The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
ANNUAL REPORTING FORM
 
John Buchanan, Associate Professor
Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science
Annual Performance Period: January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007


A. SUMMARY AND IMPACTS.

1. Summary. Provide an overall summary (500 words or less) of your accomplishments during the reporting period.

Much of 2007 was spent working with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Divisions of Ground Water Protection and Water Pollution Control in the development of polices relating to decentralized wastewater management systems. The Division of Ground Water Protection requested that I develop a series of science-based recommendations as to the modernization of their subsurface sewage disposal regulations. As of December 2007, eighteen out of twenty of my recommendations are included in the revised regulations that are now out for public comment. The Division of Water Pollution Control has permit responsibilities for wastewater systems that use subsurface drip irrigation. I have been heavily involved in the development of design and maintenance policies that this Division is using to when they write permits for wastewater drip irrigation systems. This work is represented in Chapters 15 and 17 of the Divisions guidelines for wastewater system design and construction.

Two of my graduate students finished this year: Kenton Brotherton and Patrick Dobbs. Thus I spent a significant amount of time reading and editing theses.

I was an invited speaker at the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors & Civil Engineers Annual Meeting in Eastham, Massachusetts.

2. Impacts. List up to three significant impacts of your program. Impact statements should be one to three sentences and should be written in a way that would be meaningful to the public.

Using U.S. EPA 319(h) funds, two failed septic systems were repaired. These systems can now be used as demonstrations as to the repair of failed systems at locations with limiting conditions such as shallow bedrock and steep slopes. Both of these systems are located in environmentally sensitive watersheds.

Greater than 1600 people have attended the level I and level II workshops for Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control on Construction Site. Most of these individuals are now state-certified erosion and sediment control inspectors.

Dr. Buchanan submitted a series of recommendations to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Ground Water Protection. Eighteen of these recommendations are reflected in the proposed amendments to the Division's subsurface sewage disposal regulations.


B. PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS (EXTENSION, RESEARCH AND TEACHING). As applicable, list title, names of participants (PIs, Leaders, Co-PIs, Co-leaders, Collaborators etc.), project number, sponsor, your role ( leader/co-leader/collaborator) and your percent effort on the project as stated in the project description or document.

Investigation of domestic wastewater renovation efficacy of subsurface disposal systems approved for use in Tennessee. J. R. Buchanan, N. Eash, J. Lee, and M. Radosevich. TN302. Buchanan is the Project Leader and is listed as provided 0.40 SY toward this effort.

Evaluating & Demonstrating the Repair of Failed Septic Systems. TDA. 10/1/04-12/31/09. Buchanan, J (Project Leader). 0.15 SY.

Center for Decentralized Wastewater Management. J. R. Buchanan. 0.20 SY. To conduct research, outreach, and education to promote the use of decentralized wastewater management such to improve environmental and public health. Project ended June 2007.

Determining the Long-Term Acceptance Rate of a Mature Wastewater Soil Absorption System. J. R. Buchanan. Texas Cooperative Extension Service, Project Leader.

C. INSTRUCTION, TEACHING AND EXTENSION EDUCATION. Detail credit and non-credit instruction and teaching activities.

1. College credit instruction. List courses in which you were an instructor or guest lecturer during the current calendar year. Include special topics, independent study and internship courses. Provide course number and title, your involvement, semester(s), credit hours and number of students. Please append a summary of teaching evaluations (student and/or peer) if this information is available.

Course number and title Involvement Semester Credit
hours
Number of
students
BsET508 Special problems in Biosystems Engineering TechnologyTotalSpring31
CE380 Water and Wastewater Treatment ProcessesGuestFall332

2. Formal continuing education (certification programs, seminar series, in-service training, field days, faculty and/or staff training, journal club, etc.). Provide descriptive title of activity, your involvement, number of participants or students involved, number and duration of each session.

