Exhibit 6 

USCA Case #11-1131 Document #1330427 Filed: 09/19/2011 Page 1 of 8
ORAL ARGUMENT NOT YET SCHEDULED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT 

_______________________________________

) 

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CLEAN 

WATER AGENCIES, 

) 

) 

) 

Petitioner ) No. 11-1131 

) (consolidated with Nos. 

v. ) 11-1167 and 11-1185) 

) 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY and LISA PEREZ JACKSON, 

ADMINISTRATOR, ENVIRONMENTAL 

PROTECTION AGENCY 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

Respondents ) 

_______________________________________) 

DECLARATION OF RICHARD J. LYONS

I, Richard J. Lyons, hereby declare as follows: 

1. I am the Executive Director of the Albany County Sewer District (“District”) 

with the mailing address of P.O. Box 4187, Albany, New York 12204. I have 

maintained a position at the Albany County Sewer District since 1975. 

2. This declaration is submitted in support of the Joint Motion for Stay of the 

SSI Rule by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (“NACWA”) and 

Hatfield Township Municipal Authority (“Hatfield Township”) requesting stay of 

Page 1 of 7 

USCA Case #11-1131 Document #1330427 Filed: 09/19/2011 Page 2 of 8
the “Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission 

Guidelines for Existing Sources: Sewage Sludge Incineration Units,” 75 Fed. Reg. 

15372 (Mar. 21, 2011) (the “SSI Rule”). NACWA’s petition asked the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to reconsider central elements of the 

final rule establishing emission limitations and other requirements under § 129 of 

the Clean Air Act (“CAA”) applicable to sewage sludge incinerators (“SSI”). 

3. In my capacity as Executive Director of the District, I am responsible for 

planning and budgeting for the utility’s facilities and capital improvement projects, 

including the acquisition of equipment and services necessary to comply with the 

requirements of the SSI Rule. 

4. The District owns and operates two activated sludge facilities with the 

following operating capacities: 

o North plant with 35 million gallons per day (“MGD”) dry weather capacity, 

88 MGD wet weather capacity which services eight municipalities with a 

population of roughly 110,000, and 

o South plant with 19 MGD dry weather capacity, 45 MGD wet weather 

capacity which services approximately 90 percent of the City of Albany with 

a population of roughly 90,000. 

Page 2 of 7 

USCA Case #11-1131 Document #1330427 Filed: 09/19/2011 Page 3 of 8
3. Between the two treatment plants, the District processes 11,000 dry tons of 

bio-solids through incineration each year. Given there are only three management 

options available for the disposal of bio-solid waste (land application, landfilling 

and incineration) the District has found incineration to be the most cost-effective 

and environmentally friendly method for disposal. 

4. The District maintains two multiple hearth incinerators at each of the 

District’s two locations (designated as the North and South plants). The North 

plant has two BSP-design multiple hearth SSIs. The South plant has two Nicholsdesign multiple hearth SSIs. Presently, both facilities are subject to the existing 

sources standards in the SSI rule; however, the North plant could become subject 

to the new source standards as a result of ongoing upgrades which will include a 

heat recovery system. 

5. The District has spent over $7 million on solid waste handling improvements 

over the past five years and maintains an outstanding record of compliance with 

environmental requirements. All improvements are made in the most cost 

effective manner to minimize the impact on rate payers. The District has made the 

following improvements to the two wastewater treatment facilities’ biosolids 

handling operations. 

North Plant:

Page 3 of 7 

USCA Case #11-1131 Document #1330427 Filed: 09/19/2011 Page 4 of 8
Scrubber System Improvements - The District has completed over $5.5 

million in engineering and improvements to the incinerator scrubber systems 

in 2005-2006. These improvements address particulate matter removal and 

opacity. 

Belt Press Improvements – This project involved addition of a 2.0 meter 

belt filter press with cake conveying modifications, completed in 2008 at a 

cost of $600,000.

