OWB secures discharge permit
BRAWLEY — The City Council approved a modified permit on Friday to allow One World Beef to discharge their pre-treated effluent to the city’s wastewater treatment plant beginning Monday.
The action occurred after a successful meeting earlier in the week in which several outstanding issues were addressed, noted City Manager Rosanna Bayon Moore in an email. At that time, OWB submitted previously requested data to satisfy the city’s pretreatment requirements.
The permit will be valid for up to one year. OWB’s long-range solution is to develop its biofiltro technology that features a series of concrete beds housing a bottom layer of gravel with space for aeration and water percolation, covered with a bed of wood shavings, loaded with California red worms. The system breaks down nitrates, phosphorus, oils, fats and other compounds, within about four hours.
This pretreated effluent will then irrigate 140 acres, 10 on site and 130 adjacent to the plant to irrigate fields to grow forage crops for livestock. OWB estimates they can have the biofiltro system ready to operate in about eight months. But in order to allow for unexpected delays in completing the system, Jose Angel, executive officer of the Regional Water Quality Control Board, recommended 12 months.
OWB has agreed that the waste-stream requirements not exceed certain levels of ammonia that was a major issue in denying the permit earlier in the year, noted Mayor Sam Couchman. Also at last week’s meeting, the city approved OWB’s request to substitute an odor mitigation plan for conditions that are now part of the RWQCB’s permit. With this approval the city issued OWB its business license (renewed every year) and final certificate of occupancy (renewed periodically), which had expired on Jan. 31.
“We’ll continue to monitor for odor issues, but I personally do not consider a great public nuisance but if any complaints come up we’ll need to deal with it, not to say it will,” said Couchman.
The RWQCB set a standard to keep any odor emission below a certain threshold. If any complaints arise the city will respond on an as-needed basis. But OWB still needs a permit to build the biolfiltro system and they must show plans of how they will build it, how they inject effluent into the beds and how the pretreated effluent is then distribute to the crop fields, Couchman pointed out.
OWB will cooperate with Jack Holt, the city’s principal engineer of the Public Works Department and Francisco Soto, manager of the Building Department to provide information on how the above will operate to obtain the building permit.
In addition to permitting the city also rehabilitated a 3 million gallon airport water storage tank that provides steady water pressure during high volume water demand periods and also improves water quality.
“We see it all as very positive and productive,” said Couchman. “We’re excited to see the project move forward because our goal is to support OWB and other developments that boost the economy and create jobs, while advancing the quality of life for our residents.”