For over 20 years, the Minnesota Resource Recovery Association (MRRA) has been the leading professional association in the waste to energy field in Minnesota. The Association's members represent a private/public partnership of solid waste professionals, local governments and businesses committed to clean, local, renewable power.
The Association provides its membership with representation at the State legislature and at environmental agencies, conferences and bi-monthly membership meetings on relevant industry topics. MRRA sponsors the State of Minnesota's Waste Combustor Certification Course that is offered twice a year.
The following facilities have been approved by the MPCA to accept and incinerate consolidated household pharmaceuticals:
708 8th Street NW
Fosston, MN 56542
2115 Jefferson Street
Alexandria, MN 56308
Below are the 2012 MRRA meeting dates. Be sure to mark your calendars!
February 24, 2012
April 13, 2012
June 15, 2012
September 21, 2012
November 16, 2012
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday easily passed the Boiler MACT bill (H.R. 2250). The bill would force EPA to delay final rules for industrial boilers and commercial and industrial solid waste (not MSW) incinerators by 15 months and would extend the three-year compliance deadlines to at least five years. The bills would also force the EPA to adopt the “least burdensome” rules available under the law. The committee approved a Republican amendment to impose a binding 15-month deadline for the EPA to finish the boiler MACT standards. The bill was passed with a vote of 36-14. The committee discarded a couple of Democratic amendments, including one that would have allowed EPA to continue to use the pollutant-by-pollutant approach. The GOP-led bills are most likely headed for a floor vote the week of Oct. 3 and are predestined to pass in the Republican-controlled House. Like much of the House-led agenda attacking EPA rules, the boiler and cement bills are likely to meet a dead end in the Senate, barring any agreement on a broad omnibus spending bill or other must-pass measure. Twenty-five of the 124 co-sponsors on Griffith’s boiler bill (H.R. 2250) are Democrats.
The Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) has received a Waste-to-Energy Excellence Award at the Gold level from the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA).
SWANA’s Excellence Awards Program recognizes outstanding solid waste programs and facilities that advance the practice of environmentally and economically sound solid waste management. HERC, located in downtown Minneapolis, provides reliable, renewable electricity that is sold to Xcel Energy and steam that supplies the downtown district energy system and Target Field. HERC is owned by Hennepin County and operated by Covanta Energy. To earn the award, HERC was judged on a wide variety of criteria, including engineering and technology, operational performance and efficiency, environmental compliance, aesthetics, other recycling and solid waste management programs in the county, public relations and education, and innovation and creativity. The award application focused on changes and improvements that have been made to both HERC’s operation and appearance to increase the facility’s efficiency and to ensure the facility continues to be a valuable asset to the surrounding community. The application also focused on HERC’s role in the county’s solid waste management system, which emphasizes programs to prevent waste, recycle and compost. HERC is situated in a unique and highly visible urban location. With the construction of Target Field, new light rail, commuter rail and other mass transit projects, and residential and commercial redevelopment efforts, the neighborhood around the HERC has changed significantly since operations began more than 20 years ago. Hennepin County has implemented numerous improvements to control odors and improve the aesthetics of the facility. The county has also worked with community partners to ensure that HERC continues to be a good neighbor and an integral part of downtown redevelopment.
Members of the MRRA were involved with several Earth Day activities this past weekend to support communities across the State and will be doing more in the coming days! Check it out at: www.facebook.com/MNResourceRecovery
Check out SWANA’s latest tech e-newsletter on waste-to-energy:
http://swana.informz.net/SWANA/archives/archive_1377931.html
Mark your calendars! Registration is open for the Fall Operator Training in Red Wing, Minnesota.
The 24-hour class covers the basics of waste, waste combustion technologies, regulations, pollution control equipment, and monitoring. The course is taught by a variety of Instructors, each with practical experience in their areas of instruction. Completing the course and satisfactorily passing the exam are prerequisites toward becoming a Minnesota Certified Waste Combustor Operator.
Cost: $525 for members and $1050 for non-members.
The training will be held Tuesday-Friday, October 18-21, 2011. For more information or to register, contact Peter Torkelson at 507-467-4500.