New Energy Initiatives:
Opportunities for Collaboration
Between Dairies and Wastewater Utilities
Martha Davis
Executive Manager for Policy Development
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
IEUA is a public water and wastewater utility
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Provides services for 6 cities
and 2 water districts in the
Chino Basin -- serving about
700,000 people
Owns/operates 4 wastewater
treatment plants -- 55 million
gallons per day
Produces 170 tons of Class A
& B biosolids per day and
70,000 acre-feet per year of
high quality recycled water
Owns/operates a cocomposting facility for dairy
manure and biosolids –
200,000 tons per year
Chino Basin Concern: The Environmental Impact
60
$1 Billion Dairy Industry
15
15
71
330,000
Cows
“... like an
unsewered city
of 2.8 million
people”
Salts & Nutrients
Water Supply
Wildlife / Wetlands
Prado
Basin
Orange
County
91
The Chino Groundwater Basin
is one of the Largest Groundwater Resources
in Southern California.
•220 square miles
•5-7 million acre-feet of storage
•Adjudicated groundwater basin
•Provides water for over 1 million people
•Critical source of dry year water supplies
•Up to 700,000 acre-feet unused storage capacity
State Water
Chino Groundwater Basin
Chino Hills
Colorado
River
Water
Prado
Basin
Santa Ana Mountains
Pacific
Ocean
Orange County
Groundwater
Basin
Growth in the Chino Basin
Vineyard Avenue @
Schafer Avenue
Riverside Drive
Chino Basin
Organics Management Program
Dairies
Manure
Wash Water
Biodigester
Biosolids
Energy
Nutrients
Green & Food
Residuals
Air Quality
Compost
Chino Basin Organics Management
Program Goals
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Produce through anaerobic digestion sufficient methane gas to generate 50
megawatts of clean, renewable energy by 2006
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Recycle organic wastes into fertilizer products in a cost-effective manner
using environmental safe enclosed facilities with local use of the fertilizer
products a first priority
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Reduce local air and water pollution
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Implement strategies that minimize diesel truck trips
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Accomplish these goals in a manner that does not negatively impact IEUA’s
finances, and where possible, generate significant cost savings
Chino Basin: Integrated Resources Management
Organics Management
Center
Biodigester
Co-Composter &
“Safe Haven”
Manure Storage
60
On-Site
Containment
Drainage
Intercept
System
Recycled
Water
System
OCWD
Constructed
Wetlands
Agriculture / Open Space
and Wildlife Habitat
Acquisition
Farming
Dairy Pilot
Sewer Project
Groundwater
Desalting
Dairy Manure Management
Phase I Pilot Projects
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Design to serve multiple dairies (“cluster” digesters), building upon IEUA’s
existing anaerobic digester infrastructure and operation expertise
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Develop Phase I Pilot Projects through federal-state-local government and
private partnerships
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7 dairies, 6,250 cows
136,875 tons per year (375 tons per day)
USDA/NRCS
California Energy Commission
South Coast Air Pollution Control District
Chino Basin Desalting Authority
Milk Producers Council
Synagro
Phase I Pilot Projects Budget: $15 million expended over 18 months
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$ 5 million USDA/NRCS
$ 5 million California Energy Commission
$ 5 million Local Funding Sources, including South Coast AQMD
Dairy Manure Management
Phase I Pilot Projects
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RP1 Regional Sewage Treatment Plant
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Traditional complete-mix thermophilic anaerobic digester
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Processes mixture of dairy manure and biosolids (150 tons/day of
manure)
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Existing facilities retrofitted within 12 months
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Project is on-line and produces .25 megawatts of clean, renewable power
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Methane gas feeds microturbines that offset electric energy requirements
of the sewage treatment plant
Dairy Manure Management
Phase I Pilot Projects
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RP5 Renewable Energy Project
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Mesophilic Plug Flow Digester
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Processes only dairy manure (225 tons/day)
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Built within 18 months
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Project is on-line and produces .50 megawatts of clean renewable power
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Methane gas is piped to Chino Basin Desalter and produces 8,000 acrefeet of clean water serving the communities of Chino, Chino Hills and
the Jurupa Services District
Dairies located within 1 to 5 miles
from RP-1 and RP-5 Manure Digesters
RP-1
LEGEND
IEUA Boundary
Streams
Streets
RP-5
Regional Plant
Manure Digester
Partner Dairy
Location
Typical Dairy in
Chino Basin
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800 to 2000 milk cows
Open corrals, apron feeding area
Use evaporation ponds for waste
and storm water management
Manure trucked off site 2 or more
times per year to land spreading or
composting
Cost Per Dairy
$80,000.00
$60,000.00
$40,000.00
$20,000.00
$0.00
1996
1997
1998
Year
1999
2001
Operations Control and Scale
Receiving Tank
Truck delivery
