The Johnson County (Kan.) Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin Wastewater Treatment Plant Solids Improvements Project has earned a National Environmental Achievement Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA). The project was designed by CH2M HILL and its partner Archer|HDR.

A key element of the project was a fats, oils and grease (FOG) waste receiving and processing station, designed to operate in a harsh winter environment and support the county’s aggressive FOG waste management program. The facility will beneficially reuse FOG and reduce the average miles traveled by FOG waste haulers by at least 40,000 miles a year, saving 8,000 gallons of fuel and reducing of 80 metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent emissions each year.

The new biosolids facility will combine treatment plant biosolids with food processing and restaurant FOG to create enough methane gas to run two 1 MW cogeneration units that will produce enough power for most of the plant’s electrical needs and save more than $500,000 annually. The project is one of the largest wastewater cogeneration projects in the state's history.

Other environmental benefits include reduced biosolids and FOG hauling and the recycling of biosolids as a soil amendment on farm fields. Archer/CH2M HILL helped Johnson County develop a sustainable project that won $17.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 stimulus funding as a green project while creating or retaining more than 270 construction jobs.

NACWA’s Operations and Environmental Performance Award is presented to members for outstanding initiatives in wastewater treatment that are cost-effective and environmentally sound.