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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-SJC-2017-12-13MN-SJC-2017-12-13 Sewer Joint Committee Meeting Minutes.doc 1 SJC MEETING December 13, 2017 SJC Members Staff Cynthia Brock, Chair Steve Thayer Brian Davis CJ Kilgore Rich DePaolo Erik Whitney Tee-Ann Hunter Scott Gibson Donna Fleming Supervisor Jason Liefer David Warden Supervisor Bill Goodman Absent Guest MaryAnn Sumner (Dryden Alternative) Cynthia called the meeting to order at 12:35 p.m. Tee-Ann MOVED to accept the November 8th minutes. Seconded by Rich. Approved 5-0. Financial Report – Steve Thayer - 2017 Activity through November Revenues – we have collected $312,000.00 in septage service and have exceeded our budget line. We have received all four quarterly payments from the three owners. The debt service invoice was sent out two weeks ago. Refinancing of debt service allowed us to realize a savings of approximately $7,700.00. Interest will be posted at year end. We should be right about budget. Expenses – we are a bit under budget at present - 2017 activity will be completed in February. The contractual account (5435), equipment parts (5477) and Treatment Supplies (5499) are over budget. Health Insurance is presently over but the employee contribution posting will bring that back to just about budget. Retirement will be paid this week to realize a discount of $2,000.00. Salary accounts are under budget due to open positions. Keep in mind that all expenses do not follow the calendar. The Johnson Controls report was received last week - we have reduced our energy usage and have realized some savings – as soon as staff completes their review they will present a summary of the detailed report. Erik informed the members that we chose $18,000.00 in services rather than a check to cover the shortfall. Curtailment Program – Steve said that we are not participating in the program due to the change in EPA air emission standards - our diesel generator is no longer compliant. Our new replacement generator(s) should meet the new standards. MN-SJC-2017-12-13 Sewer Joint Committee Meeting Minutes.doc 2 Capital Projects – there were no expenditures last month. Operations and Engineering Report – CJ Kilgore 1. Plant Maintenance & Operations a. DEC Storage Tank Notice of Violation - the $9.800.00 check was sent with the signed consent order. Our two bulk chemical storage tanks were inspected but they both failed. Scott and CJ will review the findings and will look at options (to re-line or to replace). If we wish to keep the tanks at their current location our only option is to use a barrel stave system (similar to a large whiskey or wine cask with a 10 to15 year life replaceable liner) – they are costly ($60,000.00 to $100,000.00 per tank). b. Blower Maintenance – the blowers and dissolved oxygen controls have been adjusted and are operating more efficiently. CJ hopes that this will result in additional energy savings. c. Heat Exchange/Hydronic Control – JCI tech adjustments - the system appears to be working more efficiently - it is operating automatically – with no overrides. The next phase of improvements will be to recommission the micro turbine control system, the gas storage system and the boiler sequencing. d. Permit Violation – December 4th we had a minor violation regarding sludge bulking issues. The final settleable solids and the weekly BOD’s were a bit higher than normal. The DEC was notified. 2. Facilities Maintenance & Operations a. Monitoring Stations – the proposal has been passed by the City and both Towns. CJ is waiting for signatures. The agreement with MRB Group is for an analysis of the systems and for a recommended approach and standardization of each unit. The design and bid package will be the next step. b. GEI/NYSEG/DEC – there was a preliminary meeting – they will be installing 50’ sheet piling next to the waterfront trail at the edge of the property during the winter of 2019. They plan to counter sink the sheets into the ground to prevent the coal tar from migrating to the creek. Cynthia asked about the progress of the creek dredging/storage. According to Erik the lab test results showed class B contaminants – putting the project on hold. 3. Staff Management – CJ will be meeting with Val Saul of HR to see follow up on the creation of the senior operator positions. The operator/operator trainee positon residency requirement should extend beyond Tompkins County. Our maintainer position will be open in 2018. 