Nicasio ranch could host composting project{Tour tour of the current Bolinas-Stinson Site}

Staff Report from http://www.marinij.com/marin
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Nicasio ranch could host composting project
Rob Rogers
Article Launched: 08/25/2007 10:28:44 PM PDT

After providing Marin's residents with milk, beef, cheese and methane-generated electricity, the county's cows may have another gift to offer: organic compost made from manure.
The West Marin Co-Composting Project plans to combine cow and horse manure with "green waste" such as tree trimmings, at a Nicasio composting site that supporters say would create a potent gardening supplement and extend the life of local landfills.

"This would take the largest-volume organic waste streams in West Marin, divert it from the landfill - and/or illegal disposal - and bring them to a context where it can improve Marin County's soil," said Jeff Creque, a rangeland and soil fertility expert with the Marin Resource Conservation District, which has joined forces with Marin Organic on the project.

"Theoretically, we could take a maximum of 12,000 cubic yards of unprocessed material and reduce it down to 3,000 or 4,000 cubic yards of ground material. We estimate that the process could create about 36,000 cubic yards per year of organic material."

The district has received a $570,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create a composting operation at the Lafranchi Dairy and a "green waste" drop-off and grinding site at the


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Nicasio Rock Quarry on Nicasio Valley Road.
Officials say the project will help dairy and horse farms comply with water runoff regulations for the Tomales Bay watershed established by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.

County officials must approve environmental permits for the project.

"Not only are we hoping to address some of the resource concerns with equestrian facilities, which are facing water quality regulations - as are dairies - but we're certain this would cause a reduction in carbon emissions," said Nancy Scolari, executive director of the conservation district. "The fact that people won't have to go over the hill to drop things off, but will be able to do it right here in Nicasio, will be one of the environmental benefits."

District officials say they plan to limit access to the site to diminish impacts on neighbors.

"It won't be open to all dairies, just one, and in terms of the equestrian waste stream, we're going to have limitations," Scolari said. "People will be able to drop off green waste by appointment."

Because the project would be an open-air operation in a remote location, Creque does not expect it to generate offensive odors.

"The proposed composting site is a dairy with no immediate neighbor, so odors should be nonexistent or negligible," Creque said. "Compared to the methane released by an anaerobic waste lagoon, it would be insignificant."

Much of the recycled compost would be used as bedding for the cows at the Lafranchi Dairy, Scolari said.

"The dairy currently imports sand from Rio Vista on a weekly basis, so having that compost as a resource is a plus," Scolari said. "We're hoping it will also help organic farmers who need it for their farms as a soil amendment."

Compost itself can't be certified organic, but the project's compost could be used on organic farms, Creque said.

The site would be operated by Kevin Lunny, owner and manager of Lunny Grading & Paving, Inc. at the Nicasio Rock Quarry as well as the Drake's Bay Oyster Company in Inverness.

The project was inspired by similar composting programs in the Central Valley, as well as a 10-year-old green waste project in Bolinas. District officials will hold a tour of the Bolinas-Stinson Beach Green Waste Resource Recovery site on Sept. 8 as they discuss the Nicasio project.

"We're hoping this one will succeed and inspire similar spin-off projects," Creque said.




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