Washington, D.C.-- The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority’s (WASA) biosolids program is the fifth wastewater facility in the nation--and the first on the East Coast--to receive national certification of its Environmental Management System (EMS) for biosolids.

To be certified, WASA’s biosolids program successfully completed an independent third-party audit verifying that it had an effective biosolids environmental management system in place. The non-liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage at a treatment facility is called biosolids.

Certification was awarded by the National Biosolids Partnership (NBP), a non-profit alliance formed in 1997, to promote environmentally sound and accepted biosolids management practices. The alliance is made up of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the Association of Municipal Sewage Agencies (AMSA).

WASA biosolids have successfully been used to returf 350 acres at a new airport in Stafford County, Virginia; helped turn an old gravel mine in Prince Georges County, Maryland into a mulch-producing tree farm and reduced the overall cost of farming by providing regional farmers with free, organic biosolids which can be used in place of costly commercial, inorganic fertilizers.

“We’re a world-class facility and we’re pleased that WASA has been certified as continually improving and promoting environmentally sustainable practices,” said Jerry N. Johnson, General Manager of WASA.

Other wastewater treatment agencies that have received certification are in Orange County, California; Los Angeles, California; King County, Washington and Madison, Wisconsin.