Sludge Watch ==> San Joaquin Valley Air Officials may Alter Compost Rule to Calm Waste Officials

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:


It looks like the San Joaquin Air Quality District is backing off the air 
emissions controls that were imposed on composting operations in the South 
Coast Air Quality Monitoring District just a few miles to the south.  If 
compost operations in the South Coast Air District can be required to be 
contained in a fully enclosed facility with air emissions controls, why 
can't residents of the San Joaquin Valley be equally protected from smog?  
Why should green house gases from compost be allowed from these facilities?

  Goodness knows the air quality problems in the Valley are notorious.

.......................................................................................

Inside Cal/EPA

May 12, 2006

Vol. 17 No. 19



VALLEY AIR OFFICIALS MAY ALTER DRAFT COMPOST RULE TO CALM CIWMB


San Joaquin Valley air district officials are considering substantial 
changes to a rule they plan to unveil soon to re-duce volatile organic 
compound (VOC) emissions from green waste composting practices, in response 
to waste board and industry objections that the rule may endanger the 
region's efforts to divert waste from landfills.

The rule is significant because on one hand emission controls on composting 
practices are part of the district's overall plan to clean up the region's 
unhealthful air, but on the other hand waste diversion is considered a top 
priority by state officials.

The valley air district proposal in question is Rule 4565, which the 
district has yet to formally release to the public. A first draft is 
expected to be released in the next few months, a district source said. The 
district plans to adopt the rule in the first quarter of 2007, the source 
said.

At a May 8 California Integrated Waste Management Board meeting of its 
Permitting & Enforcement Committee, Howard Levenson, CIWMB deputy director, 
warned board members that San Joaquin officials were planning a rule that 
would focus on reducing VOC emissions from green waste composting.

The rule would potentially be patterned after the South Coast air district's 
Rule 1133, Levenson said. That rule tar-gets composting of biosolids after 
officials there conducted studies indicating that outdoor composting of such 
material represents a significant source of uncontrolled emissions of 
ammonia and VOCs.

Rule 4565 focuses mainly on VOCs from green waste composting, with initial 
studies finding that green waste composters generate up to twice the VOCs 
per ton of feedstock compared with "co-composters." Co-compost combines 
sewage sludge or manure biosolids and green waste.
The South Coast rule is designed to move facilities toward enclosed systems 
with filters, which if applied to green waste composting will be a problem 
economically, Levenson added.
CIWMB has a research contract with San Diego State University to do field 
emission testing this summer on green waste and food waste composting to 
determine actual emissions, he said. "So far the district is agreeable to 
having our results be considered in the rulemaking process and wants to work 
with us."

A CIWMB spokesman added that no testing on these emissions has been 
conducted in the San Joaquin Valley and the only real data available were 
generated in the South Coast in anticipation of that region's rule.

Levenson stressed that the proposed San Joaquin rule could have a 
significant impact on compliance with state waste diversion mandates, 
required under the 1989 law (AB 939) that requires jurisdictions to achieve 
50% diversion of waste from landfills. "There are some 51 green waste 
composters in the district, with a total estimated capacity of up to 11 
million tons. Depending on actual throughput, this could have an impact on 
regional diversion rates of 10%-15%."
A waste industry source said the air district's rule is unlikely to achieve 
real emission reductions, while potentially harming waste reduction goals. 
"We're all for clean air, but we also want waste reduction," the source 
said. "The tricky part with green waste composting is it's going to 
decompose whether we compost or not -- so if a tree falls somewhere and 
decomposes, it is still giving off emissions. This is not the same as 
reducing emissions from cars and trucks -- is this really what we should be 
focusing on?"

The source added that the composting industry is "not a huge money maker" 
and would be stressed by such strin-gent regulations.

A second waste industry source said the regulation would undoubtedly stymie 
the siting of new facilities. "We wouldn't be able to do full-blown 
composting facilities -- this is the wrong thing, wrong time."

The rule could force organic materials away from composting and back into 
landfills, requiring the implementation of more high-cost, 
emission-reduction technologies at dumps, the source said. "Is the public 
ready to go for a higher tipping fee per ton? You'd have to double fees."
The San Joaquin air district plans to work with CIWMB on the rule, noting 
the concerns raised about potential waste diversion conflicts, the district 
source said. "We're not trying to rob Peter to pay Paul. We're trying to 
balance out these factors and hope to have a draft rule in a few months."