The Spokane City Council has approved a study that would explore a new use for the solids that are left after processing at the city’s waste treatment plant.
Right now, spokeswoman Marlene Feist says the city has contracts with farmers in the area to spray that material on their agricultural fields. But there has been some pushback from neighbors in some areas. She says the option may not always be open.
“We’re seeing trends in other places in the country where people are raising concerns about land application of biosolids. So we certainly want to have looked at other possibilities if there becomes a point where land application is no longer acceptable,” Feist said.
The new study would look at whether burning the biosolids in the regional incinerator would be an appropriate option.
The city will pay about $125,000 to HDR Engineering, an Omaha, Nebraska company with an office in Spokane. Feist says the city hopes to have some answers to its questions by later this year.