Descrip. title, including dates Involvement Number of students
or participants
Number of
sessions
Duration of each
session (hours)
Building a team of effective instructors, February 9.Team1711
Decentralized Wastewater Management. Training Session for Elected Officials, Roane County Commissioners and Mayor, Kingston, TN, January 9.Team2912.5
Decentralized Wastewater Management: Design, Installation, and Maintenance Concepts. Knoxville Utilities Board, Knoxville, TN, May 14.Total2813
Design Fundamentals of Subsurface Wastewater Drip Irrigation. Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers, Annual Convention, Eastham, October 19.Total1211
Fundamentals of Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control - Level One. Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Erosion and Sedimentation Control on Construction Sites WorkshopsTotal1560127
Fundamentals of Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control - Level Two. Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Erosion and Sedimentation Control on Construction Sites WorkshopsTeam225514
Hydraulics of Small Wastewater Systems. Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center, February 5.Total4215
Packed Bed Media Filters. Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers, Annual Convention, Eastham, October 19.Total911
Recertification Course for Inspectors of Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control on Construction Sites.Total12484
Recirculating Sand Filters and Decentralized Wastewater Management. Blount County Planning Commission, July 26.Total2211.5
Residential Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems: An operation and maintenance service provider program. Columbia, MO, April 24-26.Team13124
Subsurface Wastewater Drip Distribution System Design, Fletcher, NC, June 12-13.Total40116

3. Extension presentations and workshops. Indicate title, type, and scope of presentation; number of times presented; attendance estimates. Include evidence of effectiveness (e.g. evaluation summaries) where applicable.

Title/Type of presentation Scope Number of times presented Total attendees
       

4. Public addresses to lay audiences (TV/radio presentations, service groups, etc.). Indicate title, type, scope of presentation; number of times presented; attendance estimates. Include evidence of effectiveness (e.g. evaluation summaries) where applicable.

Title/Type of presentation Scope Number of times presented Total attendees
ATV's and water quality: Trails, creeks and horsepower. June 26, Oak Ridge, TN.Regional126 

5. Presentations at professional meetings, without published abstracts. List presenter, co-authors (if any), title, date and name of meeting (list scientific oral or poster presentations having published abstracts or proceedings at D5).

Buchanan, J. R. 2007. Alternative septic systems. Bechtel Jacobs Company, LLC. East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge, TN, March 7. Oral presentation.


Buchanan, J. R. 2007. Update on the development of Tennessee's subsurface wastewater drip irrigation criteria. Eleventh Annual Tennessee Onsite Wastewater Association Meeting, Spring Hill, TN, February 6. Oral presentation.



6. Student mentoring. Fill in the boxes to indicate number of students in each category.

Level of students No. of students advised No. of active graduate committees on which you served as:
Major professor Committee member
Undergraduate      
Masters  
Doctoral      

7. Student or commodity club activities (e.g. club advisor, team competitions, honor or professional societies, etc.). List the club or group; your role with the club or group; and the activities, honors or awards received by this group under your mentorship.

8. Other instructional and teaching activities.


D. PUBLICATIONS. List only publications that were published during the annual reporting period (for #8, submitted during reporting period). Format citations as typical and appropriate for outlet. If a co-author(s) is a student or was working under your direct supervision, place an asterisk after that person's name.

1. Refereed articles or refereed reviews appearing in peer-reviewed professional journals.

Celen, I.*, J. R. Buchanan, R. T. Burns, R. B. Robinson, and D. R. Raman.  2007.  Using a chemical equilibrium model to predict amendments required to precipitate phosphorus as struvite in liquid swine manure.  Water Research 41: 1689-1696.

Yoder, D. C., J. S. Tyner, J. D. Balousek, J. C. Panuska, J. R. Buchanan, K. J. Kirsch, and J. P. Lyon.  2007.  Conservation planning for construction sites.  Trans. ASABE. 50(5): 1613-1618 .

