State Data
Confidence in data for this state:
MODERATE
2018 data unless noted.
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Definitions
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Landfill. Photo courtesy of US EPA.
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State Summary
● The majority, ~73%, of Louisiana’s wastewater solids are landfilled, and it’s been that way for decades. New Orleans, the largest city (~390,000 people), has the state’s only sewage sludge incinerator (SSI), and incinerates ~18% of the state’s total solids. With seemingly plenty of relatively cheap landfill space, there’s little incentive for the state to encourage beneficial use of biosolids.
● A few cities - Lafayette, Shreveport, Ruston - land apply biosolids (mostly liquid Class B, though Shreveport produces an EQ product), sending just under 10% of the state’s biosolids for beneficial use. A large “landfarm” in Kiln, MS, is a destination for biosolids from some southeastern LA water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs).
● The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) regulates biosolids through a few different kinds of permits, the main one being a general permit that authorizes all public and private facilities for biosolids removal (hauled and dealt with by WRRF or a third party) without any permit application or process (automatic coverage). Large WRRFs have individual permits that specify a use or disposal method for their wastewater solids. WRRFs that send solids to landfill must be permitted for landfilling of wastewater solids and report annually to LDEQ on how much was generated and disposed of. WRRFs that land apply biosolids must hold site-specific permits for land application to landfarms. Controlling odors is a focus of LDEQ and is required in permitting. Biosolids reporting is required of preparers, commercial preparers, land appliers, and facilities that landfill, regardless of size.
● One of the largest challenges for LA’s wastewater infrastructure is flooding. In the last 10 years, many of the largest cities in the state have received mandates from the U.S. EPA for upgrades to sewer systems and treatment plants due to regular overflows caused by flooding. This is true of Baton Rouge (pop. ~214,000), where the South WWTP is the largest in the state (200 MGD), Shreveport (~180,000) and Lafayette (~126,000). Damage caused by hurricanes and floods has kept New Orleans’ East Bank WWTP (123 MGD, operated by Veolia) in a continual cycle of rebuilding. Other issues chosen in the survey by the state biosolids coordinator include declining farmland available for land application, rising costs generally, public concerns (especially regarding nuisances like odors), and management issues like hauling distances.