Looks like Azurix North America won out on this project as Thermo Tech once AGAIN lost.
Cayman
TT Firm Drops Sludge Plans:
ragingbull.lycos.com
Sludge Plant Possible For Hamilton
Apr. 4, 2001. 12:18 AM
Firm eyes city for factory that would turn waste in to fertilizer
HAMILTON - Hamilton is a potential site for a $100-million plant to turn sewage sludge into fertilizer.
The idea of such a plant is being explored by Azurix North America, headquartered in the Stelco Tower in downtown Hamilton.
John Stokes, company president and CEO, said yesterday it could be built in any of the major municipalities the company serves, among them Hamilton, Halton, Niagara and Waterloo.
It would serve a wide area of southern Ontario, turning liquid sludge into dry fertilizer pellets that are easier to store and to apply on farmland. Because the process involves high-temperature drying, it kills bacteria, viruses, and parasites, removing a major worry about sludge use.
Azurix already operates a pellet plant for the city of Windsor, Toronto is building one to handle half its sludge, and there's a small plant in Smiths Falls near Ottawa.
While many places would welcome the investment, a pellet plant would not create many jobs and would likely face opposition from area residents. For instance, a site near the Woodward Avenue sewage treatment plant in east Hamilton would only add to complaints about too many waste-disposal operations in the area.
Stokes said a suitable site would be in an industrial area, with good highway access for trucks, suitable fuel supplies, and close to a wastewater treatment plant to handle water removed from the sludge.
''Any of our major clients could be in the running, but we don't want to get into a squabble over siting. If a municipality were interested in hosting it on a cost-sharing business, we would be happy, or we could site it independently and be the sole owner. It's still at a conceptual stage. We will be exploring it with all parties.''
In an informal discussion with a group of Hamilton Spectator reporters and editors yesterday, Stokes said: ''We would like to prove going to pelletization would eliminate many concerns. It's heated and baked, so 100 per cent of pathogens are killed. It smells like mowed grass. You can store it and mix it with other fertilizer, so you don't trample the fields (as can happen with heavy truckloads of sludge).''
Another major concern, which would remain, is the level of toxic heavy metals in the sludge.
Pellets produced by the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin have long been sold for use on lawns in the U.S. and now is certified safe for use on backyard vegetable gardens. But Canada has not approved the unregulated sale of pelletized sludge even for farms. Stokes said it is still subject to all the regulations for liquid and semi-dry sludge, requiring permits from Ontario's Ministry of the Environment for any site on which it is stored or spread.
He's hoping a customer city will offer itself as a plant site and further wants the federal or provincial governments to come up with cash to demonstrate the benefits.
Azurix has quietly raised the possibility with some client communities, but hasn't approached higher levels of government. Stokes said a SuperBuild application - for a grant split three ways by Ottawa, Queen's Park and municipalities - is a possibility.
Azurix set up shop in Canada when it took over a contract to run Hamilton's water- and sewage-treatment facilities. It now employs more than 1,000 people, half of them in Canada, including 225 in the Stelco Tower. Among other things, it manages water- and wastewater treatment facilities, is a major player in handling sewage and paper sludges and other industrial residuals, rehabilitates and rebuilds underground piping, and offers a range of engineering resources.
It's fully owned by Texas-based Azurix Corp., an offshoot of Enron Corp. Sales this year are forecast at $150 million.
Torstar News Service
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