Facing stricter state and federal regulations for the land application of biosolids more than two decades ago, officials in Boise, Idaho, decided they could save ratepayers money by going into the farming business instead of giving away the byproducts of the city's two wastewater treatment plants.
Before the new regulations, the city was spraying its biosolids (at 2 percent solids) on private lands, giving local farmers first-come, first-served access. Since 1993, Boise has applied biosolids to cropland it owns, harvesting the crops for sale to livestock operations and dairies in southwestern Idaho.
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