In the Spring of 2000, the Encina Wastewater Authority (EWA) committed to participate in the National Environmental Management System Demonstration Program sponsored by the National Biosolids Partnership (NBP). The NBP is a not-for-profit alliance between the National Association Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), whose purpose is to promote safe and environmentally sound biosolids management. The Biosolids Environmental Management System (EMS) is a program developed by the NBP to improve the quality of biosolids management programs nationwide and to promote public acceptance of biosolids use and disposal practices.
The EWA has developed a Biosolids EMS under the NBP that encompasses all of the EWA's biosolids activities. The EWA's Biosolids EMS, which was certified by an independent third-party auditor on August 10, 2005, consists of: biosolids management related documents; a tracking and control system; and a set of standard procedures and steps that are being used to improve the effectiveness of plant operations, to meet regulatory requirements, and to address any environmental issues associated with biosolids production and handling. The EWA's Biosolids EMS also includes an internal auditing system and provisions for maintaining NBP program certification through third-party audits. The EWA's Biosolids EMS is designed to ensure that the Goals and Objectives of the EWA's Biosolids Policy are met.
The EWA is committed to managing its biosolids in an environmentally sound, sustainable, socially accepted, cost-effective and safe manner. The EWA's Biosolids EMS provides the framework for achieving this goal as a biosolids management program that cuts across and integrates pretreatment, wastewater treatment, and biosolids activities.
About the National Biosolids Partnership...
Excerpts from BioCycle
Journal of Composting & Organics Recycling
May 2001, Page 57
When the National Biosolids Partnership was formed in 1997, its mission was to advance environmentally sound and accepted biosolids management practices - to implement programs that build public confidence and go beyond regulatory requirements. From the beginning, the partnership focused on developing an Environmental Management System (EMS) model, based on ISO 14001 principles for biosolids that would build improved managment practices tailored to meet the needs of the community.
The partnership is an alliance between the NACWA, the WEF and the EPA. It is housed at the WEF offices in Alexandria, Virginia. Biosolids producers, service contractors and users - together with stakeholders from regulatory agencies, universities, public health departments, media, water quality professionals, the farming community, and environmental organizations - have input into shaping the NBP priorities both through committees and meetings. The partnership has been funded in part by a Congressional appropriation.
There are five components to the NBP's EMS Blueprint. The first, developed by the partnership itself, is a Code of Good Practice that lays out the commitments that facilities need to make to participate in the EMS program. Contracts were given to several consulting firms to help the NBP develop the other four components of the EMS Blueprint: 17 system requirements [Elements] for effectively managing biosolids activities at all critical control points; the National Manual of Good Practice for Biosolids - a one-volume, "how-to" document designed around the critical control points for managing biosolids, from pretreatment through public acceptance strategies; the EMS Guidance Manual - a detailed manual with step-by-step guidance on how to implement the 17 Elements; and the Independent Third-Party Verification Recommendations - guidance for developing a program to verify and certify that organizations have implementd EMS programs consistent with the Common Elements.