Sludge Watch ==> Amherst NY - sludge pellets dubious public expenditure

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin

Here is a newspaper note with interesting data on the cost of sending out 
sludge pellets in Amherst.

Hmmm...lots of money needed for product liability.
I'm surprised they are making any money at all from selling pellets.
The USA is overrun with sewage sludge pellets and there is essentially no 
market.

There are memos from all over attesting to this.  Indeed I just googled up 
an old Sludgewatched story on Amherst and it reports that only $13,725 was 
anticipated in 2005...and that at that time the pellets were just being 
given away.

That makes it much cheaper to landfill the sludge and be done with it.

http://list.web.net/archives/sludgewatch-l/2006-March/001610.html
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



MOHAN MUST BE HONEST WITH THE FACTS
Written by Administrator
Saturday, 17 March 2007
Amherst Supervisor Mohan wrote a letter to the State Comptroller in Feb. 
2006.  The State Comptroller wanted to know if there was a cheaper way to 
handle the sludge from our Waste Water Treatment Plant.  The letter 
Supervisor Mohan crafted was not truthful.


In part, Mohan said the town only deals with one company who buys our 
pellets, Nutrients Plus.   Our Town Attorney, Tom Jones, had informed 
Nutrients Plus over a year ago that they must insure themselves or the town 
could not continue to deal with them.  For some reason, Supervisor Mohan 
allows the Engineering Department to carry on dealing with them, to this 
day, knowing full well they have not complied by insuring themselves.

In his letter the Supervisor wrote that in 2005, Nutrients Plus bought 
$198,000 of our pellets.  The actual figure they paid in 2005 was only 
$25,000.  In 2006 it was $34,686.86.


The letter sent to the Comptroller’s office on February 19, 2006 listed the 
following figures for 2005.

A ) Cost of sludge disposal in landfill                           =       $ 
640,000/year


B) Cost of product Pelletization – 2400T/year ---         =       $ 
500,000/year
    Add cost of product liability @20,000/ 2400/year     =       $20,000
    Add cost of bagging 2400T at 60/ton                         =       
$144,000
    Subtract sale price of pellets,2400T@$80/ton         =        $192,000


Net cost of pelletizing                                                =     
   $ 472,000’00


                                                                           
Mohan’s #'s    Actual #'s


Cost of sludge disposal in landfill is ~                     $640,000     
$640,000


Subtract sale price of pellets, 2400/T@$80/T       $192,000     $  35,000
                                                                             
  ---------------   ---------------
                                                                             
  $168,000       $605,000



Dr. Mohan’s figures are completely misleading.


The following excerpt, taken from the same letter, is also totally false.


“Today, pelletization will cost us $168,000 less than disposing of sludge in 
landfill.  I will further study these costs in the next several months.”


“As for the pellet bagging facility, the potential buyer’s proposal requires 
us to bag the pellets, and therefore bagging equipment will be needed and 
existing facilities can be kept in operation.  An upgrade of this bagging 
facility at $403,000 is neither required nor budgeted in our capital 
improvement projects.”


Why did our Supervisor give the State Comptroller incorrect facts?  The 
residents have a right to an HONEST answer.


http://www.amhersttimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4412&Itemid=27