Lifting Ban on sludge dangerous, skeptics say

New Jersey News


Lifting ban on sludge dangerous,
skeptics say

Sunday, August 03, 2003

By PETER HALL
The Express-Times

A proposal to lift a ban on the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer on
preserved farmland has sparked alarm and opposition among farmers and
environmentalists.

The New Jersey State Agricultural Development Committee is considering
lifting a ban on the use of sludge on farms where the state has helped
purchase development rights. The rule applies to about 110,000 acres of
preserved farmland statewide.

New Jersey Department of
Agriculture spokesman
Ralph Siegel said the SADC
is considering the change in response to requests from members of the
state's farming community. The proposal was the subject of a hearing
Monday, in which about 20 people testified against the use of sludge on
preserved land.

Environmentalists and some farmers say allowing the use of sludge,
technically called biosolids, is dangerous because the long-term effects of
the material are unknown. Furthermore, they say the material presents a
risk of pollution to the state's rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

Sludge is the solid matter that settles out of sewage in treatment plants.
The sludge is treated to kill bacteria and viruses and mixed with other
material including coal ash and cement kiln dust to make biosolids.

Several utility authorities in New Jersey treat sewage sludge and market it
to farmers as "exceptional quality" biosolids.

The SADC rule would apply only to "exceptional quality" biosolids, which
meet standards established by the federal Environmental Protection
Agency for maximum levels of heavy metals and other chemicals used in
industrial processes.

The rule would recommend against the use of biosolids on land used for
fruit and vegetable crops and establish new guidelines for the use of
biosolids by farmers, Siegel said.

In Warren County, the use of sludge has been a controversial issue. The
county freeholders, Franklin Township and other municipalities stepped to
the brink of a legal battle with the state Department of Environmental
Protection over their right to oversee or block use of the material.

In Harmony Township, residents have rallied against Hydropress Inc.,
where sludge from New York is processed into fertilizer, claiming the plant
is a source of air pollution.

The battle has even extended into Pennsylvania, where officials in Upper
Mount Bethel Township are awaiting a state Supreme Court ruling on a
township law that regulates the use of Hydropress' product.

Sister Miriam MacGillis, founder and director of Genesis Farm in Hardwick
Township, was one of about 20 people who testified in opposition of the
SADC's rule change at hearing Monday in Trenton.

Genesis Farm is an organic farm where community members buy stakes
and share the risk and bounty of the operation. The farm, owned by the
Dominican Sisters of Caldwell, N.J., is part of the state's preserved
farmland inventory.

MacGillis testified at the SADC hearing and said she's opposed to the use
of sludge because it is simply a different way of disposing of waste that
was once dumped at sea and is now most commonly buried in land fills.

"What happened was a public relations decision to change the name from
hazardous waste to biosolids and find a cheap convenient way to dispose
of it," she said.

While the EPA sets maximum levels for a handful of chemicals,
thousands of others in common use aren't monitored in sludge used as
fertilizer.

Lori Gold, a member of the Warren County Environmental Commission
and an employee of Genesis Farm, also testified at the hearing.

"The meaning of a preserved farm is that it is going to be viable for growing
food for generations to come. It's our legacy to the future," she said.

The use of biosolids on preserved land is risky because the long-term
impact of sludge is not known. Chemicals contained in sludge could one
day find their way into the human food cycle.

"To do anything at this time that is so questionable and controversial is a
mistake in my mind and it could turn out to be grave mistake," Gold said.

In addition to the risk of contaminating farmland, biosolids pose a risk to
the environment in general, New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel
said.

Opponents' concern is intensified by state DEP Commissioner Bradley
Campbell's statement that he would allow the use of sludge on highway
medians and park land if the SADC changes its rule.

In a statement delivered at the SADC hearing, Campbell challenged
opposition to the rule change, saying it has no scientific basis.

In a telephone interview Thursday, Campbell said biosolids are proven to
be safe if used properly. He said the product presents less of a risk of
contaminating farmland than most commercial fertilizers and helps solve
the problem of how to dispose of sludge.

"We have testing data on a wide variety of contaminants in sewage
sludge, far more than we have on commercial fertilizers and that is what
underlies our confidence in this product," Campbell said.

The alternative is to continue building landfills to dispose of sewage
sludge, Campbell said.

Environmentalists disagree.

High in nitrogen and phosphorous, runoff from fields treated with biosolids
could cause severe damage to streams and lakes by promoting the
growth of algae, they say. Algal blooms deplete oxygen levels in water
and can kill fish.

Tittel said the dangers of widespread use of sludge far outweigh the
benefits of allowing its use on preserved land.

"Frankly, the DEP has fertilized the truth because they want to get rid of
this problem," he said. "This whole thing smells like sludge."