George DeVries, owner of DeVries Dairy, is hoping a revolutionary waste treatment system will not only keep him out of a legal battle with the City of Waco, but will actually make his operation more profitable.

"None of us thinks that Waco is 100 percent wrong in insisting we clean up our act," DeVries said Friday. "There has to be an answer to lowering phosphorus levels and we've got to find it."

DeVries has operated a dairy in Erath County since 1978, but purchased his present dairy northwest of Stephenville in 1989. Along with his wife, Terese, and their eight kids ranging in ages 8 to 18, the family operation has 1,235 head.

DeVries was one of 10 dairies in Erath County to be served a "Notice of Intent to Sue" by the City of Waco on Feb. 12. However when the actual suits were filed on April 29, DeVries Dairy was not named. According to the Waco Tribune-Herald, Waco city officials are forestalling litigation with DeVries to see if the new waste treatment system will prevent pollution.

Bion Environment Technologies based in New York began engineering the waste treatment system at DeVries Dairy in the spring of 2003. "I heard about the process so I went to New York to get more information," says DeVries. "Bion was looking for a dairy in the Bosque Watershed to demonstrate their technology and I was interested, so that got the ball rolling. I felt it was worth giving them a shot."

The process, the Bion Nutrient Management System (NMS), has been operational since July 2003. It is accomplished through biological nutrient removal. During the process, soluble phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen is converted to a particulate organic form, which is environmentally friendly, substantially pathogen free, slow-release organic soil and fertilizer called "BionSoil."

The article included a photo taken by Mike Coggins (of the contact chamber) with the following caption

Microorganisms and recycled flush water are mixed with dairy waste products in the Contact Chamber to begin the NMS treatment process.