Sludge Watch ==> Hinkley in another battle - fight sludge project before supervisors

[Maureen Reilly]

Hinkley in another battle
Town residents will fight project before supervisors
Andrew Silva, Staff Writer San Bernardino Sun
Article Launched:12/17/2006 12:00:00 AM PST


HINKLEY - Residents of this quiet, remote desert town are once more girding 
for battle, fearing their health could again be in danger.
Located just off Highway 58 west of Barstow, the community was launched into 
the national spotlight by the 2000 movie "Erin Brockovich," a retelling of 
their battle against PG&E, which had polluted their water.

Now it's a plan to compost human sewage sludge eight miles away that will 
have them boarding buses Tuesday morning to the San Bernardino County Board 
of Supervisors meeting.

The company hoping to establish the composting operation says it's safe. 
Opponents say there are too many unknowns.

"We're the lab rats they're going to base their next study on," said Norman 
Diaz, a 45-year-old father of twins who's ignored his career for the past 
six months to fight the sludge plan.

Apple Valley-based Nursery Products wants to compost up to 400,000 tons per 
year of the gooey leftovers from treating sewage. The material would then be 
delivered to agricultural operations as fertilizer, a common practice in the 
United States.

The company argues that the process is completely safe, highly regulated, 
and that the residents have no reason to worry, especially


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since the 160-acre facility will be eight miles away.
"There have been open-air composting operations all over the nation that 
have operated successfully and safely for years," said Brian Lochrie, a 
spokesman for the company.

He cites a 2002 study by the National Academy of Sciences as evidence that 
biosolids are safe.

The report stated, "There is no documented evidence that (federal 
regulations on biosolids have) failed to protect public health. However, 
additional scientific work is needed to reduce persistent uncertainty about 
the potential for adverse human health effects from exposure to biosolids."

A top U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientist said there is no threat 
to the public, despite the academy's call for much more research.

"The composting process destroys all pathogenic bacteria and is absolutely 
safe," said Alan Rubin, chief author of the EPA's regulation-setting 
standards on using and composting biosolids.

The Nursery Products project was approved by the county Planning Commission 
Nov. 30, after which residents and environmental groups appealed to the 
Board of Supervisors.

The sludge would come from communities in the High Desert and the Inland 
Empire and be mixed with dry wood waste.

"You don't have odor issues or fly issues," Lochrie said.

Odor, flies and dust, though, were major problems when the company operated 
in Adelanto.

The city, which had welcomed Nursery Products with open arms in 2002, had to 
sue the company to drive it out of town last year. The Los Angeles 
Department of Water and Power also sued the company.

The operation, however, was never cited by county or state regulators for 
violations.

A plan to move to Newberry Springs after leaving Adelanto ran into stiff 
opposition and forced owners to look elsewhere.

They settled on a spot one mile south of Highway 58 and about one mile west 
of Helendale Road, eight miles west of Hinkley.

Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity's climate 
program, calls the uncovered composting operation "old-style technology that 
is harmful to public health."

Activists got news last week that their previous champion was leaping to 
their defense.

Brockovich is paying for the buses, which will leave Hinkley and Barstow 
early Tuesday, and she may appear at the supervisors meeting to plead for 
Hinkley.

Diaz, who's worked nonstop on the issue, was glad to have the help.

"If she wants to ride in on her white horse and slay this thing, I'm all for 
it," he said.

Staff writer Chuck Mueller contributed to this report

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http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=5825666&nav=9qrx

KESQ Palm Springs


First it was polluted water, now it's compost



LOS ANGELES First it was polluted water for the residents of Hinkley but now 
it's compost.

The quiet, remote desert town which was launched into the national spotlight 
by the 2000 movie "Erin Brockovich" is now dealing with plans to compost 
human sewage sludge eight miles away.

On Tuesday, residents will board buses to the San Bernardino County Board of 
Supervisors meeting to register their complaints.

Opponents say there are too many unknowns.

Forty-five-year-old Norman Diaz, a father of two, has put his career on hold 
and for the past six months has been fighting the sludge plan.

He says, quote: "We're the lab rats they're going to base their next study 
on."

But Apple Valley-based Nursery Products says it's a common practice in the 
United States. The company argues that the process is completely safe, 
highly regulated, and that the residents have no reason to worry, especially 
since the 160-acre facility will be eight miles away.
\\..............................................

>From The Guardian - UK

12/12/2006 02:48 PM                  ID: 58935
Town of Hinkley Calls on Erin Brockovich to Save Them Again
The town of Hinkley has called on Erin Brockovich to save them from 
environmental disaster a second time. A company wants to put a 160-acre 
sewage plant close to the town after a previous town had the same company's 
plant shut down.
Previously Brockovich won a $250 million payout for the town from Pacific 
Gas and Electric after the energy giant poisoned the town's water supply 
with chromium. The story was made into a movie starring Julia Roberts.
Ms Brockovich has promised to investigate, saying, "This is a community that 
is near and dear to my heart, I'm with them on their concerns. I don't know 
that I'd want it either."
  Source: www.guardian.co.uk


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