pp/y  Clean  Water State  Revolving Fund
                         Green Project Reserve
                                     Clean Water
          Case Study: Struthers Water Pollution Control Facility
                         Powers Up with  Methane Gas

   The City of Struthers received $5.4 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding
   from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water State Revolving Fund program for a
   project that will use methane gas produced at the Struthers Water Pollution Control Facility to power
   unit treatment processes and significantly offset the facility's energy footprint. The project received
   ARRA Green Project Reserve (GPR) funding under the Energy Efficiency category, and the entire amount
   of loan principal will be forgiven.

   The Struthers Water Pollution Control Facility serves a population of over 25,000 people in the cities of
   Struthers and Poland and portions of Boardman Township, and treats an average of 4.5 million gallons
   of wastewater per day. Anaerobic digestion generates approximately 94.9 thousand cubic feet of
   methane gas per day as a by-product of the treatment process, some of which was already being used
   to generate the heat required for the sludge treatment process, offsetting some of its natural gas
   consumption. However, the excess methane was being flared off into the atmosphere. The ARRA-
   funded project allows Struthers to make use of this energy source to provide power for the treatment
   facility's operations through the implementation of a combined heat and power (CHP) system.

   The City of Struthers took advantage of ARRA funding to capitalize on the opportunity to significantly
   reduce its energy footprint and realize substantial operating cost savings. The project is anticipated to
   save Struthers and nearby Mahoning County, which subsidizes 64.5 percent of the cost of treating flows
   from unincorporated areas, about $17,000 per month in electricity costs and $9,000 per month in
   natural gas costs - over $300,000 in annual energy cost savings.  At the same time, the facility's carbon
   footprint will be significant reduced.  Methane is a potent greenhouse gas capable of trapping 20 times
   more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, which makes CHP technology an attractive energy
   option for wastewater treatment facilities as it
   extracts methane gas out of waste, keeping it out
   of the open air environment. The energy that it
   produces is considered carbon neutral. A  CHP
   system can produce green power at costs below
   the retail market rate and enhance the reliability of
   a facility's power source.

   ARRA funds were used to construct a filtered
   methane cogeneration system designed to capture
   and utilize the excess methane gas to generate
   electricity and heat for the treatment facility. This
   project incorporates two 500 kW methane gas
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generators that will be sufficient to supply between 60 to 70 percent of the treatment facility's power
demand. A sludge thickener and upgrades to the gas compressor will make additional methane gas
available for conversion. Two buildings were constructed to house the methane gas generators and the
sludge thickener. Struthers' utility managers hope to eventually power 100 percent of the facility with
CHP technology.  In all, this project will increase the volume of volatile solids destruction by at least 30
percent, and the total amount of methane that will be captured will be sufficient to generate
approximately 1000 kWh of electricity per day.

At a groundbreaking ceremony held on June 4, 2010 for the Struthers Water Pollution Control Facility
CHP project, County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti commented, "This project saves the county and
city hundreds of thousands of dollars in operating, maintenance, and utility costs."  Indeed, the financial
assistance afforded to the city of Struthers through ARRA has not only provided a financial benefit, but it
created between 30 and 40 jobs, and set a precedent for other green projects in the future in Struthers.

For more information please contact the Ohio Water Pollution Control Loan Fund Program
http://www.epa.ohio.gov/defa/wpclf_new.aspx
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