H5. Sludge Management Agreement
st
201 1Ave E
Post Office Box 1997
Kalispell, MT 59903
Telephone: (406) 758-7720
www.Kalispell.com
To: Doug Russell, City Manager
From: Susie Turner, Public Works Director
Re: Sludge Management Agreement-Glacier Gold LLC
Meeting Date: March 4, 2024
Enclosed: Sludge Management Agreement
BACKGROUND:
The City and Glacier Gold Compost have a Sludge Management Agreement that ensures the
disposal of -solids (sludge). Wastewater Treatment Plant has been
disposing sewage sludge at Glacier Gold Compost since 1993, with the current sludge
management agreement initiated in 2019 and ending March 31, 2024.
Glacier Gold Compost Owners and the City Public Works Staff have reached a mutual
agreement to extend our collaborative partnership through an agreement. Enclosed is a copy of
the updated agreement. Below is a summary outlining key sections of the updated agreement,
along with highlights noting the changes incorporated from the previous agreement.
Charges/Adjustments: The City is currently paying $238 per dry ton of sludge delivered to and
accepted by Glacier Gold.
The City will continue to pay a fixed rate of $238 per dry ton of sludge for the first year
of the agreement through March 2025. Starting in 2025 this price may be negotiated, if
increased the agreement amendment will require Council approval.
Physical Characteristics: The sludge is required to be dewatered between 13% and 20% solids
content. The typical sludge solids content for Kalispell is 13-15%.
Testing: The City will continue to perform the quarterly zinc sampling per the EPA
requirements.
Term: The initial term of the updated Agreement is for a one-year period from April 1, 2024, to
March 31, 2025. The Agreement may be extended annually for up to five one-year periods by
mutual agreement in writing by both parties. Exhibit A provides an example extension to this
Agreement. If any of the terms of this Agreement are to be modified by these extensions, they will
be subject to renegotiation by both parties upon written notice by either party, thirty (30) days prior
to the expiration of the term.
Previous agreements were written for a 5-year term. Glacier Gold was only willing to
update the agreement with a one-year term limit with the option to extend annually for
five years.
Sludge Removal and Delivery:The annual delivery shall not exceed 600 dry tonsper year
unless revised by mutual consent in an amendment to the Agreement. The City may deliver up
to 600 dry tons per year to Glacier Gold Composting but retains the right to dispose of biosolids
as the City deems necessary to sustain disposal operations in the future.
BIOSOLIDS HANDLING CAPCITY:
The City uses Glacier Gold Composting as the primary method of sewage sludge disposal, and
the Landfill as the secondary disposal location. The table below provides a summary of the
biosolids generation and load deliveries to Glacier Gold Composting and the Landfill.
Annual Dry Tons
Glacier
1
Year Landfill Total
Gold
2018
151 588 739
2019
181 477 658
2020
197 476 673
2021
203 528 731
2022
228 541 769
2023
199 530 729
1) Annual ton per year fluctuates due to tank
servicing schedules
RECOMMENDATION: Approve the Sludge Management Agreement with Glacier Gold.
ACTION REQUESTED: Motion to approve the updated Sludge Management Agreement with
Glacier Gold.
FISCAL EFFECTS: There are no additional fiscal effects associated with this agreement. Contract
Service- Glacier Gold line item 354 is budgeted annually in the Wastewater Treatment Plant Fund.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by City Council.