BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – On Tuesday, Aug. 10, the Bellows Falls Village Trustees discussed updates on the sludge dryer and operations at the Wastewater Plant.
The plant is utilizing the Shincci, a drying system that transforms wet sludge into Class A biosolid through a pilot program with Resource Management Inc. of Holderness, N.H. The Shincci system was developed in Guangzhou, China in 2003, and RMI is the exclusive representative of Shincci-USA east of the Mississippi.
Municipal Manager Scott Pickup announced they had received the Biosolid Class A designation from New Hampshire but were still waiting for the Vermont certification.
Pickup reported the dryer was now working at “an unsupervised capacity,” which is why it’s important for the board to determine rates and make purchase decisions. He said the current agreement with RMI expires in September but the village can extend the agreement until December.
Village President Deborah Wright said costs would increase with an extended schedule.
Pickup explained that some of the costs were paying off the equipment. He said more work needed to be done, but they had turned 239 wet tons of material into 77.5 dry tons, which was being used on a farmer’s field. One of the benefits of the dryer was to eliminate trucking the wet sludge to Coventry, Vt.
Pickup included a proposal from the plant engineering firm and said he wanted the Trustees to feel confident with the full picture, which included wear and tear, additional investments, current debt capital, and the handling of sludge and materials, before determining new rates.
Pickup said the final piece was billing other users including Walpole, N.H., who paid a percentage of overhead, maintenance, and operations.
James McAuliffe wanted to know “as a Trustee” that the sewer plant is operating according to the expectations of the operations. He said, “[It] feels like we just did it yesterday,” referring to major renovations to the plant.
Pickup explained some of the equipment had a 10-year life, as for the question, “Are we wearing out at a seven-to-eight-year cycle… because of capacity and volumes… I don’t have an answer.”
McAuliffe said they needed “continuity in terms of our engineers” and stated the importance of “having boards aware of what’s coming, [which has] been lacking.”
Wright agreed having a capital schedule would keep the village on track.
Pickup said the goal was having long-term plans, which would help explain to ratepayers the charges for the facility. He said grants might be received but most of the capital would be loans and long-term debt.
McAuliffe highlighted what they were doing at the Bellows Falls Wastewater Plant. “It should be embraced by [the sewer] industry.”
Wright agreed, calling Bellows Falls “an area leader.”
Wade Masure asked about fees for the Class A sludge quality certificates. Pickup said there were application fees on both states’ designations.
The Village Trustees meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 6 p.m. in the Lower Theater of the Bellows Falls Opera House.