Tampa Tribune (November 3, 2009)

Nov. 3--TAMPA -- The city's carbon footprint could soon be getting bigger.

Tampa officials want to increase the amount of methanol they're allowed to use at the Howard F. Curren Wastewater Treatment Plant, a move environmental regulators say will double the level of ozone-depleting greenhouse gases coming from the facility.

Methanol is a hazardous liquid and a source of carbon, the primary gas linked to global warming.

The city's wastewater department uses about 2 million gallons of methanol a year to remove nitrates during the treatment process, storing the liquid chemical in a 100,000 gallon tank. Every time the tank is filled up, carbon is released into the atmosphere.

City officials want to increase that to 4 million gallons a year.

Local environmental groups are concerned about the move and say it raises questions about Tampa's commitment to become a "green city" by reducing greenhouse gases.

"We're very upset about it," said Stephen Breslow, energy conservation chairman of the Tampa Bay area chapter of the Sierra Club. "We've been trying to get the city to reduce its carbon emissions for years and something like this is a major step backwards."

Ralph Metcalf, director of Tampa's wastewater department, said the move will allow the city to buy larger quantities when the price is low, which will save taxpayers money.

"We're trying to save money," he said. "Methanol can be very, very expensive."

About five years ago, the city paid about 60 cents a gallon for methanol, he said. Now the city pays between $2 and $3 a gallon, but the price does occasionally go down.

"We want to be able to fill up the tank when the price goes down," Metcalf said.

Hillsborough County's Environmental Protection Commission is reviewing the city's request. They said the move will mean more carbon emissions from the plant.

"They'll be getting more methanol at the plant so they'll be releasing more carbon emissions," said Diana Lee, chief of the commission's air permitting section.

Lee said is the city exceeds the limit of 10 tons a year of hazardous air emissions set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, that would trigger an additional review.

"We still need assurances from the city that they won't be exceeding that limit," Lee said. "The treatment plant is already considered a major source of air pollution in the region."

City officials said emissions from the sewage treatment plant will be less than 4 tons a year, and claim they will be releasing less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere because they will be reducing the number of times a year they have to fill up the storage tank.

"We're actually trying to decrease the amount of methanol we use," Metcalf said.

Despite efforts to increase renewable or clean energy sources, Florida remains one of the nation's biggest producers of carbon dioxide, according to environmental groups.

Mayor Pam Iorio wants Tampa to become a leader in Florida's green movement.

Iorio signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement more than two years ago, pledging to meet a series of tangible environmental benchmarks, including efforts to reduce the city's carbon dioxide emissions by adopting energy-efficient standards.

Conversely, Tampa is required by the federal Clean Water Act to reduce the amount of nitrates or bacteria in treated sewage before it is released into the state's waterways.

And methanol is highly effective to remove nitrates from treated wastewater

The city's plant treats more than 96 million gallons per day of wastewater. Some of the water, which is nearly clean enough to drink, is used for residential and agricultural irrigation and for industrial purposes, but most of it is dumped into Tampa Bay.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

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