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DRAFT – 05/05/2008
Per direction of ECSC Waste & Energy Implications subcommittee
Recommendations have not yet been adopted
Date
Alachua County Board of County Commissioners
PO Drawer 2877
Gainesville, Florida 32602
RE: ZOX-05-07
GRU request for special exception to continue land application of sewage sludge biosolids
Chair Long and Commissioners,
The Alachua County Energy Conservation Strategies Commission (ECSC) adopted
recommendations on XX date re: the above-referenced Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU)
special exception application. Those recommendations are as follows:
ECSC RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Recommend denial of Application ZOX-05-07, because, per Comprehensive Plan
Objective 5.1 (Conservation Element), the application does not reduce overall energy
requirements for County residents.
Since GRU has stated (Biosolids Management Report, February 2007, page 3.7.) that it
can renew its existing lease agreement with the property owner, the ECSC
recommendation does not affect GRU’s current operations (only its desire to own the
land on which it spreads sewage sludge biosolids.)
2. Recommend that, if the Alachua County Commission chooses to approve Application
ZOX-05-07, it attach conditions in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
[Attachments A & B]
3. After study, the ECSC recommends the use of anaerobic digestion and heat
drying/pelletizing of sewage sludge biosolids in order to produce a Class AA organic
fertilizer, instead of GRU’s current process of aerobic digestion and land spreading of
Class B sewage sludge biosolids.
Energy from gases captured in the anaerobic digestion process can be used in the heat
drying process to create the Class AA soil amendment pellets. [Attachment C, the draft
ECSC-WEIS Biosolids report.]
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Recommend that the Alachua County Commission suggest to the Gainesville City
Commission that it direct GRU to review its wastewater treatment operations, so as to
develop an energy-sustainable program for use of sewage sludge biosolids that reduces
overall energy requirements to Alachua County residents; and to seriously consider, for
the sustainable long term, anaerobic digestion and heat drying/pelletizing of sewage
sludge biosolids.
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
ECSC REVIEW-JUSTIFICATION
The Alachua County Comprehensive Plan - Objective 5.1 (Conservation Element) states:
“Provide for energy efficiency in human activities, land uses, and development patterns in order
to reduce overall energy requirements for the County and its residents.”

Resolution 07-18, which created the ECSC and was approved by the County Commission
on March 27, 2007, states in part:
Section 4. Responsibilities and Duties. The responsibilities of the Advisory Board shall be to
develop an exhaustive "menu of options" implementable by local government, with the goal of
reducing per capita energy consumption in Alachua County. Topics for consideration should
include, but not be limited to: energy efficiency standards for new County construction; County
operations and maintenance; incentives for energy efficiency in private sector construction;
County Land Development Regulations; land use planning; transportation; renewable energy
options; and public education. (Italics added)
ECSC REVIEW-PROCESS
For its section of the ECSC final report, the ECSC-Waste and Energy Implications subcommittee
(ECSC-WEIS) included a review of energy issues associated with both liquid and solid ‘wastes’.
When the GRU special exception application was brought to the subcommittee’s attention,
ECSC-WEIS began to review it for its long-term energy consumption implications within Alachua
County.
November 13, 2007 - GRU was invited to make a presentation to the ECSC-WEIS subcommittee
about its special exception application and Biosolids Management Plan. [Attachment D]
The GRU Biosolids Management Plan is GRU’s guiding document for biosolids management,
and is referenced in application ZOX-05-07 (as “Biosolids Master Plan” in Appendix B:
Gainesville City Commission presentation, July 23, 2007, Slide 4.)
November 13, 2007; December 11, 2007; and April 3 & 11, 2008 - GRU staff members attended
ECSC-WEIS subcommittee meetings.
December 11, 2007, February 12, and April 3, 2008 – ECSC-WEIS heard presentations from Dr.
Ann Wilkie, UF Research Associate Professor in Environmental Microbiology, and
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internationally-recognized in the field of anaerobic digestion; Dr. Dave O’Keefe, President of
Full Circle Solutions; an anaerobic digestion consulting firm; and Dr. Amir Varshovi, a UF
graduate in Soil and Water Science, with whom the Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA) entered
into partnership. JEA uses Dr. Varshovi’s “Green Edge” technology to make slow-release,
organic fertilizer pellets out of biosolids from Duval County’s municipal sewage sludge.
April 14, 2008 - ECSC-WEIS subcommittee members, Alachua County staff (Sean McLendon, Gus
Olmos) and GRU staff (Ron Herget, Rick Hutton) toured the Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA)
Buckman Wastewater Treatment Plant (rated at 52.5 million gallons/day), where JEA processes
all of the sewage sludge from Jacksonville and Duval County.
The process used by JEA creates “pelletized” Class AA sewage sludge biosolids (as opposed to
GRU’s Class B sewage sludge biosolids.) These pellets are marketed as a “Green Edge”, a slowrelease organic fertilizer and soil amendment. In this treatment process, JEA captures methane
gas, and uses it to power 65% of the process.
With upgrades and improvements to JEA’s old retrofitted facility, there will likely be increases
in the amount of methane captured in the future.
ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit A includes excerpts from the Alachua County Land Development Regulations re: special
exceptions.
Exhibit B includes ECSC-WEIS subcommittee observations and recommended conditions about
application ZOX-05-07.
Exhibit C includes the ECSC-WEIS draft of the Biosolids report.
ECSC-WEIS extensively reviewed GRU’s Biosolids Management Plan, which is attached in its
entirety as Exhibit D.
Exhibit E contains the ECSC public records request, and GRU’s responses. The ECSC-WEIS
subcommittee obtained ECSC approval on December 17, 2007 to make a formal public records
request of GRU for additional information, subsequent to their November 17th presentation to
ECSC-WEIS.
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Thank you for your attention to this item. If the ECSC or ECSC-WEIS can answer any questions,
please let me know.
With kind regards,
Penny Wheat
Chair, Alachua County Energy Conservation Strategies Commission (ECSC)
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Cc:
Randall Reid, Manager – Alachua County
Dave Wagner, Attorney – Alachua County
Rick Drummond, Assistant County Manager & Director, Alachua County Growth Management
Chris Bird, Director - Alachua County Environmental Protection Department
ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit A - excerpts from the Alachua County Land Development Regulations re: special
exceptions.
Exhibit B - ECSC-WEIS subcommittee observations and recommended conditions about
application ZOX-05-07.
Exhibit C - ECSC-WEIS draft report on Biosolids.
Exhibit D - GRU Biosolids Management Plan.
Exhibit E - ECSC public records request of GRU, and GRU’s responses.
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