Los Angeles, California – The American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE) selected the City of Los Angeles, California’s $12.5 million Hyperion Treatment Plant Class A Biosolids Program for its prestigious Superior Achievement Award in the 2004 Excellence in Environmental Engineering competition. This grand prize is awarded to the project that best exemplifies innovation, performance, customer satisfaction, contribution to the community and improved quality of life.
The first of its kind in any major U.S. wastewater agency, the Class A Biosolids Program involved the application of thermophilic anaerobic digestion processes to achieve US EPA-established Class A pasteurization standards. In a coordinated effort the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, Bureaus of Engineering, Sanitation, and Contract Administration, with MWH assistance, developed a new process called Continuos/Batch Thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion (CBTAD). The CBTAD approach is a two-stage process that involves fermenting biosolids at about 130 degrees F for 10-12 days. Then following up with a second-stage batch holding that assures all biosolids see the minimum time and temperature for complete pathogen kill. The old digestion process operated at 95 degrees F.
Completed in just 18 months, the CBTAD process allows the nation’s largest digesters to now produce pathogen-free biosolids that meet Class A standards. The City of Los Angeles is the first large agency in the United States to achieve Exceptional Quality standards using thermophilic anaerobic digestion. Exceptional Quality is defined as biosolids that are stabilized, create a very low level of pollutants and are free of pathogens. Using this process, the Hyperion Treatment Plant will continue its award-winning biosolids reuse program. Currently Hyperion Treatment Plant biosolids are reused as fertilizer and soil amendment at a nearby City-owned farm.
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About MWH
Headquartered in Broomfield, Colo., MWH is a private, employee-owned firm with approximately 6,000 employees worldwide. The company provides water, wastewater, energy, natural resource, program management, consulting and construction services to industrial, municipal and government clients in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, India, Asia and the Pacific Rim. For more information about MWH, please visit the company’s Web site at www.mwhglobal.com.
