July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
City working on sludge settlement (03/15/07)
By By JACK RONALD-
City officials are still trying to determine the fairest way for the city to recoup the cost of disposing of sewage treatment sludge contaminated by a heavy metal discharged by four Portland industries.
Mayor Bruce Hosier and wastewater treatment plant superintendent Bob Brelsford said Wednesday molybdenum found at the treatment plant late last year came from Joyce-Dayton, Performance Tool, Createc, and the Portland Coca-Cola bottling plant.
Hosier agreed to release the names of the four companies after The Commercial Review made a formal request under Indiana's public records law for copies of all documents related to the incident.
Molybdenum is used as an anti-corrosive, sometimes as a metal treatment and sometimes in cleaning agents.
"Joyce-Dayton was probably the heaviest contributor," said Brelsford. The plant, which makes industrial screw-jacks, uses some materials that have been treated with an anti-corrosive. "They power-wash all their finished product before shipping."
In the case of Coca-Cola, which was the source of the smallest amount of molybdenum, Brelsford believes it was related to cleaning and service work done by an outside firm on a cooling tower at the plant.
"They've all taken measures to correct the situations," said Brelsford. "They weren't aware they were discharging those levels."
Brelsford said treatment plant employees routinely test the sludge which is the solid residue after wastewater treatment on a quarterly basis. Normally, the sludge is kept in a holding pond then annually is distributed on farmland under a permit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
In December, local tests revealed molybdenum in the sludge at higher than acceptable levels and IDEM was notified. Because of the contamination, it was necessary for the city to contract with a Kokomo company, Merrell Brothers, to haul the sludge away and burn it.
Meanwhile city crews tracked down the sources of the molybdenum by testing the outflow from local industries over a period of about three and a half weeks.
Molybdenum levels have returned to normal at the treatment plant, and about 35 loads of contaminated sludge have been hauled out for disposal.
"There's an ongoing cost," said Hosier, but the city won't know the total bill until the work is completed. He indicated all four companies have been notified that the city needs to recoup its costs.
"We're still in the process of figuring out how to make it fair. It's not an easy thing to do," Hosier said.
Brelsford estimated the final bill for the sludge removal will be about $140,000. He expects to inform IDEM next week that the situation has been corrected and said reinstatement of the city's permit to dispose of the sludge in the usual manner should follow within a few weeks.
"These companies were very cooperative and very concerned to get the situation corrected," said Hosier. "That was reassuring. ... This was an isolated thing."[[In-content Ad]]
Mayor Bruce Hosier and wastewater treatment plant superintendent Bob Brelsford said Wednesday molybdenum found at the treatment plant late last year came from Joyce-Dayton, Performance Tool, Createc, and the Portland Coca-Cola bottling plant.
Hosier agreed to release the names of the four companies after The Commercial Review made a formal request under Indiana's public records law for copies of all documents related to the incident.
Molybdenum is used as an anti-corrosive, sometimes as a metal treatment and sometimes in cleaning agents.
"Joyce-Dayton was probably the heaviest contributor," said Brelsford. The plant, which makes industrial screw-jacks, uses some materials that have been treated with an anti-corrosive. "They power-wash all their finished product before shipping."
In the case of Coca-Cola, which was the source of the smallest amount of molybdenum, Brelsford believes it was related to cleaning and service work done by an outside firm on a cooling tower at the plant.
"They've all taken measures to correct the situations," said Brelsford. "They weren't aware they were discharging those levels."
Brelsford said treatment plant employees routinely test the sludge which is the solid residue after wastewater treatment on a quarterly basis. Normally, the sludge is kept in a holding pond then annually is distributed on farmland under a permit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
In December, local tests revealed molybdenum in the sludge at higher than acceptable levels and IDEM was notified. Because of the contamination, it was necessary for the city to contract with a Kokomo company, Merrell Brothers, to haul the sludge away and burn it.
Meanwhile city crews tracked down the sources of the molybdenum by testing the outflow from local industries over a period of about three and a half weeks.
Molybdenum levels have returned to normal at the treatment plant, and about 35 loads of contaminated sludge have been hauled out for disposal.
"There's an ongoing cost," said Hosier, but the city won't know the total bill until the work is completed. He indicated all four companies have been notified that the city needs to recoup its costs.
"We're still in the process of figuring out how to make it fair. It's not an easy thing to do," Hosier said.
Brelsford estimated the final bill for the sludge removal will be about $140,000. He expects to inform IDEM next week that the situation has been corrected and said reinstatement of the city's permit to dispose of the sludge in the usual manner should follow within a few weeks.
"These companies were very cooperative and very concerned to get the situation corrected," said Hosier. "That was reassuring. ... This was an isolated thing."[[In-content Ad]]
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