Auburn is beginning to see substantial savings from years of investment at its wastewater treatment plant, with monthly biosolids hauling and disposal costs falling sharply as upgraded digestion and drying equipment comes online.
Municipal Utilities Director Seth Jensen told City Council last week that a May 2025 bill from Casella for biosolids hauling and disposal was about $123,000, an amount he described as close to an average monthly invoice at the time. By May of this year, after improvements to the treatment process, the monthly bill was about $23,000.
Jensen said the city could potentially reduce that cost further, to around $12,000 per month, if it can continue operating its biosolids dryer effectively. He cautioned that the city is still fine-tuning the system and working through the regulatory process that could determine its long-term savings.
The update came as council approved a new one-year agreement with Casella for hauling and disposal services at Auburn’s wastewater treatment plant.
Under the agreement, the city will pay $129 per wet ton for Class B biosolids and $68 per wet ton for Class A biosolids. The contract also establishes separate costs for grit and screenings produced by the treatment process.
The city received three proposals after its previous agreement with Casella expired. Casella was the only bidder able to provide pricing and service for all four categories sought by Auburn, according to the council packet.
Another bidder offered lower prices for two categories of dried biosolids, but only if the material meets state requirements for Class A biosolids.
That designation is now Auburn’s next target.
Jensen said the city’s dryer has been operating well and is producing material that officials hope can ultimately qualify as Class A. The city is beginning work with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to determine what will be required to validate the process.
Reaching that standard isn’t guaranteed this year, Jensen told council.
The process is expected to require extensive reporting, sampling and testing to demonstrate that Auburn can consistently achieve required pathogen reductions and meet other standards. Jensen said city officials are also consulting with other New York communities that have gone through the process.
The potential designation matters because Class A biosolids face fewer restrictions and cost less to haul under Auburn’s new contract. It could also give the city additional options when it seeks bids for disposal or reuse in the future.
That uncertainty is one reason Auburn opted for a one-year contract rather than making a longer commitment.
City staff said the shorter term provides time to pursue Class A designation and potentially seek new competitive pricing once Auburn knows what type of material it can consistently produce.
Councilor Craig Diego asked whether achieving Class A status this year was certain. Jensen said it wasn’t, but described it as a goal and said the city could reconsider how it bids the work next year if certification is achieved.
The savings already being recorded are tied to more than drying the material.
Jensen said digestion removes primary solids through a process that converts some of that material into methane and other gases. Those gases can then be reused at the wastewater plant, including in the dryer and heating systems.
Other equipment upgrades are reducing energy use. Jensen pointed to new blower technology that uses real-time dissolved oxygen monitoring to adjust the amount of air delivered during the treatment process instead of relying on older equipment that operated less precisely.
The upgrades followed decades of use at the wastewater plant. Jensen said it had been about 30 years since the facility’s previous major upgrade, and much of the existing infrastructure needed replacement regardless of the additional efficiencies.
Councilor Terrence Cuddy said the early results illustrate the potential payoff from making large infrastructure investments even when the upfront costs are significant.
Jensen estimated that a $123,000 monthly hauling bill would translate to roughly $1.5 million over a year if sustained at that level. At about $23,000 per month, the annualized expense would be less than one-fifth of that amount, though actual yearly costs will depend on operations and the amount and type of material produced.
The city will now work toward the Class A designation while operating under the new Casella agreement. If it succeeds, officials could have another opportunity to lower costs when the hauling contract comes back up for consideration next year.
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