James Dunbar
President
Darrell Winans
Vice-President
Ben Nydegger
Secretary
Terri Prather
Treasurer
Tania Gheseger
Past President
Deidre Bartlett
Cat Gowan
JR Inman
Brady Linden
Karla Guevarra
Dan Thompson
Mike Van Ham
Steve Wilson
MacLeod Pappidas
Mike Gates
Education Committee
Cat Gowan, Chair
Rebecca Singer
JR Inman
Sally Brown
Karla Guevarra
MacLeod Pappidas
Mike Gates
Dave Kenney
Membership Committee
Mike Van Ham, Chair
Christina Lorella
Alan Aplin
Darrell Winans
Terri Prather
Mike Gates
Jason Duffin
Outreach Committee
Dan Thompson, Chair
Deidre Bartlett, Vice-Chair
Steve Wilson
MacLeod Pappidas
John Lavery
Research Committee
Tania Gheseger, Chair
Erika Kinno, Vice-chair
Ben Nydegger
Tressa Nicholas
Brady Linden
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ECS Compost Scientist- Engineered Compost Systems
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Edmonton Project Coordinator- SYLVIS
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Biosolids Policy Analyst / Statewide Coordinator (Environmental Planner 4)- Department of Ecology
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Regional Biosolids Coordinator (Environmental Planner 4) (In-Training)- Department of Ecology
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Control Systems Technician Lead and Control Systems Tech I, II, II, or IV-
Lakehaven Water & Sewer
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Maintenance Electrician Lead and Maintenance Electrician-
Lakehaven Water & Sewer
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Electrical and Control Systems Manager
Lakehaven Water & Sewer
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Maintenance Electrician (I, II, III, of IV)
Lakehaven Water & Sewer
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Electrical and Control Systems Manager
Lakehaven Water & Sewer
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Resource Recovery (RR) Regulatory Compliance
DC Water
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Do you have a job opening you want advertised? NWB members can email job postings to amy@nwbiosolids.org
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Northwest Biosolids
Calendar of Events
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September 25-27th, 2022
Semiahmoo Resort
Blaine, WA
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NWB would like to extend gratitude to our current 2022 Biofest Sponsors:
Spruce Level & Beer Sponsor
Pinecone Level Sponsor
Beer Sponsor
Sprout Level Sponsor
Coffee Sponsor
If you would like more information about becoming a sponsor, please click here.
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A Tribute to Peter Severtson |
Sanford Peter Severtson died in early August. Peter was a dear friend and respected colleague to almost all of us in the biosolids community. We will say goodbye to him around the fire at Biofest. There is also a Celebration of Life for Peter on September 24th from 2-6 pm at the Alpental Lodge (17800 Alpental Access Road, Snoqualmie Pass, WA). Memories were gathered in remembrance of Peter. Please click the button below to read them.
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PFAS Everywhere
By Dr. Sally Brown, University of Washington
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Instead of reading this summary- you could just read one of my latest pieces in Biocycle. Another option if you don’t want to read the Biocycle piece or the library blurb is to take a look at the graphic above from CASA (Thanks Greg Kester!)
The point of both of those is that biosolids are not the source here. We may be getting the blame but we are way down on the PFAS food chain. PFAS- or the 9000+ versions of these chemicals are ubiquitous- in our homes, in products and across the globe.
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Compost and Community Gardens
By Dr. Sally Brown, University of Washington
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Community gardens can be a lovely place to grow flowers, meet your neighbors, and swap tips on cultivation. They can also be a savior for neighborhoods, provide fresh vegetables in urban food deserts and improve diets and health. Using biosolids based soil products in these gardens is a way to make both the soils and the plants flourish. I am currently writing the last manuscript in a 3-part series, funded by NW Biosolids and King County. The first article, revised and in review, focused on soil response to amendments and plant yield and nutrient content. The second, in print, was a profile of the Harvest Pierce County (HPC) program. This program supports over 80 gardens with all gardens getting delivery on demand of Tagro and a yard waste compost. Kristen McIvor, the lead for the program will be talking about it as our keynote speaker at Biofest this year. In addition to the HPC survey, last year we did an extensive survey of community gardens in King County. The third paper will put together the results of the first two to estimate how much of the biosolids these programs could use and how much food they can grow. For this research story, I’m going to focus on the results of the community garden surveys. |
See you Sept. 25-27 at Biofest! |
Northwest Biosolids is looking forward to seeing you all at Biofest in a couple of weeks! If you cannot join in person, join us virtually for the discounted rate of $450! For more info, check out our Biofest website. |
Washington State Operators: Permit Applications Due Sept. 13, 2022 |
Existing baseline only facilities do not need to submit applications. They will be automatically covered on the effective date of the permit, July 15, 2022.
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Biofest Sprout Sponsor Spotlight |
20+-year company in the biosolids and organics solution business.
We partner with the wastewater sector to provide a proven technology that turns biosolids and organics into a nutrient-rich fertilizer product for the agriculture industry
“Nothing is wasted, but there is everything to gain”
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Biofest Sprout Sponsor Spotlight |
Founded in 1986, Synagro Technologies, Inc. works to turn waste into worth by helping more than 1,000 municipal, industrial water, and wastewater facilities, and agricultural partners in North America move toward safer, cleaner, and more environmentally beneficial practices. For some, it’s simply cleaning the water supply. For others, it’s much more – we partner with them to process their waste for compost or energy pellets, creating healthy soil and sequestering carbon in the process. As the largest recycler of organic by-products in North America, we’re trusted because we remove risks while keeping the logistics clean. Because we have the most experienced team in the industry, we can offer tailored solutions that ensure no waste goes to waste. Much of our work isn’t pretty. But it’s a greener world emerging from a cleaner one – worth coming from waste – and we think that’s pretty beautiful. Visit www.synagro.com to learn more.
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Biofest Sprout Sponsor Spotlight |
Natural Selection Farms is a Beneficial Use Facility located in the Yakima Valley. We have been land applying biosolids since 1992 and have over 300,000 acres of permitted ground. We are family owned and operated and work with over 25 municipalities throughout Washington State.
Natural Selection Farms manages the hauling and land application of biosolids. We coordinate with the WWTP Plant Operators, Department of Ecology and local farmers to ensure the successful management of biosolids once they leave the treatment facilities to near by fields for land application. We have been part of multiple research projects though University of Washington, Washington State University, Oregon State University and University of Arizona.
Fun fact: We are a fourth generation family farm that farms cherries, pears and juice grapes. We also operate a 25 acre commercial composting facility diverting over 80,000 tons of material from the landfill annually.
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Biofest Sprout Sponsor Spotlight |
Fire Mountain Farms became involved in biosolids recycling projects in 1984 while farming 140 acres. The opportunities to grow and make an impact on our community have been plentiful throughout the years.
Setting the pace for the industry is just who we are. Working in conjunction with Department of Ecology and Wastewater Treatments Plants we are able to dredge lagoons, transport material and apply to agricultural land for much less than our competitors; saving cities, and taxpayers, a lot of money. We are also putting a renewable resource to good work as a fertilizer!
Fire Mountain Farms is unique in the way that we must work with contractors, commercial truck drivers, Department of Ecology, Department of Health, Wastewater Treatment Plants, farmers and neighbors to strike a balance in a tricky business that has offered us the opportunity to work in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
Today our operation consists of over 800 acres throughout Lewis County in Washington state. We remain a family owned and operated business and continue to meet the growing demands of our suppliers.
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