Cost of sludge drying has to be $231,000-plus

FPUD’s press release “Sludge Savings” [NCT, 6/7/08] stated, “The chemicals and natural gas needed to run the sludge drying equipment are expected to cost $75,000 year.”

What about manpower costs? Continuous operating plants need 4-1/7 operators for each weekly position for complete hourly coverage. Therefore, at least four FPUD (sludge drying) operators plus one supervisor are needed/week.

Using salaries of $15/hour for five positions, minimum yearly salary costs would be $156,000 plus sick leave and holiday pay. Add costs of retirement, medical/dental insurance, electric utilities, taxes, and...