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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-SJC-2021-06-092021.06.09 APPROVED SJC Minutes.doc 1 SJC MEETING June 9, 2021 SJC Members Staff Cynthia Brock, Chair CJ Kilgore Jason Leifer Scott Gibson Rich DePaolo Steve Thayer Scott Reynolds Jose Lozano Donna Fleming Bill Goodman Guest Tee-Ann Hunter Joe Slater; Town of Ithaca Ray Burger; Town of Dryden (alternate) Luis Aguirre-Torres; City of Ithaca Absent David Warden Cynthia called the Zoom meeting to order at 1:01 p.m. Introductions were made. There were no additions or deletions to the agenda. Tee-Ann MOVED to accept the May 12th minutes. Seconded by Donna. Approved 6 - 0. Financial Report – Steve Thayer. Activity through December 31, 2020 – preparing to close in the next week or so - there were no changes from last month. Activity through May 31, 2021 Revenue – We have collected $1,767,000.00 to date 2021. Revenues are slow to come in – we have accounted for all of the 2020 septage service activity. All owners first and second quarterly payments have been received. Steve believes that even with the digester issue we will be able to meet our budgeted amount. Expenses – We have spent roughly $2,088,000.00 to date. Steve will be adjusting the Hourly Part Time Account 5120. Equipment Parts 5477 is running higher than budgeted – we have currently spent $88,000.00 in parts. Utilities 5410 are tracking close to budget. Our net deficit is currently $321,000.00 - we are just about where we should be at this time. Keep in mind that not all expenses follow the calendar. Capital Projects – May 2021. CAP 422J had approximately $700,000.00 in expenses – the majority related to construction activity. CAP 414J had $1,400.00 in design/engineering costs. 2021.06.09 APPROVED SJC Minutes.doc 2 Steve mentioned that it is time to start thinking about the 2022 Budget. Scott Reynolds questioned the $5,000.00 gift/donation - a one-time grant from Cornell to cover staff time. Operations and Engineering Report – CJ Kilgore 1. Plant Maintenance & Operations – a. Primary Digester – The digester pump down/dewatering has begun. b. Aeration System – Turblex Blower Replacement Authorization – The blowers were shipped out and have arrived at the repair facility. 2. Facilities Maintenance & Operations a. Grit Removal and Misc. Improvements – The grit removal system (head cell) is up and operating. b. Flow Monitoring – continuing. Data is being collected. Trumansburg Road needs to be adjusted. Thurston Ave will be up and running as soon as the Cornell construction project is complete. Joe added that some recalibration might be necessary on some of the meters. Cynthia suggested that staff should arrange a meeting to discuss/resolve meter issues. 3. Staff Management – 4. Reporting – 5. Business, Long Term development – 6. Energy Production Statistics – provided by CJ. Discussion Items – Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law – Luis Aguirre-Torres; Director of Sustainability. There is a new Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law in New York State effective January 1, 2022. Source reduction, recovery, repurposing, and recycling. The law pertains to food waste generators with an annual average of 2 tons per week. Our anaerobic digester allows us to take in food waste. Scott and CJ met with an engineering consulting firm to discuss planning the next capital project. This firm arranges/facilitates the arranging of partnerships and secures grants they would like to make a presentation to the board. CJ offered that he wants to include improvements to our trucked waste facility - accepting more wastes (food waste and grease) and upgrading to Class A Biosolids in addition to other improvements - in the next capital project. He hopes to have something to bring to the members in the next couple of months. The producers must provide the food waste in a form that we can treat - CJ is planning to take in pumpable food waste. 2021.06.09 APPROVED SJC Minutes.doc 3 Green Energy Grant Opportunities – Luis Aguirre-Torres – Green New Deal - a mission- oriented, coordinated and collaborative approach to carbon neutrality by 2030. Opportunities at the plant include: decarbonization and carbon capture, increasing biogas production, electricity generation and the creation of a microgrid. Luis added that NYSEG has expressed interest in partnering with the plant on a biomass gasification chamber to produce biochar. There is a July 30, 2021 deadline for the New York State Consolidated Funding Application. Luis spoke of a letter to Senators Gillibrand and Schumer requesting $1,000,000.00 to implement climate change adaption and resilience measures, as well as greenhouse gas mitigation actions at the plant. Cynthia said that taking in additional high nutrient waste will allow us to increase energy capture/production while staying well within our capacity limits. CJ reminded the members that we are not yet producing enough energy to power our plant. Modifications to trucked waste we allow us to take in more grease and other high strength wastes to increase our energy production. Jose added that he has been studying co-digestion with Cornell – the studies have revealed that we have reserve capacity and that we will be able to take in the food waste generated in Tompkins County. He said it is very likely that we could retro fit our anaerobic digester to produce more biogas. Jose stressed that now is the time to participate in pilot and feasibility studies due to the grant funding opportunities that are available. He reiterated that going beyond sludge drying to biochar production will increase our energy production - the byproduct has a market value and the land application of biochar is carbon negative. Cynthia said this is a wonderful opportunity especially with the ability to partner with others. Tee-Ann asked for an outline of the project scope. Jose said that nothing has been formalized at this point. CJ hopes to be able to have an engineering firm look at our needs and make recommendations. The members are in support of pursuing a request for funding a feasibility study. Jose will share the completed application before the SJC meets again. Group of Six – Bill Goodman - The Village of Cayuga Heights would like to use the Kline Road bypass during high flow/heavy rain events. The group has been discussing the fee that would be charged for the ability to send us their overflow. Cayuga Heights is working with the Town and the Village of Lansing to split the fee. Bill briefed the members of the history - the Village of Cayuga Heights wants to change the way the sewage flows through the Kline Road bypass. Borg Warner will be treating their own sewage and to make up for that loss – Cayuga Heights wants to take “Old Village” (we have been taking the sewage from Old Village). Old Village will become a client of Cayuga Heights. Cynthia shared the impact on O&M – the City share will be an additional $40,000.00 the Dryden share will be an additional $1,500.00 and the Town of Ithaca share will be $41,000.00 less. Eighteen years ago, the six municipalities agreed to work together to help each other in order to secure grant monies. Cynthia added that the Plant to Plant Agreements are set to expire in May 2026. CJ feels that we should help Cayuga Heights avoid violations and plant overload. Donna agrees that we should promote intermunicipal cooperation Cynthia calculated a wastewater treatment fee of $3,000.00 and an annual fee exceeding $10,000.00 to maintain the pipe. 2021.06.09 APPROVED SJC Minutes.doc 4 A discussion on how to charge the Village - minimal fee, flat fee, demand charge fee, maintenance fee, surge fee and/or overflow fee followed. Bill offered that Cayuga Heights agreed to maintain the meters if they are to be used for billing purposes. SJC Comment Letter - Cayuga Lake Draft TMDL – Cynthia asked for and received approval to share/forward the comment letter to the DEC on behalf of the municipal owners. Cynthia agreed to the modifications to the letter as proposed by Rich, CJ and Donna. ITHACA AREA WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY TOWN OF ITHACA CITY OF ITHACA TOWN OF DRYDEN, OWNERS 525 THIRD STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 (607)273-8381 FAX (607)273-8433 9 June 2021 To Whom it May Concern, I am the Chairperson of the Special Joint Committee (SJC) of municipal owners of the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility (IAWWTF). Please accept our comments on the Draft TMDL for Cayuga Lake. The IAWWTF is a 13.1 MGD facility jointly owned by the City of Ithaca, Town of Ithaca and Town of Dryden and serving four municipalities. Our municipal owners are committed to protecting Cayuga Lake and have invested over $30 million into the IAWWTF to install state-of-the-art equipment and optimize treatment processes. The City of Ithaca has provided comments dated June 8, 2021 and we ask that you consider our comments in tandem, as they pertain to the IAWWTF. The draft TMDL identifies that the four permitted WWTFs in the southern end of the watershed and Cornell Lake Source Cooling are permitted to contribute up to 21.8% of the annual TP load to the southern end segment of the lake, and that point source contributions (specifically the wastewater sector) were found to be small relative to nonpoint sources. The IAWWTF’s TP emissions are typically far below our permitted limit. The IAWWTF’s success over our 34-year existence in having substantially decreased phosphorus discharges into the southern end of Cayuga Lake is recognized in the draft TMDL. We have invested in state-of-the-art co-generation equipment, optimized tertiary phosphorus reduction treatment processes, and energy reduction initiatives to best maintain the health of Cayuga Lake and our community.