Agenda - Planning Commission - 12/07/1993

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I I I I I I I I ! I I I I I I I ! I I series of blowers are mounted at intervals along the side of the outer bays. Each bay will have five independently, controlled aeration zones. The blowers are controlled by an automatic temperature feedback syslem, as well as timers, for forced aeration. The airflow moves up from the bottom of the bays via!a system of perforated pipes. Each blower is independently controlled allowing precise teml~ratttre management during the entire composting process. Automatic control of the aeration blowers is obtained by means of thermocouples permanently mounted in tile bay walls. Data is fed to a programmable micro-processor which tums the blowers on and off. This system also maintains and records temperature data for operation control purposes. Two IPS agi~tors will be used to process the material approximately once per day in each bay. Material will remain in the bays for approximately 17 to 21 days. Finished material will be removed once daily from each bay, it will be stored outside on an asphalt paved area. The product storage area t.s sized to allow for six months of storage to enable the material to be stored through the winter months. IPS will provide a system to prevent odors from the storage of the finished product. As With the the actual manufacturing of the compost, IPS will be required to remedy any odor problems originating from the finished product within 24 hours. The finished compost material will be removed from the composting bays and placed on the paved storage pad, ;Screening of the finished product will be conducted as necessary to remove and oversize material from the product. The screening of the final product will occur on the paved storage area. [The screening will be in compliance with City Code requirements. The compost will be marketed directly by IPS' marketing division. The primary end users are anticipated to: be landscapers, road contractors, nurseries, State and County highway departments, etc. Any excgss product will be sold to Waste Management of Minnesota, Inc. (WMMI) to use for soil enhancement of old borrow areas at the landfill and erosion repair on the final cover. WMMI estimates that it could use all of the compost produced by the IPS facility for a minimum of 4.5 years. The odor from inside the building, generated from the composting process, will be exhausted from the building through an outdoor bio-filter. The building will be maintained under negative pressure using fans inJ order to control odorous air within the building. Operation of the fans will be controlled by building temperature and relative humidity. The exhaust air will be forced through the bio-f'flter odor control system. The bio-filter will break down odorou~ compounds through adsorption, absorption, and microbial degradation. The bio-filter :is composed of an aeration piping system laid in a stone plenum which is covered by approximately 3' 6" of bio-filter media and mulch cover. The bio-filter media is a mixture of bark mulch, compOst and wood chips. A neighborhood meeting with nearby residents was conducted on November 30, 1993. The meeting was ~ponsored jointly by International Process Systems, Inc. and Waste Management of Minnesota, Inc. Nearby residents, as well as the Ramsey City Council members, Planning and Zoning Commission members, County Board members and County staff were invited. At the meeting the following issues were discussed: operation of the plant, types of waste materials, the composting p~ocess, material produced, odor and noise control, vehicle traffic, etc. Following the presentations, !the audience was given the opportunity to ask questions and voice their opinions and concerns reg~ding the facility. Minutes from this meeting will be available at the pubhc heating. The City will also require that an independent consultant review the design of the propose bio-filter to certify that ~he bio-filter will function correctly and there will be no odor problems.