South Plant:

Scrubber System Improvements – Like at the North plant, the District has 

completed engineering and improvements to the incinerator scrubber 

systems at the South plant in 2005-2006. These improvements address 

particulate matter removal and opacity. 

Belt Press Improvements - This project involved addition of a 1.5 meter 

belt filter press with cake conveying modifications, completed in 2008 at a 

cost of $550,000. 

5. The District is in the middle of constructing a biosolids incineration heat 

recovery project. When complete, the project will generate over 35 percent of the 

District’s electrical energy requirements at its North plant facility by recovering 

Page 4 of 7 

USCA Case #11-1131 Document #1330427 Filed: 09/19/2011 Page 5 of 8
heat and producing energy from renewable domestic sewage sludge thereby 

reducing reliance on imported and fossil fuel energy sources. The project has been 

recognized for its innovation, combined heat and power aspects by use of a 

renewable energy source. 

6. However, as a result of performing beneficial projects like the North plant 

energy recovery project, the District’s incinerators may now become subject to the 

new source performance standards in the SSI Rule, which are more stringent than 

any existing requirements and will cost far more in order to comply. Based upon 

available stack testing data, none of the District’s SSIs meet the new source 

standards for multiple hearth incinerators. Vendor estimates for wet electrostatic 

precipitators ($5 million per plant) and activated carbon absorption systems ($10 

million per plant) total $30 million in capital costs for the pollution control 

equipment alone. These estimates do not include capital costs for other changes 

necessary for the addition of pollution control equipment, do not include 

engineering costs, and do not include stack testing and other operation and 

maintenance costs. There is no practical way to eliminate these additional controls 

once they are purchased and installed. Furthermore, there is reason to believe that 

the District’s SSIs still could not meet the SSI Rule requirements because activated 

carbon absorption has not been shown to work on SSIs. 

Page 5 of 7 

USCA Case #11-1131 Document #1330427 Filed: 09/19/2011 Page 6 of 8
7. As a direct result of the SSI Rule, facilities such as ours will not seek to 

make improvements or undertake other beneficial projects since doing so will 

trigger an immediate change in regulatory requirements that are very costly. 

Otherwise beneficial projects, such as energy recovery projects, would add many 

millions in capital and engineering costs and additional improvements in order to 

comply with the SSI Rule. 

8. The overly stringent SSI Rule also threatens the continued use of 

incineration as the most viable and environmentally sound method of biosolids 

management. The District chose biosolids incineration because it is the most cost 

effective and environmentally beneficial means of biosolids management for the 

communities we serve. Incineration provides 90 percent volume reduction of 

biosolids thereby reducing burdens on landfill capacities, allows for the conversion 

of biosolids into energy (rather than wasting this energy through landfill 

decomposition), and produces a valuable ash product that the District blends with 

compost material to make a topsoil which can be used for landfill cover, closure 

material, road repair soil, and golf course repair and reconstruction soil. Recent 

regulatory changes have led to diverting organic material like biosolids away from 

landfills and, with the numerous restrictions on land application of biosolids, 

incineration remains the only viable alternative. 

Page 6 of 7 

USCA Case #11-1131 Document #1330427 Filed: 09/19/2011 Page 7 of 8
9. The impacts of the SSI Rule on the District and rate payers are already being 

felt. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is asking the 

District and other facilities with SSIs to immediately declare that they will be in 

compliance with the SSI regulations, or will cease biosolids incineration by March 

21, 2012. The ramifications to rate payers and the industry as a whole of such 

conditions in these economic times can be devastating. The SSI Rule is having an 

immediate impact on all District rate payers by having to increase debt service to 

the District eight member communities, for capital improvements, engineering and 

other compliance burdens directly caused by the SSI Rule. 

10. The District feels strongly that EPA should be made to reexamine the SSI 

Rule in full compliance with the CAA. 

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. 

Albany, New York 

September 6, 2011 Richard J. Lyons 

 Executive Director 

 Albany County Sewer District 

Page 7 of 7 

USCA Case #11-1131 Document #1330427 Filed: 09/19/2011 Page 8 of 8