(with hose)
Existing RP-5 Operations
To Biofilter
3 step dewatering
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Gravity Belt
Screw Press
Centrifuge to
reduce water
hauling and meet
sewer discharge
standards
DESALTER
DIGESTER
IEUA Distributed Generation
Southern System
New
Headquarters
RP-5
Desalter
Legend
Methane Gas line
12 V Power line
Methane to
Power Digester
RP-2
Environmental Benefits

Renewable Energy – Increase Self Sufficiency, Green
Power
 Self Sufficiency/Reduced Peak Load
 Support State’s Goals for Renewable Energy Portfolio
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Water Quality – Reduce Salt and Nitrates
 Achieve Goals of Santa Ana Region Water Basin
Plan/OBMP/CAFO rules
 Support Recycled Water/Conjunctive Water Management
Programs and regional goal of reducing demand for
imported water supplies
 Protect Downstream Water Users
Environmental Benefits
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Air Quality – Reduce Pollutants, Greenhouse Gases, NH3
 Achieve Goals of South Coast Air Quality Management
District including New Composting and CAFO Regulations
 Reduce Global Warming Gases (Federal Clean Skies)
 Reduce Diesel Truck Traffic
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On Farm and Quality of Life Improvements
 Less odors and flies
 Improved herd health
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Regional Soil Quality Benefits
 High quality compost improves low organic soils
 Secondary benefits (see NRCS Soil Quality Inst. Web site)
RP5/RP1 Digester Performance
Benefit
Performance Measure
Water Quality
Manure Processed: 10,264 tons (corral equivalent)
(7 dairies, estimated 6,250 cows)
TDS Salt Diverted:
790 tons
Nitrate-N Diverted:
33 tons
Ammonia-N Diverted: 370 tons
Renewable Energy
Methane Goal:
315,000 cubic feet/day
Energy Production Goal:
.75 Megawatts
Air Quality
Methane Reduced:
Nitrous Oxide Reduced:
PM 10 Reduced:
Ammonia Reduced:
???
???
???
???
Summary of
Baseline and Post-Digester Emissions
Pollutant
Tons per Yr
Baseline
Emissions
PostDigester
Emissions
Reductions
Methane
Nitrous
Oxide
Ammonia
648.8
33.4
384
420.6
2.0
98.2
228.2
31.4
285.8
October 2003, Environmental Resources Trust, Inc.
Summary of Baseline and
Post-Digester GHG Emissions
Pollutant
GHG Emissions
(CH4+N2O) tons CO2-eq/yr
Baseline Emissions
Post-Digester Emissions
Reductions
October 2003, Environmental Resources Trust, Inc.
23,979
9,438
14,541
Potential Sources of
Revenue and Cost Offsets
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Renewable Energy
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Air Quality
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Use Generated Energy on-site – reduce energy purchases from the grid
(8-20 cents/kWh)
Sell Green Tags – California Energy Commission defining program (1-2
cents/kWh)
Sell Energy to Grid/Investor Owned Utilities (1-4 cents/kWh)
Sell Greenhouse Gas Credits ($1-3/ton of CO2 equivalent)
Sell PM 10/2.5 Credits
?? Additional Pollutant Markets? Value of Regional Air Quality
Improvements?
Water Quality
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Value of salt and nitrate reductions?
Conclusions
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Centralized “Cluster” Digester/Private-Public Dairy Industry –
Utility Partnership Model is key to a successful implementation
strategy
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Need to develop economic model with revenue or cost offsets to
make it cost effective for dairies to use manure management
systems that include anaerobic digesters
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Air Quality and other environmental benefits have the potential
to generate significant revenue or cost offsets.
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Immediate need: document benefits and test existing markets
Long term need: develop additional market mechanisms for capture the
value of environmental benefits
What People Are Saying…
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IEUA’s…”approach of using local organic material to generate methane gas and produce
electricity also contributes greatly to a regional solution to the Chino Basin’s dairy manure
disposal problem as well as help to meet future water quality requirements.”
Art Baggett, Chair, State Water Resources Control Board
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“During the past year, IEUA completed the construction of the first large-scale anaerobic digester
that demonstrates the technical feasibility to generate renewable energy in combination with
composting of manure. This project has set a standard for the nation, and will serve as a model
for similar projects to be implemented in Texas, Idaho, New Mexico and other states.”
U.S. Representatives David Dreier, Gary Miller and Ken Calvert
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“Your project is a “win-win” for everyone…The approach being taken by your Agency is a model
for the State…Many other regions in the State, especially in the Central Valley, will benefit from
the work that your Agency is undertaking.”
C. Brian Haddix, Undersecretary, California Environmental Protection Agency
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“The benefits to Southern California and the state are clear, too...keeping pollution out of the
groundwater basin, making more water available to the environmental locally and statewide by
improving water quality and expanding the water supply and reducing air pollution and solid
waste.”
Frances Spivey-Weber, Executive Director, Mono Lake Committee
For More Information
Martha Davis
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
6075 Kimball Avenue
Chino, Ca 91710
909-993-1742
mdavis@ieua.org
www.ieua.org