Sludge Watch ==> Detroit - Councit approves Synagro Sludge "Fertilizer" Plant

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Since sewage sludge has high levels of metals, chemical contaminants, 
unbalanced levels of plant nutrients, is prone to pathogen regrowth and 
these dried sludges can go into into spontaneous combustion...sewage sludge 
makes poor fertilizer.

Thumbs down on Detroit's decision.

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


DETROIT Free Press

Sludge disposal plan gets council blessing
Workers won't lose jobs, official says
November 21, 2007

BY ZACHARY GORCHOW

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

A controversial plan to build a privately run plant in Detroit to make 
fertilizer out of the sludge by-product of processed sewage won approval 
Tuesday from the City Council.

One point of controversy, still unanswered after the 5-4 vote, is when the 
city's Department of Water and Sewerage will shut down the incinerators it 
currently uses to dispose of the sludge that's left over after the water is 
removed from the waste.

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With the vote, Houston-based Synagro is positioned to take charge of 
disposing of 183,000 tons of sludge annually produced by the plant.

But it will be years before it begins operation.

Company officials have said it would take six to 12 months to get the 
required state permits and another 27 to 30 months to build the plant.

Still, city officials say putting Synagro in charge of the waste would save 
money by sparing the city the cost of upgrading its two incinerators, which 
are 50 and 70 years old.

"In the end, it will mean significant cost savings to the department, and 
those would be passed along in future rate determinations," said George 
Ellenwood, spokesman for the city's water and sewerage department. "There 
will be far less emissions, so this will be much more environmentally 
friendly."

The plant would be built near the city's treatment plant on West Jefferson 
in southwest Detroit.

Despite the cleaner technology, the plant still drew opposition from Lisa 
Goldstein, executive director of Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision, 
because the contract has no timeline for closing the incinerators. City 
officials have said they can't commit to a timeline until they know Synagro 
will be up and running.

Union leaders also are upset about privatizing sludge disposal, but 
Ellenwood said all affected city workers would be retrained and none would 
lose their jobs.

Contact ZACHARY GORCHOW at 313-222-6678 or zgorchow at freepress.com.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/NEWS01/711210325/1003