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#biosolids

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Public
DoomsdaysCW

Oh yeah. #JuniperRidgeLandfill is NOT a solution!

Time is running out to find new solutions to manage #biosolids in Maine

A new report shows that capacity at a state-owned #landfill will run out in 2028.

PORTLAND, Maine — "There are growing concerns about the state's ability to handle waste and the impact it could have on wastewater treatment facilities in just a few years. Tons of wastewater #sludge, or #biosolids, are shipped to a state-owned landfill every day. That sludge is laced with #PFAS.

"State regulators say if investments aren't made to manage it, the landfill could be at capacity by 2028. The Portland Water District's East End plant takes in 25,000 pounds of solid waste daily.

"'What comes in has to go out, so when we have interruptions in the ability to manage biosolids, that is a huge challenge,' Scott Firmin, director of Portland Wastewater Services with the Portland Water District, explained.

"The utility has nearly 100,000 customers in the Greater Portland area and ships the byproduct of that waste, known as sludge or biosolids, to the #JuniperRidgeLandfill near #OldTownMaine.

"Last summer, it was left scrambling after #Casella Waste Systems said it could not safely accept municipal #sludge at #JuniperRidge after shipments of construction debris needed to stabilize the site were banned.

"'Ninety percent of the biosolids generated in Maine go to that landfill,' Firmin said."

newscentermaine.com/article/te
#WaterIsLIfe #CompostingToilets #JuniperRidge #EnvironmentalDestruction #PenobscotRiver #PenobscotNation #EnvironmentalRacism #ProtectTheSacred

www.newscentermaine.comBefore you continue to YouTube
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Public
DoomsdaysCW

So, again, why are #Biosolids filled with #PFAS in the first place? Is it because we have PFAS up the wazoo? Or is it being blended with other nasties? Inquiring minds want to know! I mean, is PFAS a problem with composting toilets as well? Are we so polluted that we are no longer part of nature? Then that's a HUGE FUCKING PROBLEM!

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Public
DoomsdaysCW

This is the kind of BULLSHIT that the #PenobscotNation have been dealing with for years! WTF!

#Maine opens door for #landfill expansion despite community objections

By: Emma Davis - October 3, 2024

"The #JuniperRidgeLandfill is a step closer to an expansion that would allow for roughly 11 more years of use, despite continued objections from local residents and advocates concerned about the landfill’s impact on air and water quality in the region.

"In a decision released Wednesday, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection Melanie Loyzim determined there is a substantial public benefit from a proposal to increase the capacity of the facility in #OldTown and Alton, which means the #Casella subsidiary that operates it can now submit an application for a license to expand the facility.

"The decision has not stymied opposition. The #ConservationLawFoundation, an environmental advocacy organization, is prepared to challenge the determination, according to director of communities and toxics Alexandra St. Pierre.

"'This decision recklessly gambles with public health and the environment,' St. Pierre wrote in a statement following the decision. 'It dismisses the serious concerns raised by the Penobscot Nation and other nearby residents about the harmful effects this expansion will have on their health and community. We refuse to allow this dangerous expansion to proceed unchecked.'

"Juniper Ridge Landfill is owned by the state but managed by the Bureau of General Services, which contracts with #NEWSMELandfill Operations, LLC, a subsidiary of the waste management company #CasellaWasteManagement.

"Opened in 1993 and last expanded in 2017, the landfill currently disposes of just over half of landfill waste in Maine and is expected to exhaust its current capacity by 2028. BGS has proposed expanding the landfill by 61 acres, which at the current fill rate of about 1 million cubic yards of waste per year, would allow for roughly 11 more years of use.

"The #MaineDEP concluded that Casella’s proposed expansion is needed to meet Maine’s short- and long-term waste capacity needs and is consistent with the state’s waste reduction plans. From 2018 to 2022, Maine’s landfill waste increased by 24%. Waste generation continues to increase at approximately 5.6% per year.

"Further, the DEP determined that the expansion doesn’t conflict with #EnvironmentalJustice [BULLSHIT] — a new factor that had to be considered under a state law passed in 2021 — that is, as long as Casella meets a few conditions.

Environmental justice was among the concerns raised by environmental groups, local residents and the Penobscot Nation during public comment.

"The public argued there was insufficient treatment of landfill leachate — water that collects chemicals after passing through the waste — specifically for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS, which runs into the #PenobscotRiver.

"The Penobscot Nations’s reservation at Indian Island is located FIVE MILES from the landfill and also includes the Penobscot River, along which Juniper Ridge is located."

Read more:
mainemorningstar.com/2024/10/0
#WaterIsLife #PFAS #PenobscotRiver #Biosolids #WabanakiConfederacy #EnvironmentalDestruction #EnvironmentalRacism

Maine Morning Star · Maine opens door for landfill expansion despite community objections • Maine Morning StarThe Juniper Ridge Landfill in Maine is a step closer to an expansion that would allow for roughly 11 more years of use, despite continued objections from local residents and advocates.
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Public
DoomsdaysCW

Still reeling from #PFAS spill, #BrunswickMaine residents push back on plans for #sludge treatment plant

by AnnMarie Hilton, Tue, January 28, 2025

"Brunswick resident Sandra Carslick said she and her neighbors have been living in a 'bad dream' for the five months since 1,600 gallons of toxic foam spilled so-called forever chemicals at the already contaminated former Naval Air Station nearby.