2. Book chapters or books.

3. Bulletins, reports, circulars, pamphlets, factsheets.

4. Popular press, trade, UTIA magazine or newsletter articles.

5. Abstracts from scientific or discipline meetings, papers from conference proceedings, etc.

Buchanan, J. R.  2007.  The evolution of decentralized wastewater management regulations in Tennessee.  Individual and Small Community Sewage Systems XI. Proceedings of the Eleventh National Symposium, ASABE, Warwick, Rhode Island, October 20-24.

6. Theses/Dissertations completed by students that you directed.

Brotherton, K. M.*  2007.  The Use of Polyacrylamide for Turbidity Control of Construction Site Runoff in East Tennessee.  Unpublished Master's Thesis.

Dobbs, P. A.*  2007.  Risk Analysis of Decentralized Wastewater Design Flows.  Unpublished Master's Thesis.

7. Other publications.

8. Articles submitted during the reporting period that are in review, in press or rejected. Please do not list articles in preparation.


E. FUNDING. Format each entry as a citation, include as applicable: investigators (with percent effort shown on grant or contract document), title, source/agency.

1. Grant and contract proposals submitted but not awarded during this reporting period. Indicate date of submission and status (still pending, rejected).

Buchanan, J. R. (100%).  Septic System User Manual for Homeowners.  TDA.  12/1/07.  $30,000.  (still pending)

2. Grants and contracts awarded during this reporting period. List inclusive period of support (start and end dates) and total amount of award.

Buchanan, J. R. (100%).  Development of a Field-Scale Protocol to Measure the Long-Term Hydraulic Acceptance Rate of Mature W.  Texas Cooperative Extension Service.  1/1/07-5/1/08.  $5,046.

Leib, B. G. (30%), J. R. Buchanan (20%), E. F. Caldwell (50%).  Dissemination of Irrigation Research That Increases Burley Tobacco Yield and Quality While Reducing .  Tobacco Education and Research Council, Inc. .  1/1/08-8/31/08.  $16,700.

3. Grants and contracts awarded in past years that continued into this reporting period. List inclusive period of support (start and end dates) and total amount of award.

Buchanan, J. R. (100%).  Evaluating & Demonstrating the Repair of Failed Septic Systems.  TDA.  10/1/04-12/31/07.  $294,357.

Buchanan, J. R. (100%).  TVA Match of 319 proposal: Eval. & Demonstration the Repair of Failed Septic Systems.  TVA.  1/1/04-12/31/07.  $60,000.

Leib, B. G. (40%), H. J. Savoy (35%), J. R. Buchanan (10%), H. Paul Denton (15%).  Fertigation of Burley Tobacco: Reducing Fertilizer Input and Nitrosamine Levels.  Philip Morris USA.  6/1/05-5/31/07.  $91,079.

Buchanan, J. R. (100%).  Evaluation of Onsite Wastewater System Sizing Criteria.  TNDEC.  1/1/07-12/31/08.  $11,210.

4. Gifts. List recipients, donor, items or amount donated and dollar equivalent received during the reporting period.

5. Grant reports submitted. List authors, title, to whom submitted, date submitted.

Buchanan, J. R. 2007. Sizing soil absorption systems: An evaluation of Tennessee's onsite wastewater system sizing criteria with a special focus on alternative porous media products. Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Ground Water Protection, November 26.

Buchanan, J. R. Close-Out Report: Center for Decentralized Wastewater Management, Tennessee Department of Agriculture Nonpoint Source Program, August 24.

Buchanan, J. R. 2007 Annual Report: Center for Decentralized Wastewater Management. Tennessee Department of Agriculture Nonpoint Source Program.

Buchanan, J. R. 2007 Annual Report: Septic System Repair Demonstration. Tennessee Department of Agriculture Nonpoint Source Program.

Buchanan, J. R. Progress Report: Septic System Repair Demonstration, Jan-Feb 2007. Tennessee Department of Agriculture Nonpoint Source Program.

Buchanan, J. R. Progress Report: Septic System Repair Demonstration, Mar-Jul 2007. Tennessee Department of Agriculture Nonpoint Source Program.

