Letter - CR&R - 2014-03-18Cos-,.'a Mesa Sanitary
...an Independent
March 18, 2014
Mr. Kevyn Piper
Commission Agreement Officer
California Energy Commission
1516 Ninth Street, MS -18
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Application from CUR Incorporated under PON 13 -609
Dear Mr. Piper:
District
Special District
I am writing on behalf of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District in support of CR &R
Incorporated's (CR &R) grant application to expand its Anaerobic Digestion (AD)
facility (Phase 2) now under development in the City of Perris. The District
recently became the first governmental agency in Southern California to contract
with CR &R to utilize the AD facility. Approximately 50 tons per day of source
separated organic waste collected from the City of Costa Mesa residents will be
processed at the AD facility and converted to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG).
The RNG will be used to power the existing natural gas collection fleet operating
in the District that provides collection of mixed recyclables and organic waste.
On February 25, 2014 the Board of Directors for the Costa Mesa Sanitary District
voted unanimously to enter into a contractual arrangement that provides for the
organic waste to be shipped to the AD facility. This decision was reached after
several years of interaction between the District and CR &R researching and
reviewing various types of technology capable of producing RNG from organic
waste. We conducted public surveys and workshops in order to gain public input
and gauge their willingness to offset the increased cost of the project by
accepting an increase in their monthly rate of $1.81. The additional rate of only
$1.81 per month was made possible due to the $4.52 million dollar grant for the
facility received from the California Energy Commission (CEC).
We are proud to be among the first agencies in California and the nation to make
the decision to handle our organic waste through an AD system, moving us
closer to a zero waste future. We believe it is the right thing to do to convert our
organic waste to a near zero carbon fuel to run the trucks that service our
community.
In this era of very tight municipal and special district budgets, grant incentives to
further clean the air and produce clean energy are a must. We urge the CEC to
continue to invest in making grants to companies like CR &R in order to expand
renewable fuel opportunities for special districts and cities throughout California.
628W. 19th Street/ Costa Mesa, CA 92627 -2716 • (949) 645 -8400 /fax: (949) 650 -2253
Protecting our community's health and the environment by providing solid waste and sewer collection services
Mr. Kevyn Piper
CEC Agreement Officer
March 18, 2014
Paee 2 of 2
The Costa Mesa Sanitary District is proud to be a pioneer in changing the way we manage our
waste and we hope to be the model for many other governmental agencies in California. Thank
you and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Sincer ly,
Ja s Ferryman, President
Costa Mesa Sanitary District