"At a Brunswick Town Council meeting on Monday night, Carslick said that bad dream could soon become residents’ 'worst nightmare,' if the town reopens a processing site for chemical-laden [#Biosolids] sludge from sewer treatment plants across Maine, and potentially beyond.

"The residents were responding to plans from Delaware-based #ViridiEnergy to update and expand #BrunswickLanding’s anaerobic digester, which converts sewage sludge — also referred to as #biosolids — into renewable natural gas and byproducts that get sent to landfills.

"During Monday’s presentation to the town council, company representatives explained how the facility would work and what local residents could expect. Several councilors said they would like to see additional data before deciding, but some already expressed concerns that the project isn’t right for Brunswick, particularly at this time. Members of the public also spoke for more than an hour, overwhelmingly concerned about the project and its potential to bring more #HarmfulChemicals into the area.
"The town is still dealing with the accidental discharge last summer of #firefighting foam containing #perfluoroalkyl and #polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as #PFAS, at a hangar at #BrunswickExecutiveAirport, which is also situated at Brunswick Landing.

"The spill has prompted environmental and public health concerns over the PFAS, which have been linked to serious long-term health problems including #cancer, weakened #immune systems, developmental issues, and more. Since it started surveying and reviewing the material in the late 1980s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [#EPA] has found more than 700 chemicals in sewage sludge, including PFAS.

"Chet Benham, a senior advisor and one of the founders of Viridi, tried to address those concerns during the meeting, telling residents the facility will operate according to all state and local requirements. He said there are protocols to prevent spills of the sludge that will move through the closed-loop facility.

"'We feel really, really good about it,' Benham said. 'We wouldn’t be standing here before you if we didn’t.' [Typical #Greenwashing #Bullshit]

"According to Viridi’s plan, the facility would take in about 85,000 tons of biosolids per year, which would be processed into renewable natural gas that would feed into Maine Natural Gas. About 10,000 tons of solid material byproduct would be sent from the plant to the #JuniperRidgeLandfill in Old Town. Over the course of the discussion, it came to light that Viridi would also likely bring in sludge from outside of Maine in order to run their facility at full capacity."

Read more:
news.yahoo.com/news/still-reel
#WaterIsLife #PenobscotRiver #PenobscotNation #AndroscogginRiver #CascoBay

Yahoo News · Still reeling from PFAS spill, Brunswick residents push back on plans for sludge treatment plantBy AnnMarie Hilton
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DoomsdaysCW

[Thread] What to do with all those #Biosolids? (And why are they full of #PFAS in the first place, I wonder.) Talk of building a Biosolid to Energy plant in #BrunswickMaine but the leftover ick will be dumped at #JuniperRidge -- where it can leech into the #PenobscotRiver where the #PenobscotNation live and fish! (And talk about treating #SacredPlaces the way they should be -- the Penobscot River is one of those places that should be granted #Personhood)!

Public
Victor

The Pyrolysis of Biosolids in a Novel Closed Coupled Pyrolysis and Gasification Technology: Pilot Plant Trials, Aspen Plus Modelling, and a Techno-Economic Analysis. #biosolids #wastewater #pyrolysis #modelling mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/23/3399

MDPIThe Pyrolysis of Biosolids in a Novel Closed Coupled Pyrolysis and Gasification Technology: Pilot Plant Trials, Aspen Plus Modelling, and a Techno-Economic AnalysisPyrolysis is gaining recognition as a sustainable solution for biosolid management, though scaling it commercially presents challenges. To address this, RMIT developed a novel integrated pyrolysis and gasification technology called PYROCO™, which was successfully tested in pilot-scale trials. This study introduces PYROCO™ and its application to produce biochar, highlighting the biochar properties of the results of the initial trials. In addition, an energy analysis using semi-empirical Aspen Plus modelling, paired with a preliminary techno-economic assessment, was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of this technology. The results show that the PYROCO™ pilot plant produced biochar with a ~30 wt% yield, featuring beneficial agronomic properties such as high organic carbon (210–220 g/kg) and nutrient contents (total P: 36–42 g/kg and total N: 16–18 g/kg). The system also effectively removed contaminants such as PFASs, PAHs, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics from the biochar and scrubber water and stack gas emissions. An energy analysis and Aspen Plus modelling showed that a commercial-scale PYROCO™ plant could operate energy self-sufficiently with biosolids containing >30% solids and with a minimum calorific value of 11 MJ/kg. The process generates excess energy for drying biosolids and for electricity generation. Profitability is sensitive to biochar price; prices rise from AUD 300 to AUD 1000 per tonne, the NPV improves from AUD 0.24 million to AUD 4.31 million, and the payback period shortens from 26 to 12 years. The low NPV and high payback period reflect the use of a relatively high discount rate of 8%, chosen to be on the conservative side given the novel nature of the technology.
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