Hess Persson Estates (The Hess Collection Winery, located at 1166 Commerce Blvd) respectfully submits this statement in support of establishing a High Strength Waste (HSW) stream within the City of American Canyon. Our existing Smith & Loveless MBR pretreatment system is at end-of-life—aging, costly to replace, and increasingly difficult to maintain due to limited parts availability. Rebuilding this system would require a substantial capital investment and a lengthy construction timeline, creating significant risk to our operational continuity.
Wine production wastewater is inherently high in organics, highly variable, and episodic due to crush, bottling, and cleaning cycles. These characteristics are best managed through centralized treatment supported by appropriate pretreatment and equalization requirements. A City-managed HSW program—with solids and oil screening, flow-equalization agreements, and clear monitoring expectations—would protect the collection system while enabling the City to treat these variable loads efficiently and reliably at scale.
Hess’s business model depends on being able to crush, ferment, bottle, and store on site. Access to an HSW discharge pathway is essential to maintaining full operational capability. Without it, Hess may be forced to shift from a processing facility to storage-only, impacting jobs, throughput, and the broader economic activity we support within the region.
Hess Persson Estates remains deeply committed to supporting the industrial development and economic vitality of the City of American Canyon, and we appreciate the Council’s consideration of this important infrastructure improvement.
Sincerely,
Mimi Storts, VP of Operations
Adam Schneider, Operations Manager