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Award Winning PMP
The City of St. Cloud won a 2003 Governor's
Award for Excellence in Waste and Pollution Prevention
for its Phosphorus Management Plan. The plan prevented
and controlled the use of phosphorus in the service
area, thus reducing the amount that has to be removed
from wastewater. Specifically, the PMP reduced the amount
of phosphorus coming into the facility by 32% and reduced
the amount of phosphorus leaving the facility by 48%.
Total suspended solids and carboneous biochemical demand
has been removed with effectiveness of 95% or greater
in an environmentally safe manner. City ordinances and
local codes were modified and updated to include specific
phosphorus-related language.
To avoid the use of costly, harsh
treatment chemicals, the St. Cloud Wastewater Treatment
Facility developed and implemented a successful Phosphorus
Management Plan (PMP) to reduce the amount of phosphorus
that enters the Mississippi River. The PMP accomplished
this by using biological treatment, working with their
large industrial permit holders to eliminate phosphorus,
and education and outreach to commercial businesses
and residents.
By optimizing the existing biological
phosphorus removal process and working with residential,
industrial, and commercial contributors of phosphorus,
the city of St. Cloud has proved that there is an environmentally
friendly way to significantly reduce phosphorus in treated
wastewater discharge. Through these combined efforts,
the city was able to simultaneously reduce the amounts
of phosphorus coming into the facility (influent) by
32% and leaving the facility (effluent) by 48%.
By implementing the Phosphorus Management
Plan, the city of St. Cloud saved a substantial amount
of money. Chemical extraction of phosphorus would have
required over $3 million in capital costs for extensive
reconstruction to the current facility, as well as $800,000
in annual operating costs. In addition, chemical extraction
would have produced over 20 million gallons of chemical-laden
sludge that would require disposal. In contrast, the
city's Phosphorus Management Plan was executed with
current staff and few additional resources.
Link
Governor's
Awards for Excellence in Waste and Pollution Prevention recognize public and private organizations that go beyond traditional waste management practices, demonstrating a superior commitment to waste and pollution prevention, source reduction and resource conservation. Awarded by the governor and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
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