CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG UTILITY DEPARTMENT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF MEETING
November 20, 2014
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility Department Advisory Committee met Thursday, November
20th, 2014, 2:30 pm at 4222 Westmont Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Members Present:
Jim Duke, Jim Merrifield, Ron Charbonneau, Ralph Messera, Pride
Patton, Frank McMahan, Leslie Jones
Members Absent:
Staff Present:
Barry Gullet
Kim Eagle
Barry Shearin
Regina Cousar
Chad Howell
Jennifer Frost
Steve Miller
Jean Creech
Director
Deputy Director
Deputy Director
Continuous Improvement Officer
Business Manager
Assistant to the Director
Customer Service Division Manager
Residuals Technical Services Manager
Safety Minute
Protective Clothing
Minutes
A motion was made by Jim Duke, and seconded by Jim Merrifield, to approve the October 2014
minutes. Motion was approved.
Bio Solids Permitting Process
A presentation was given to CMUD Advisory regarding the Bio Solids permitting process and
the land application process. CMUD treats an average of 81 million gallons of waste water every
day. Biosolids are safe, nutrient-rich organic material resulting from the treatment of wastewater.
CMUD produces “Class B” bio solids at four of its five wastewater treatment plants (Sludge
from the Sugar Creek Plant are piped to McAlpine Creek where it is treated to become
biosolids). Biosolids can be applied to land that produces animal feed crops but not land
producing crops for direct human consumption. Bio solids are recycled through land application
on more than 16,000 acres of private farmland in our region. Each of these sites must be
permitted with the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources or the
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. The State of North Carolina
permits expires March of 2015 however; CMUD has already filed the application to renew that
permit and to increase the permitted acreage in N.C. CMUD targets maintaining a permitted
land base of about 18,000 acres between NC and SC. CMUD only uses about 4,000 acres each
year since each site is typically only used every two or three years. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency classifies biosolids as a category of either Class A or Class B. The difference
arises from the type of treatment they receive. Class B has pathogenic bacteria reduced to low
levels but does not completely eliminate them. Class A biosolids are actually pasteurized to
eliminate all of the pathogens. The Biosolids Master plan encourages conversion of about 85%
of CMUD’s biosolids to Class A through a thermal hydrolysis process. Capital investment
required for equipment to do this is estimated to cost about $67M. Class A material is suitable
for more applications and therefore would provide more diversity and flexibility of the disposal.
A further step would to thermally dry the Class A material to further reduce the volume and to
provide additional disposal options. This additional process can add another $50M in capital
costs.
Budget Process Update
The City’s FY2016 budget kickoff was November 5th. Some areas of context for the City’s
budget are pay equity, no property tax increase, along with the consideration for salary budget to
be tied to revenue growth. A critical point of the City’s budget this year is the General Fund loss
of its Business Privilege License tax which was at the cost of $18M. CMUDs internal budget
process kickoff was November 13th. The vision surrounding CMUDs budget process are
positive impact to stakeholders, work processes, employees and continuing to be a sustainable
utility. The budget process bridges over to several CMUD staff divisionally that helps the
Finance team put together a final budget that will be presented to council in early May 2015.
Monthly Budget Update
This month we continued the positive trend in Revenue Collections with Water and Sewer
Volumetric Revenues exceeding projections and Capacity and Connection Fees also exceeding
projections. Additionally, we continue to project operating cost savings.
Miscellaneous
At the annual NC American Water Works Association-Water Environment Association
(NCAWWA-WEA) Conference this year CMUD and many CMUD workers’ achievements
were recognized with prestigious awards and honors. CMUD won the Large Wastewater
Collection System of the Year Award for the second consecutive year. Jackie Jarrell was
presented with one of the highest honors bestowed by the Water Environment Federation (WEF)
– the Arthur Sidney Bedell Award. Angela Lee was presented with the prestigious Warren G.
Fuller Award. Several other CMUD employees also received awards and honors. Many of
CMUD staff presented technical papers as well. CMUD will continue to strive to be leaders in
the state and step up to the plate.
Meeting Adjourned
3:45
TGN