Sludge Watch ==> Texas - American Water Services wants new sludge farm

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

This story illustrates the point about how sludge isn't acceptable to 
farmers. Here again we see a dedicated sludge 'farm' .... waste haulers go 
into the 'farming' biz.    And putting sludge on a flood plain ... just when 
natural disasters and unusual weather conditions become more and more 
common.


Who will eat these industrial waste contaminated feeds and foods from these 
dedicated sludge farms?  Who wants grain with extra cadmium...milk with more 
arsenic and PBDE?

Who wants to wear a brown 'GOT SLUDGE?' mustache?

.........................................

Published: December 27, 2006 09:25 am

Sewage sludge permit request on file

Dump site set for 2,400-acre tract near Kerens, Trinity

By Janet Jacobs

A Houston group is seeking a permit to spread 11 million pounds of sewer 
sludge over nearly 2,400 acres in western Navarro County, according to a 
request filed with the state.

American Water Residuals Management Inc., headquartered in Houston, applied 
June 22 to the the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to use the 
sludge from sewage plants on the Hollingsworth ranch, located in Northeast 
Navarro County.

Sludge is the solid matter left over after the liquid had been removed from 
sewage. The cheapest way to dispose of the sludge is to use it as 
fertilizer, although the practice has its detractors in the environmental 
community.

“You’re getting all these towns growing, and water byproducts are getting to 
be an issue,” said Paul Beydler, engineer with American Water Residuals 
Management. “We save them money and they get environment credits for doing 
this.”

The 2,500-acre ranch is on the Henderson County line, bounded on two sides 
by a crook in the Trinity River, and on the third side by the Westbrook 
Creek. Owner of the ranch is Vernon Clyde Hollingsworth Jr., who lives in 
Arcadia, Fla.

Although a significant section of the property is on the Trinity River, and 
Federal Emergency Management Administration maps show the entire area to be 
in a flood zone, Beydler said the sludge won’t wash into the river.

“A long time ago someone came along and built a 30-foot dam. There’s no 
access to the river,” he said.

Beydler is not sure where the sludge would originate. The company has 
similar disposal sites in Harris County, Travis County and in the Rio Grande 
Valley where it takes sludge from nearby large cities. The company doesn’t 
have a client in this area yet, he said.

“First, you have to have the land, then you get the clients,” Beydler said. 
“The site has to come first.”

The first stage of the project is done, and the company hopes to be up and 
running by May 1, according to Lisa Wheeler, spokeswoman for the TCEQ.

“All the paperwork is complete. Now, it goes through the technical review 
stage. That takes time,” Wheeler said.

The technical review process involves looking at what crops are going to be 
grown, how the land will be tilled, how often the sludge will be 
distributed, what equipment will be used, and what kind of soil is on the 
ranch and how much metals and PCB it can absorb, Wheeler explained.

The company will be growing coastal Bermuda and native grasses, with rye and 
or wheat in winter, according to the permit request.

The permit also states the company will be distributing about 5,567 tons of 
sludge a year on the property, or just slightly more than 11 million pounds.

—————

Janet Jacobs may be contacted via e-mail at jacobs at corsicanadailysun.com

http://www.corsicanadailysun.com/news/local_story_361092505.html?keyword=secondarystory