California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region
Executive Officer’s Report
7-8 December 2006
34. Mushroom Farm to Re-open, Premier Mushrooms, Colusa County
Premier Mushrooms, LP (Michael Fragale - President) will be re-opening the former Colusa Mushroom farm located in Colusa.
The facility operated from early 2003 until late 2005 under a different operator, Colusa Mushroom, LP, and was forced to cease operating due to ongoing odor complaints. Odors were caused by the manufacture of growing substrate through a composting process.
A monitoring and reporting program (MRP) was issued in 2004 for the wastewater sumps that capture leachate from the composting process and contaminated storm water from outside pad areas. The facility uses more water from the sumps than it generates.
The MRP was recently re-issued to Premier Mushrooms to monitor sump water levels, wastewater concentrations, and any odors that may emanate from the sumps once production resumes. The new operator has hired an expert in the field of composting and odor control to design new odor control equipment that will include a new biofilter, an ammonia scrubber, and a much larger blower to remove and treat odors generated during the composting process.
The previous operator operated with an undersized blower, inadequate biofilter, no ammonia scrubber, and had not completed the building where composting took place.
Regulation of odors at the facility is under the purview of the Colusa County Environmental Health Department.
The new operator also plans to expand the facility in phases. A new report of waste discharge will be required if the expanded facility will exceed the capacity of the existing sumps. (WLB)