Sludge Watch ==> L.A. Officials may challenge Kern ban on imported sludge

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Article Launched: 6/08/2006 12:00 AM


L.A. officials may challenge Kern ban on imported sludge

BY KERRY CAVANAUGH, Staff Writer
LA Daily News

Los Angeles officials said Wednesday they are considering a lawsuit to 
challenge Kern voters' decision to keep L.A. from trucking its sewage sludge 
to the other county.
The Kern ban came even as L.A. officials launched an experimental project to 
inject sludge beneath the ground in San Pedro.

Kern voters easily passed Measure E late Tuesday to prohibit the use of 
highly treated human waste, or biosolids, as fertilizer in unincorporated 
areas of their county.

The initiative, which takes effect within six months, was aimed at blocking 
Los Angeles from trucking 750 tons of biosolids per day to the city-owned 
Green Acres Farm in Kern.

The city now could be forced to spend up to $21 million per year to truck 
its sludge to Arizona.

But Los Angeles officials said they are considering their options and a 
lawsuit is likely.

"There's a pretty clear understanding that legal action will ensue," said 
Councilwoman Jan Perry, who heads the City Council's Energy and Environment 
Committee.

City attorneys are still evaluating the case and will advise the City 
Council in the coming weeks, Perry said.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles is moving forward with an experiment to reduce the 
city's dependence on the Kern farm by injecting up to 400 tons of sludge 
into rock a mile beneath Terminal Island in San Pedro.

The proposed project has been reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency and is now open for public comment.

Under the plan, three wells would be drilled at the Terminal Island 
Treatment Plant. One well would be used to inject the slurry of sterilized 
waste into the spongelike sandstone where oil has been extracted. Two other 
wells would be used to monitor the spread of the biosolids in the rock.

"Over time, the expectation is that the material should break down into its 
constituent products: methane and carbon dioxide," said David Albright, 
manager of the EPA's groundwater office for the southwest region.

The slurry will be injected about one-half mile below the lowest groundwater 
level, and EPA officials said the project should have no impact on drinking 
water.

Bureau of Sanitation Division Manager Omar Moghaddam said the project would 
begin with 50 tons of biosolids per day and could eventually reach 400 tons. 
That could cut the cost of the city's biosolid program by more than $2 
million a year.

Moghaddam also said there would be less pollution from trucking biosolids to 
Kern County and fewer greenhouse gases from decomposing sludge. But the 
project has raised concern among some environmentalists.

kerry.cavanaugh at dailynews.com

(213) 978-0390




http://www.dailynews.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?article=3911430