Senate committee hears testimony on $10 million grant request to expand Herd Farms wastewater treatment

The Senate Committee on Energy and Environment on March 12 held a public hearing on Senate Bill 956, which would appropriate $10,000,000 from the general fund to the Oregon Department of Administrative Services for a grant to Herd Farms to expand wastewater-treatment infrastructure.

Supporters told the committee Herd Farms operates specialized treatment and land-application services that municipal treatment plants generally cannot process and that expanding the private facility could avoid tens of millions of dollars in municipal upgrades. "We are at our absolute maximum capacity right now and we need to do something right away to relieve the pressure," said Richard Herd, owner of Herd Farms, describing the company's current workloads and planned upgrades.

Why it matters: Herd Farms' Roseburg facility currently accepts septage, municipal biosolids, grease trap waste and other high-strength wastes from roughly 20 cities and multiple counties in western and southern Oregon. Testimony from local officials stressed that if municipalities must process those wastes themselves they would face far higher capital and operating costs and limited land available for beneficial reuse.

What proponents said: State Senator David Brock Smith described Herd Farms as a "critical operation" for municipalities from Brookings to Springfield, saying the company allows cities to avoid retrofitting municipal plants at great public expense. Representative Virgil Osborne and Representative Boyce, both of whom toured the facility, said the service area stretches across several counties and that expansion is necessary to serve growing waste volumes.

Richard Herd said Herd Farms treats material with biological oxygen demand (BOD) levels far higher than typical municipal influent and that the Roseburg site has invested roughly $3 million in recent years. He outlined planned work that would be enabled by the requested grant: additional filtrate storage ponds, purchase of property and construction of a second facility north of Eugene to reduce long-haul trucking, new drying beds and dry-cake storage, and increased transport capacity.

Local officials and customers described operational impacts and costs. Betty Keeley, mayor of Oakland, Oregon, told the committee her city’s sludge generation rose from about 10,000 gallons per year to more than 220,000 gallons annually after the Archie Creek Fire burned the city’s watershed; she said Oakland lacks land and funding to build equivalent facilities and relies on Herd Farms for long-term disposal and reuse.

Industry witnesses described economic and operational barriers to private financing. Scott Weld, owner of Buck Sanitary and Royal Flush Environmental Services, and other haulers testified they prefer the private treatment relationship and that venture capital and some private investors are reluctant to enter the liquid-waste business because of regulations and variable inputs. Herd testified a bank loan at roughly 7% would still likely produce unaffordable monthly debt service; he said a $10 million loan would raise mortgage payments substantially and that revenue increases from upgrades would not be realized for several years.

No final action: The hearing record was closed by Chair Solman after a full slate of in-person and written testimony. Committee members asked Herd and municipal witnesses to provide additional details, including municipal disposal-cost estimates and the number of cities served. The committee did not take a vote at the March 12 hearing.

Ending: SB 956 remains in the committee as of the close of the March 12 hearing. Committee members said they will review submitted documents and follow up with staff requests; no legislative amendment or final disposition was reported at the hearing.