treatment sites.

§         The county’s Fort Myers Beach facility produces dewatered sludge. 
The remaining plants produce liquid sludge, according to Ivan Velez, deputy 
director of Lee County Utilities.

§         The county’s Grade B sludge is permitted to be applied to farm 
fields in regulated doses.

§         The city of Fort Myers is in the second year of a three-year 
contract with Karle, which has an option for an additional two years, 
according to Kevin Wagner, superintendent of Waste Water Treatment and 
Laboratory Facilities for the city.

§         Wagner said the city has budgeted $495,000 for sludge removal this 
year.

§         He said the company hauled 3,555 dried tons of sewage sludge for 
the city in 2005.

§         Cape Coral produces Grade AA sludge and pays Karle up to $200,000 
to remove it, city spokeswoman Connie Barron said.