A Modernized Biosolids Management Plan for New York City's Water Pollution Control Plants

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection's (NYCDEP) original biosolids master plan was created nearly 20 years ago, in response to the Ocean Dumping Ban of 1988. NYCDEP endeavored to develop an updated biosolids management plan to guide future capital expenditures for construction and rehabilitation related to the solids handling processes for the water pollution control plants under its management. The approach that NYCDEP has taken in assessing the treatment, collection, transportation, and end use of biosolids and residuals generated by these plants as well as additional contributions from the new 290 million-gallon-per-day (mgd) Croton Filtration Plant for drinking water, includes analyses of the following: (1) Current conditions and performance of existing facilities (2) Prioritization of potential repair and replacement projects to maximize sustainability of biosolids treatment and end use (3) Minimizing the energy utilized by the entire biosolids processing, transportation, and end use system to reduce the NYCDEP's carbon footprint (4) Utilization of digester gas onsite and in partnership with other consumers (5) Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (6) Screening analysis of potential modifications and additions to help increase the reliability and flexibility of the city's biosolids facilities (7) Potential markets for different types of biosolids products (8) Public-private partnership opportunities for biosolids processing and beneficial use