Technical Bulletin No. 0313: A Study of the Fate of Suspended Solids from a Full Scale Treatment Plant in Receiving Waters

The unknown fate, in receiving waters, of residual non-settleable biosolids in biologically treated pulp and paper mill effluents has been one justification for the continued emphasis on the need for currently promulgated restrictive effluent guidelines for these suspended solids. In other situations the Corps of Engineers has claimed that these non-settleable biosolids react in the same manner as normal sediment load. On the assumption that they contribute to the deposition in estuaries and harbors, and hence require dredging, the proposition has been advanced by the Corps that individual dischargers should bear the cost of their removal.