Compost business gets draft permit in North Dakota

Our company must market our flow-restriction device to an operation that turns manure, straw and unsalable crude oil to compost as a man wants to open a number of sludge-to-compost facilities in North Dakota. This article, found at BusinessWeek.com, discusses how Dale Leivestad wants to open numerous sludge-to-compost facilities in North Dakota as he feels this is an ideal location for his operations due to the number of people in the area and because Leivestad already has the blessing of the state Health department. The article also discusses how this is a well established industry within the area. Another factor that works in favor of the operation is that Leivsestad has already begun testing the process.

In Leivestad's process, a centrifuge machine will be used to separate liquids and solids. Oil removed through the process will be resold, while water and other liquids will be injected into the underground wells. The solid waste will be hauled to Leivestad's site and mixed with organic waste.

This could potentially be a large market for our flow-restriction device as there already are three other sludge-to-compost facilities in North Dakota, according to the Health Department's waste management director, Scott Radig. To many this is an ideal location for this type of operation because of the population. Slope and Bowman counties, where current and future facilities would be located, are some of the least populated counties in the United States with less than 1,000 residents in each. Leivestad has also begun testing the process over the past several months and is already shipping solid waste to an industrial dump in the state. "It's going to be a very safe place to ply our trade," believes Leivestad, who plans to operate on the 140 acres he owns nearby. Not only does our company need to market the flow-restriction device towards Leivestad, but the other sludge-to-compost facilities in the area as this could be a very profitable market.