Jack -

I take second place to no one in my disdain for Sam the Scam and his public (and private) pronouncements.

But I seem to recall that there have been two separate locations where grease run offs from burger joints that have been ongoing for years have significantly negatively impacted sanitary sewer operations, effectively plugging the sewers.

One is on the east side, but I don't remember the exact location. It has caused back ups of sewage, right back through homeowner check valves, into homes. IIRC the homes were at a lower elevation , yet "up line" from the burger joint and the clog point.

The other is at SW Huber and SW Capitol Highway, a block off Barbur, where another burger joint has over the years poured a lot of grease into sanitary sewers.

In neither case, though, do I understand the "gas plant" will have any impact upon those kinds of clogs. If I understand correctly, the "gas plant" will not process grease / oil. That stuff supposedly has a separate lucrative market as a base stock for Fireman Randy's "bio diesel" scams.

Perhaps the divisive, vindictive, alleged mayor has forgotten that street cleaning has been severely curtailed during the eight years of his responsibility for PBOT?

And perhaps he did not read the internal city analysis mentioned yesterday by the O's Beth Slovic:

"Columbia Biogas had argued that it deserved Portland's help because its facility -- which would turn food waste into electricity -- would produce savings for Portland residents and businesses. Its analysis, submitted to Portland officials for review, put potential savings at $8 million in unneeded sewer maintenance costs.

Internal city analysis obtained by The Oregonian in a public records request said savings were 'likely to be small.' Portlanders, the documents showed, could expect to save $104,000 in avoided treatment costs."
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/03/columbia_biogas_tells_mayor_sa.html

It seems like he is saying that there are two main ways that commercial food waste is currently disposed of, and that those involve either sewers or landfills, both of which have limited capacity which could become either clogged or filled-up, and that this new technology offers another option that doesn't involve the clogging of sewers and filling-up of landfills, which is a claim that could be supported by evidence, but probably not the evidence the editorial you are requesting.

Has anyone else heard this?
I was never able to verify this but a few months ago I was told that the BIG PIPE was having trouble because of sediment build up.
It seems the city elected to not pay for and include a recommended integral full length cleaning system to regularly flush sediment.
Sediment reached 4ft depths requiring more costly yet less effective flushing than the recommended system.

This can't be true or it would have been news, right?

In case you don't know the plan is going to land at 6849 NE Columbia Boulevard.

And did you know the Land Use Compatability Statement was applied for in August of 2010 and granted in November...

Sam's blog is pontificating again:

This biomess plant will be Portland's "step closer becoming the hub of North America's clean energy industry".

I laugh because many metropolitan governments are making that claim. A national editorial writer connected to environmental issues out of Houston laughs at all the hyperbolic claims she hears constantly. She believes in the efforts, but finds the pontificating like Sam's as detrimental to the cause.

Does "hub" mean Sam wants all the regions, or maybe the whole North American continent grease and commercial waste to come to Cully?

Oddly, I've never heard of the sewer complaint associated with the McDonald's at that location, and it's pretty close to my neck of the woods - many's the time I've ferried the daughter up to PCC; I don't recall seeing any sewer crews around the area.

O'm guessing that you were probably thinking of the porn mega-store that used to be located across the way (recently completely leveled). No telling what their "clientele" was flushing....

"Commercial food waste is clogging the sewers", so we'll make you, private citizen, compost your kitchen scraps and accept service cuts.

I will continue to put food scraps down my disposal until Creepy Scammy wrests it from my cold dead hands!

F..k him and the horse he road in on.

"... moves Portland closer to energy self-sufficiency.”

Yeah, nice weasel words. Should be on a bronze plaque by the propellers that power the elevators in that building in NW.

This is another "green" scam. The big pipe is nothing more than the worlds biggest and most expensive cesspool in the world. The treatment plant at the end of the big pipe is the original size so the material in the pipe sits and waits for treatment. They must double or triple your property taxes to pay for new plant. It's OK though, its for the children.

Vieledlorchid
Many people think that. Few say it. I enjoyed reading it.
Fancy pant
Is the big pipe really another massive screw up yet to be reported?

Re: "Is the big pipe really another massive screw up yet to be reported?"

news,

Ask Mr Marriott directly:
http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?&a=87768&c=31000

Formulate your queries as specifically as possible.

No, Max.

I'm talking about Capitol and Huber and the burger joint there.

Not Capitol and Taylors Ferry.

I know the area a ot better than you do.

"FOUR LOCAL CLUSTER STRENGTHS". Sounds like an awesome cereal.

At what school do they teach this bulls**t kind of speak? "Let's give this area a new, innovative language filled with jargon to make it seem so credible and smart. The synergy via local cluster strengths will enhance eco-bio blog talk so it will lead to an organic, grassroots change in behavior".

TankFixer -- Looking at Google earth, that would be the lot just east of the school buses, right? OMG, they are going to build on the last farm in the industrial zone?? What about the corn???

Has anyone requested from the City a list of every clogged sewer they had to respond to in the last several years? Surely the City should be able to generate that list pretty quickly.

