Whatever could go wrong? Well this story is about mitigating what went wrong. This is one of the locations that process our wastes for Jefferson County. There is a backstory to this, as the request by Bio Recycling, who has been in Mason County for a long time, and this proposal is to mitigate a problem for winter discharges and brown-water issues. It has been an ongoing issue of nitrates getting into the environment from the current plant. Bio Recycling’s technology may be sound, but so much “green-washing” is happening these days, where companies with unsound technologies rebrand themselves as ‘environmentally friendly” that it’s worth it to review their proposal.
The bio-solids they process are taken to central Washington where they are reused as fertilizer, though it’s unclear on what crops, etc.
They have been processing on-site septic systems and waste water treatment plants since 1993. There is no requirement to test for organic chemicals such as drugs, chemotherapy chemicals, poisons, etc. though they mention in the video of the meeting that they have done some preliminary studies and not found more than traces of some chemicals. They use a lime neutralization process to treat the septic product. They process home septic tanks, some grease trap material and some material from waste treatment plants like Port Townsend and Port Ludlow, if my information is correct.
Citizen concerns are over a variety of issues, one of them being the ability to withstand a seismic event and what would happen in the event of an earthquake causing the pond to be breached.
The entire video of the Mason County Commissioners meeting that goes over the request is found here: http://masonwebtv.com/archives/30031
Also the overview of Bio Recycling and it’s processes, it’s overview of the project, etc. I can’t find any mention of the people who run the company on their web site, or if they are owned by another company. They are a privately owned company apparently run by Brian Hinkey (sp?) the son of the founder.
http://www.biorecycle.com/north_ranch.shtm
Bio Recycling is still awaiting permit approval from Mason County and the Department of Ecology to move forward with plans to build a double-lined lagoon to store treated biosolids, amid outcry from community members. The Department of Ecology and Mason County determined in March that the facility’s proposal to build an 18-million-gallon, double-lined lagoon to store treated wastewater and septage in Union will not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment. The determination of nonsignificance, part of a state-mandated process, kicked off an intense period of public comment and meetings, wherein Ecology and Mason County received more than 100 comments from individuals, tribes and state agencies weighing in on the project. Arla Shephard Bull reports. (Kitsap Sun)
Residents opposed to Mason ‘septic lagoon’ despite state paving way for approval
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: BIo Recycling, doe, Puget Sound | Comments Off on Residents opposed to Mason County ‘septic lagoon’ despite state paving the way for approval – Kitsap Sun
