From Waste To Energy
In
the early 1980's, the primary waste disposal
concern was our landfill space was filling
up and we would soon be out of disposal capacity.
How many of us remember the story about the
garbage barge that sailed out of the New York
harbor looking for a landfill home for its
load of waste. That particular barge caught
the attention of the world as it sailed up
and down the east coast for several years.
Because
of landfill space, issues with groundwater
pollution, and public sentiment of 'Not in
My Backyard' many counties in Minnesota, including
Otter Tail, began to look for alternatives
to landfilling of solid waste. By the late
1980's and early 1990's as many as 46 counties
in Minnesota sent their waste to 17 facilities
such as Municipal Waste Incinerators, Municipal
Waste Compost Facilities and Refuse Derived
Fuel Facilities. In Otter Tail County our
waste goes to two Municipal Waste Incinerators/Resource
Recovery Facilities.
|
The
Resource Recovery Facility in Perham was
constructed and began operations in 1986.
The facility operated continuously, burning
waste and supplying steam to both Tuffy's
and Land O' Lakes until July of 1998.
In July of 1998 the facility closed because
it was unable to meet the permit requirements
for air emissions. In December of 1998,
the original owners donated the facility
and the property to the City of Perham.
Soon thereafter the City of Perham, Otter
Tail County, and the surrounding three
counties made a decision to apply for
state grant funding and to reconstruct
and reopen the Perham Resource Recovery
Facility.
With the assistance of state funding the
facility was reconstructed, including
state of the art air emissions equipment,
new combustion technology, improved ash
handling and the ability to generate electric
energy as a revenue source. After an extensive
shake down the facility has been operational
since 2002 and meets or exceeds all new
proposed air quality standards. |
Perham
- The Resource Recovery Facility began
operations in 1986. The facility was
shut down in 1998 and reopened in 2002.
|
|