Then it'll be easy to figure out why the sewers are getting clogged. And then we can see if the Mayor is right or not.

Orchid:
"I will continue to put food scraps down my disposal until Creepy Scammy wrests it from my cold dead hands!"

I really believe that everybody will take that approach... I mean, who thinks people will stink up their house with a slop bucket of rotten food scraps, attract rats and other vermin, just to placate Scam Adams?

I bet Portlandia types will continue to talk the talk (and shun the Honest Orchids), but do exactly that in the privacy of their own homes. Hypocrites are like that, no?

Every company that markets magic beans to governments has a story about how they will save blah-blah-blah and do blah-blah-blah and the reason the highly educated people you pay big bucks to run these systems haven't implemented these magic beans already is because they are blockheads.

An intelligent person would observe that choosing politicians as your marketing target suggests on its face that your magic beans can only be used at a loss, An intelligent person would observe that the lack of an existing user base for your magic beans casts doubt on their usefulness and economy. Adams has not only got the habit of buying these sales pitches, but has been sold on the idea that it would be good if Portland became known for being first on every magic bean bus. The sales boys are lighting their Cuban cigars with $20 bills in the back room.

Perfect new going-away-present nickname for that putz: "Sewer Clog"

A related story in the news the other day told of major increases in sewer rates for businesses that burden the system. Portland has acquired a reputation in recent years for its large number of very good restaurants. Massive sewer rate increases should fix that.

Concord

Yes it is/was a farm, not sure if it is active however.

I thought we were supposed to try and eat local produce etc. The UGB was put in place to keep farms from being covered up and such.

To me it is an example of rules for thee, none for me.

I suppose since these laws are in place to protect me, I should just smile and move along.

Something needs to be done to correct all the food waste being flushed down the drains by all the food carts in PDX.

Food carts are probably exempt as they are "hip". Real businesses must pay more...lots more!

Ditto to that. I too, have noticed the greasy sidewalks and gutters around the food cart pods, but maybe it's not counted as a problem if you dump from a non-specific hookup.

It sure seems like the bigger issue here is not if our drains are being clogged, but rather the city’s relationship with private business. There is an old saying that politics can make strange bedfellows. I’m not so sure that it is always a good thing for the taxpayer, especially when it comes to the “public /private partnership”. At first glance that relationship would seem to mean creating an atmosphere where private business could thrive. The government would go about providing the necessary services to the city, without unnecessarily hindering growth of that private enterprise.

But sometimes it seems that partnership turns into (the taxpayer) sharing much more of our bed with private business than we all bargained for. We provide the tax breaks and/or waiving of fees so new jobs will be created. Maybe we throw in financial support simply because it will help “sustain” us. At least, that is the way it is always presented. Too often however those jobs are never created, and we never see any improvement with respect to neighborhood livability. Next we find that a public official is leaving the public sector and taking a high paying job with one of these former private “partners”. I’m not suggesting that’s what is going on here, but there should at least be some rules so we can sleep a little easier. And I don’t think fixing it at the ballot box will work, it never has.

I also take issue with public funds being used without oversight to support "favored" businesses while allowing "unfavored" ones to languish supposedly in an attempt to shape society and economics. The opportunites for graft, waste, and foolishness are enormous.

Food carts and grease. Many times while visiting the CoP's Permit Center Building on SW 4th by PSU, across the street from a block of food carts, I've seen vendors dumping their 5 gallon buckets of waste in the street's storm drain grates. The restaurant on the ground floor of CoP's building pays to properly dispose of their waste while across the street from the people who impose, police all the city regulations allows Sam's junk to proliferate. They're Food Carts, a Sustainable, "one of our four key cluster industries".

Don't worry, you thought Vera was bad and you got Sam. Now the O has thrown in with Charlie Hales.

More of the same - Expect the ministry of disinformation to be renting space next to the office of equity.

Um...actually, Nonny - there is no burger joint at Capitol and Taylor's Ferry, and never has been. I included that intersection simmply as a jab at the former porn shop. At Capitol and Huber there is

1): a Shell station
2): an auto shop/Oil Can Henry's/Kaady Car wash
3): Pacific Pride cardlock fuel station
4): McDonald's/Starbuck's (actually at Barbur and Huber, but the burger joint can be accessed from Capitol.

city regulations allows Sam's junk to proliferate

I should have thought that is the one thing we are safe from.

Nonny:
I'm talking about Capitol and Huber and the burger joint there.

Not Capitol and Taylors Ferry.

I know the area a ot better than you do.

I realize that it's difficult for you, but try civility for a change. And you may want to take your own advice to heart about reading for comprehension.

There is not now, nor has there been for at least the past two decades, an establishment you claim at the location you cite.

You were wrong, you are wrong, you don't know my neighborhood better than I do, and quite frankly, this is the end because you aren't worth the electrons.

Allan L. wrote: I should have thought that is the one thing we are safe from.

Yes, but it does tend to "clog the sewer" with some frequency. Wait, what were we talking about?