The San Joaquin Valley is known for its stagnant air. Pollution gets trapped between California’s Coastal Range and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, giving the valley the second-worst air quality in the nation, behind only Los Angeles.
In the City of Tulare, schools display air-quality flags, farmers are being paid to switch from diesel to electric pumps, and the Tulare Water Pollution Control Facility has turned to fuel cells to produce electricity.
Director of Public Works Lew Nelson has plenty of biogas available at the city’s two wastewater treatment plants. A 6 mgd biofilter/activated sludge plant treats domestic wastewater from 60,000 residents. Next
