United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Funding Biosolid Projects Using the Clean Water State
Revolving Fund
The Problem
Biosolids are primarily organic solids left from
municipal wastewater treatment processes that can be
beneficially recycled. About nine million dry metric
tons of biosolids are produced each year from
municipal wastewater treatment plants in the United
States. The proper management of the treated
biosolids and other matter generated by the processing
of more than 32 billion gallons per day of municipal
wastewater poses a challenging disposal problem for
all of us. In the past, biosolids have been put into
landfills, the ocean, or incinerated. Today, we
understand that land application is a generally
preferred option as it beneficially utilizes the recyclable
components of wastewater.
Biosolid recycling not only saves local and state
governments significant funds through lower disposal
costs and sales of biosolid-derived products, but also
supplies valuable nutrients and soil amendment benefits
to the land. Through its low or no-interest loan
program and other assistance options (refinancing,
purchase or guaranteeing local debt, and purchasing
bond insurance), the Clean Water State Revolving
Fund (CWSRF) can be a valuable resource for
supporting biosolids projects. Years of research and
practice have repeatedly demonstrated that biosolids
recycling is safe and that food crops grown on land
fertilized with biosolids are safe to eat.
Biosolids Use and the CWSRF Program
The CWSRF programs in every state and Puerto Rico
work like banks. Federal and state contributions are
used to capitalize or set up the programs. These
assets, in turn, are used to make low or no-interest
loans for important water quality projects. Funds are
repaid to the CWSRFs over terms as long as twenty
years. Repaid funds are then recycled to fund other
water quality projects. The CWSRF can help to
provide the financial resources to fund biosolid
projects. Some examples of biosolid projects are:
Processing facilities consisting of:
- Composting
- Biosolid pelletizing
- Incineration
- Alkaline stabilization
Handling equipment for transportation
(trucks, rail, conveyance systems, etc.)
Application equipment
Storage facilities
Bio-gas cleanup and use equipment
Capacity of the CWSRF
Nationally, the CWSRF has in excess of $34 billion in
assets (includes loans already made and current funds
available to make loans). Currently, the CWSRF is
funding water quality projects at a rate of over $4 billion
per year.
Since 1989, the CWSRF program has funded over
3,900 nonpoint source projects, investing more
than $1.2 billion to clean up polluted runoff.
Getting a Project Funded
The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1987 authorized the
CWSRF to fund point-source (wastewater treatment
works), nonpoint sources, and estuary projects.
Biosolid projects may be developed as a component of
a wastewater treatment works project. A wastewater
treatment works project must be publicly owned to
receive CWSRF funds. However, it may be possible
to fund biosolid projects as nonpoint source projects if
the wastes being treated are correcting a nonpoint
source problem. Since the CWSRF program is managed
by the states, project funding varies by the priorities,
policies, and laws within each state. Eligible applicants
also vary by state. In seeking a loan, a first step is to
contact your state CWSRF representative. The list of
CWSRF state representatives can be found on our
website (www.epa.gov/owm/finan.htm).
Sources of Loan Repayment
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Each state must approve a source of loan repayment
as part of the application process. Though finding a
source of repayment may prove challenging, it does
not have to be burdensome. Many users of the
CWSRF have demonstrated a high degree of creativity
in identifying sources of loan repayment. The source
of repayment need not come from the project itself.
Some possibilities include:
developers fees
recreational fees (fishing licenses, park
entrance fees)
stormwater management fees
wastewater user charges
donations or dues made to nonprofit
groups and associations
sale of the biosolids
Learning by Example
In Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania a CWSRF
loan is being used by a private pretreatment facility to
pump out individual septic systems and treat the
wastewater prior to land application as biosolids.
Because the project was built to treat wastes from
septic systems, it was funded as a nonpoint source
project, which allows for private ownership. Its
activities are an integral aspect of solving a nonpoint,
septic system problem.
An SRF wastewater treatment works loan was used
to fund a composting facility for Charleston, West
Virginia. Biosolids will be mixed with yard waste and
recycled compost to yield a high-grade compost
product. Significant cost saving will be gained from
not having to haul yard waste and biosolids to the
landfill, in addition to saving the limited landfill space
for non-recyclable waste.
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
used a SRF loan to expand its biosolids pelletizing
facility. The pellets are given away for public sites
such as parks and golf courses but are sold to
commercial users. Although this project was funded
as a municipally owned facility, it could have been
funded as either a point or nonpoint source project.
Lenoir, North Carolina used $3.9 million in SRF
funds to develop an advanced wastewater treatment
system with nutrient removal and associated biosolids
management facilities. About five tons of biosolids are
processed daily through a lime
stabilization/thermoblend process. In 1997 and 1998,
the city began blending composted yard and leaf waste
with the biosolid and lime mixture. The product is
marketed to local nurserymen, farmers, and ranchers
who value the material sufficiently to pay some of the
costs of production and all the costs of transportation
and spreading.
Challenges Ahead
EPA has been encouraging states to open their
CWSRFs to the widest variety of water quality
projects, while addressing high priority projects in
targeted watersheds. Those interested in advancing the
recycling of biosolids should seek out their CWSRF
programs, gain an understanding of how their state
program works, and participate in the annual process
that determines which projects are funded.
For more information on the CWSRF, or for a
program representative in your state, contact:
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund Branch
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
ICC Building
1201 Constitution Avenue, NW (Mail Code 4204M)
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: (202) 564-0752 Fax: (202) 501-2403
Internet: www.epa.gov/owm/fman.htm
For program information on biosolids, contact:
The Municipal Technology Branch
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
ICC Building
1201 Constitution Avenue, NW (Mail Code 4204M)
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: (202) 564-0733 Fax: (202) 501-2397
Internet: www.epa.go
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Office of
EPA 832-F-OO-
November
Cl nan Wat .or
State Revolving Fund
Water
006
2001
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