4. Reporting - 5. Business, Long Term Development – MN-SJC-2017-12-13 Sewer Joint Committee Meeting Minutes.doc 3 a. Lystek – we are continuing discussions. b. JCI Energy Performance Contract - Erik, Scott and CJ met with Johnson Controls – we did not achieve the goals that were initially set. There are/were many variables - the new septage receiving facility uses more energy, our turbine efficiency was over estimated, the price of natural gas did not increase as much as was expected and we did not make as much biogas as we had anticipated. CJ added that we were able to avoid significant amounts of costs. Cynthia asked about the 30 million gallons per day of water that came into the plant over a two day period. Erik added the new monitoring station meters will provide more data. Bill Goodman asked about the permit for Ithaca Beer. Scott said that they are looking at metering their flow to the plant at an acceptable rate as indicated in the sewer use ordinance. Ithaca Beer is working with O’Brien and Gere - Ed Gottlieb is working on their permit. They have completed an industrial user survey. The next step would be to work on SOP’s to discharge their material. Scott will follow up with Ed as any discharger that can cause pass- through interference should be reviewed by the pre-treatment coordinator. Municipalities normally adopt the EPA regulations as their own. Cynthia voiced her concern of the use of cleaning products at micro-breweries and food processing factories. Dave said that much of the cleaning is done with plain water. Scott added that strong concentrations of food-grade cleaner could impact some of the plant biology. 6. Energy Production Statistics – provided by CJ. Discussion Items – Review of the Lystek meeting in November. Lystek has the ability to change our Class B biosolids to Class A biosolids which are allowed for land application. We are trucking residual sludge to Seneca Meadows - and are spending approximately $300,000.00 annually in disposal fees. The budget and partnership design requires $4,000,000.00 in capital costs. This covers their system and reactor, design, installation, and modification of our existing system. It includes start up and one year of support. There is an additional cost of $112,000.00 per year for operations and maintenance and a $75,000.00 charge for sludge disposal. Cynthia stated that she did not see a substantial increase in biogas production. Tee-Ann voiced concern of the ownership (control) of the product once it is spread. Dave Warden said that it does not seem to be economically feasible. CJ reached out to the DEC and was told that there are no plans to limit landfilling at this time. CJ contacted the general manager of the plant in California where organics are prohibited from being disposed of in their landfills - he spoke very favorably about the Lystek process. Scott added that Tim Carpenter suggested that we should dry our sludge further – we could easily save 75% of the disposal costs (we are presently at 24% solids which is mostly water). CJ would like to revisit Lystek and other environmental/economic options in the future. Dave thought it might be something to look at down the road but the economic payback does not seem to be cost effective. Tee-Ann added that this is an opportunity to consider as we explore different technologies. Erik added that increasing retention time in digester could result in Class A biosolids. CJ said that mechanical thickening will help too. MN-SJC-2017-12-13 Sewer Joint Committee Meeting Minutes.doc 4 Brian would have liked to have seen a clearer end use. Cynthia was hopeful that our neighboring municipalities could combine sludge’s to maximize the Lystek process. Staff will look at the Lystek proposal/materials and will evaluate for the January meeting. Announcements/Other Business – Agreement Committee – MaryAnn, Linda, Bill and Cynthia have not had the opportunity to meet recently. When they last met in October, they discussed the monitoring stations and the roles they will play in the future. They discussed keeping a handle on the Kline Road bypass to be sure the volume is being paid for appropriately and the revenue is coming to our facility. Bill added that they are trying to figure out if there is some exchange going on with Cayuga Heights and the Town of Ithaca (equivalent flows). Cynthia offered that Bolton Point water delivery data may be beneficial. They want to confirm that all of the municipalities have the same pretreatment requirements. Cynthia suggested that it might be a good idea to retain an attorney to look over the three municipal agreements once the committee has completed their review. The volume of material no longer represents the original partnership percentage breakdown as set forward in the original agreement and should be recalculated and adjusted. Tee-Ann moved to adjourn. Seconded by Dave. All were in favor. Approved 7 - 0. Meeting was adjourned @ 1:57 p.m. The Next Meeting is January 10th, 2018, 12:30 pm.