Setton Pistachio Treated Wastewater Land Application Expansion Project

Setton Pistachio Treated Wastewater Land Application Expansion Project

To allow the Setton Pistachio Terra Bella Facility to fully utilize its current design capacity to process up to 122 million pounds of pistachios per year, Setton is proposing to add 89 acres of LAAs (total of 961 acres) to expand the treated wastewater disposal capacity. The additional LAAs would allow Setton Pistachio to increase the annual wastewater discharge from 60 million gallons per year (MGY) to 85 MGY (maximum daily discharge rates would remain at 3 million gallons). The project would include installation of a 15-inch subsurface pipeline to connect the additional LAAs to the existing treated wastewater distribution pipelines as well as the installation of high-efficiency drip irrigation lines within the LAAs. An encroachment permit is required from Tulare County for the new subsurface pipeline, which would need to be installed under two county roads to reach two of the new LAAs. Improvements to the existing wastewater treatment facilities are proposed to protect beneficial uses of water, prevent nuisance conditions, and comply with waste discharge requirements issued by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. An additional fiber filter unit would be added to the existing gunite-lined pond to remove excess solids from treated wastewater prior to its release into the East and West Ponds, where it is stored on a short-term basis for distribution to the LAAs. The retention time for wastewater in the ponds would be limited to two hours in each pond to prevent the degradation of remaining matter in the water that could cause odors. As an additional preventive measure, paddles would be installed in the West Pond and a venturi system would be installed in the East Pond to improve aeration to prevent septicity and odor production. Both types of aerators would provide dissolved oxygen (DO) to ensure that carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (cBOD) in the treated effluent is degraded under aerobic conditions to prevent septicity and odor production. Finally, as part of the existing odor control plan for the Setton Pistachio Terra Bella Facility, chemical oxidizer and pH control chemicals, such as hydrogen peroxide have been used. It is anticipated that that the project would involve continued use of such chemicals, such as hydrogen peroxide and lime. The additional LAAs would allow the Terra Bella facility to fully utilize its current design capacity, which would represent an increase of approximately 20.6 million pounds pistachios being processed (over the average for the facility of 101.4 million pounds per year). Processing that increased amount of pistachios would require increased operations. The project does not propose the construction or operation of any new mechanical or storage facilities at the Terra Bella facility. However, the existing operations would potentially extend over a longer period of time, potentially from eight to ten weeks. This would result in a 20 percent increase in hull bio-matter, from 100 million pounds to approximately 120 million pounds of solid waste. The current limit of 12,500 tons of composting would not change as a result of the project. The project would result in a 20 percent increase in truck trips, including both pistachio delivery trips, which would increase from 6,000 truckloads per year to 7,200 truckloads per year for pistachio deliveries, 3,000 to 3,600 truckloads per year for delivery of "finished" products, and 2,308 trips per year to 2,770 trips per year for off-hauling of bio solids to composting and cattle feed locations. However, staffing at the Terra Bella facility would continue to be between 500 and 550 permanent employees and an additional 500 to 550 temporary employees during the peak harvest season. Construction is anticipated to occur in 2024 and would take less than a month.

unincorporated area, Tera Bella

Tulare

Unincorporated

Tulare