Kalispell Weighs Biosolids Options as Landfill Raises Concerns
The city recently began transferring its biosolids to the Flathead County landfill, but it is unclear whether the county will be able to continue accepting municipal waste due to environmental concerns
By Zoë Buhrmaster
On their own, Kalispell’s biosolids currently fall below acceptance requirements for the Flathead County landfill. Biosolids are the solid organic matter produced from the sewage treatment process. The city also removes water and moisture from the biosolids, a process called dewatering. While the city is currently able to produce biosolids that are about 13% solids, the landfill requires waste to reach at least 18%. To make it work, city staff add bulking material such as composting leaves to the city’s truckloads before hauling it to the landfill.
The bulking materials the city currently uses – primarily a mix of compost and woody material from parks and recreation projects – sit outside without a cover. It’s something that could become an issue in the wet winter months, Public Works Director Susie Turner told Kalispell city councilors at Monday night’s work session.
“For us to be efficient, we need to make facility improvements,” Turner said. “It’s going to get sloppy out there when it’s rainy, snowy, wet.”
The city began preparing for alternatives for its biosolids at the end of 2024 after the company that recycled the city’s biosolids into compost, Glacier Gold, hit capacity and eventually closed. Council members selected dewatering and disposal at the county landfill as the most cost-effective approach. Glacier Gold agreed to continue accepting some of the city’s biosolids until Sept. 30 this year, and the city fully transitioned to delivering to the landfill at the beginning of October.
Though additional equipment and improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment facilities increased capacity, the city has been unable to meet the landfill’s 18% solids requirement. The standard is in line with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations due to environmental concerns associated with leachate, a contaminated liquid that can form when rainwater filters through waste in a landfill, drawing toxins out of the biosolids.
Recent tests show Kalispell’s biosolids reach about 13%, which Turner said will likely get to around 15% or 16% once staff have had a chance to fine-tune the new equipment.
“When constructing and installing new operations at a treatment plant, it often takes two years to fine-tune operations,” Turner said. “I just don’t think we’re going to be able to get consistent 18% with the dewatering process.”
City staff add between 4.5 and six cubic yards of bulking material to each truckload of biosolids to meet the requirement, adding $84 to $113 in disposal fees at the landfill. The city takes on average a truckload per day to the landfill, though Turner noted the city has recently worked with the county to deliver two loads some days.
City staff are also currently in conversations with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA about potentially using a 40-acre city lot as a backup site for surface disposal.
Turner proposed two options for future biosolids management. The city could improve the current system by constructing a paved, covered area for bulking materials and purchasing a larger loader. Or staff could pursue drying, an alternative that would require higher capital costs with new utilities but would effectively remove water and reduce hauling to the landfill.
Flathead County officials, however, have environmental concerns about the increase in biosolids the landfill is taking with Glacier Gold’s closure. Officials proposed a two-year demonstration study to determine whether the landfill is equipped to continue accepting municipal waste. If the county decides to refuse, the city would have a two-year grace period to develop an alternative.
“Glacier Gold, they needed our biosolids to further their company,” Turner said. “The landfill doesn’t need our biosolids. If it’s difficult for them to manage, they have every right and discretion to turn us around.”
Councilors noted that even if they decide to take an alternative route and explore drying options, there would still be a need for a temporary solution to keep the bulking materials dry in the interim. Turner estimated it would take at least two and a half years to have drying facilities up and running.
Councilors directed staff to explore hard costs for improvements to the bulking area and drying alternatives.
“I get the feeling we’re kicking the [sewage] thing all around, as a community, as a whole,” Councilor Sam Nunnally said.