About the
National Biosolids Data Project

NBDP Mission & History

The goal of the National Biosolids Data Project is to

• compile and publish the most robust data on biosolids management in the U.S. and

• make the data available to benefit the biosolids and related professions.

The management of wastewater solids (sewage sludge) and biosolids (treated and tested wastewater solids) involves billions of dollars annually in the U.S. This profession needs reliable, accessible data to prove its value and steer its course.

The first major national survey on biosolids regulation, quality, end use, and disposal was published in 2007, reporting data from 2004. Previous datasets on biosolids in the U.S. were narrow in focus, patchy in geographic representation, and/or based on calculated estimates. The need for more robust data became more pressing as the biosolids management profession matured after the promulgation of the U. S. EPA 40 CFR Part 503 regulations in 1993. The 2007 report was compiled and published by Ned Beecher (North East Biosolids and Residuals Association), Nora Goldstein (BioCycle), Maile Lono-Batura (Northwest Biosolids), and Greg Kester (formerly Wisconsin DEP, now with the California Association of Sanitation Agencies).

In 2019, the team reunited, added new members Janine Burke-Wells and Juliana Beecher (NEBRA) and Bill Toffey (Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association). A literature review and development of methods for this second national survey were completed in May 2020 through a cooperative assistance agreement provided by U.S. EPA Region 4. After funds were raised from diverse organizations across the country, data compilation began in the Fall of 2020 and was completed in summer 2022, compiling on 2018 data.

NBDP Team, 2018 data:

Ned Beecher, NEBRA, lead author

Juliana Beecher, NEBRA, lead author

Janine Burke-Wells, NEBRA

Maile Lono-Batura, Northwest Biosolids and Water Environment Federation (WEF)

Nora Goldstein, BioCycle

Greg Kester, California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA)

Bill Toffey, Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association (MABA)

Recommended acknowledgement / citation

The format may be adjusted to meet publication requirements:

Beecher, Ned.; Juliana Beecher; Janine Burke-Wells; Maile Lono-Batura; Nora Goldstein; Greg Kester; and Bill Toffey. 2022. National Biosolids Data Project: Biosolids management in the U. S. https://www.biosolidsdata.org, accessed [date]

Partners & Funders

Financial accounting available upon request to info@nebiosolids.org.

Literature Review & Methods

Literature Review, May 30, 2020 (PDF)

Methods, May 30, 2020 (PDF)

Survey completed by WRRFs (wastewater treatment plants), 2020 - 2021 (PDF)

Survey completed by state biosolids coordinators, 2020 - 2021 (PDF)

Definitions of terms used in the surveys, data collection, & reports

FAQs

Why collect data for 2018 and not a more recent year?
The goal of this project is to compile data and summaries representative of biosolids management in the U. S. in the 2010s. 2018 is the data year we chose for a number of reasons. Most significant is that, in many states, compilations for later years were not yet available when our data collection began. In addition, 2018 is a good representative data year, in between some regulatory disruptions that caused some significant perturbations, such as the EPA air emissions rules affecting sewage sludge incinerators in the mid-2010s and PFAS/emerging contaminants concerns of the early 2020s.