6. Other (e.g. sales, royalties).


F. OTHER CREATIVE ACTIVITIES.

1. Tech. advances (intell. prop., patent, copyright, products, processes, genetic lines/varieties).

2. Computer software (e.g. instructional or research software, CD ROMs).

3. Educational tools.

4. Internet activities.

5. Other creative products and activities.


G. SERVICE. List client outreach activities (both public and private sectors) and professional service.
    
1. Client service.
 a. Commodity or discipline group service activities. List committees, offices held or other roles.

b. Clinical and diagnostic services. List type of service provided and client(s).

c. Service to individual producers, businesses, or corporations as a specialist, consultant or expert advisor (whether paid or unpaid). List your one-on-one service activities with this group of clients.

Advised Lincoln Memorial University on a decentralized approach to the campus wastewater treatment system. March 1 & 15.

Advised Vision Engineering about use of subsurface drip irrigation to disperse effluent. April 4.

Advised Vaughn & Melton Consulting Engineers about using decentralized wastewater management systems in rural East Tennessee. March 14.

Advised Trinity Engineering on the design of a subsurface wastewater drip irrigation system in Jefferson County. June 20.

Advised Freeman Engineering about the use of a recirculating sand filter to provide secondary wastewater treatment at a location in Roane County, August 16.

Provide guidance to Mr. J. V. Doan as to getting a septic system approved at a very difficult site in Jefferson County, various phone calls and letter, February-August.

Knox County Development Corporation - toured this group through a local decentralized systems, Knox County is considering using a decentralized system in the development of a industrial park in East Knox County, August 21.

Advised GRW engineers about new septic system for Sunbright School in Morgan County, August 21.

d. Other (e.g. Ag Day activities, Varsity Visit, judging, presentations at clubs and K-12 schools).

Skills Day, Land Measurement Exercise, March 3

2. Professional service (for professional colleagues).
a. Within the university.
I. Committee work. Briefly describe your involvement during the reporting period.
i. University.

ii. UTIA.

iii. Department.

Scholarship Committee
Promotion and Tenure Committee

II. Other (e.g. technical assistance to colleagues, peer reviews,
mentoring of junior faculty, hosting visiting scientists).


b. Outside the university (e.g. committee work/offices in professional or public organizations or societies, editorship, editorial boards, review of manuscripts (indicate outlet) and project proposals (indicate agency), meetings organized, member of grant review panel or study section, moderator, etc.).

President, Consortium of Institutes for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment, 1/01/08 to 12/31/2010.

Committee Member, Annual Conference Committee, National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association.

Committee Member, Education Committee, National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association.

Provided four peer reviews, Trans ASABE, J. Envir Quality, & National Onsite Wastewater Assoc.

Technical adviser to the Stock Creek Watershed Forum

Technical adviser to the Little River Watershed Group

Technical adviser to the Beaver Creek Watershed Group


H. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (meetings, workshops, classes, trips, etc.). List the event or activity, sponsor, duration of event and your role.

Analyzing wastewater treatment systems serving residential and commercial facilities for high strength and hydraulic loading. Consortium of Institutes for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment, 24-hours of training, June 26-28.

Using RUSLE II for construction site erosion control. International Erosion Control Association, Reno, NV, 24-hours of training, February 13-14.

Access Database Training. UT, Employee & Organizational Development, Computer Classes, January 8-9.

Attended the Soil and Water Conservation Society Meetings in Jackson (May 9) and Cumberland Mountain State Park (October 31).


I. PERSONNEL SUPERVISION. List the postdoctoral fellows, research associates, research assistants, technicians, extension associates, extension assistants, graduate assistants, undergraduate students, clerical personnel or others that you supervised during the year.

ClassificationFTE's per semester
SpringSummerFall
Postdoctoral fellows      
Research associates, assistants, technicians    
Extension associates, assistants      
Graduate students, assistants      
Undergraduate students  
Clerical personnel      
Other      


J. HONORS AND AWARDS. List honors and awards received during reporting period, including the name of the organization presenting the award.