Sludge Watch ==> $18M - two families in Virginia sue over sludge

[Maureen Reilly]

Two Surry families sue firms over sludge
Claims about irritating odors and health concerns from sewage sludge are the 
basis of a lawsuit that asks for $18 million in damages.
BY PATRICK LYNCH
247-4534
November 21, 2006
SURRY -- Two Surry County families have filed a lawsuit that blames health 
problems, nauseating odors and a disruption of their lives on the sewage 
sludge spread near their homes during the past year.

The legal action is the latest twist in the debate over the use of sludge in 
Virginia. A lawsuit in Appomattox County turned on whether local governments 
could ban it. The judge ruled that they could not. Complaints, public 
hearings and scientific studies have hinged on whether it causes respiratory 
and other health problems.

This suit goes a step further. It seeks an injunction to stop Texas-based 
Synagro from spreading sludge on 1,300 acres near Claremont owned by 
Sussex-Surry LLC. It also seeks $18 million in damages. The suit accuses 
Synagro and Sussex-Surry of negligence and creating a public nuisance, 
claiming they continued spreading sludge despite knowing of the plaintiffs' 
complaints and health concerns.

"The question under Virginia nuisance law is, 'Is it offensive to the 
senses?'" said Chris Nidel, a Washington attorney who filed the lawsuit on 
behalf of the two families. "Is it a threat to public health, does it 
violate the law of decency?"

Sludge, a sewage byproduct of human and industrial waste, is often spread on 
fields by companies and farmers who say it builds soil and adds nutrients - 
but also simply as a way to dispose of the material.

Sludge was typically dumped in the ocean until the early 1990s, when 
Congress banned that practice. Now it is either sent to landfills or worked 
back into the land on farms.

In Virginia, sludge is regulated by the state Department of Health, but many 
researchers and people affected by sludge say the science calling it safe is 
out of date.

They say many chemicals - from flame retardants to residuals of 
pharmaceuticals to heavy metals from industries - are not broken down in the 
sewage-treatment process and find their way into farm fields when sludge is 
spread.

An Inspector General's report in 2002 said the EPA cannot assure the public 
what materials sludge contains. That same year a National Academy of 
Sciences panel concluded that the EPA needs to do more research on sludge.

And a Virginia legislative study in 2004 found that the state health 
department did little to enforce its regulations, with inspectors visiting 
just 19 of 1,100 sludge applications statewide.

The lawsuit, filed in Surry County Circuit Court, claims that the sludge 
spread on Sussex-Surry LLC's farm and forestland since the summer of 2005 
has in essence violated "a fundamental right" in Virginia: "the right to the 
use and enjoyment of one's home."

The suit was filed by Sandra and Willis Wyatt and their son Robert; and Eva 
and Leverette Gregory and their daughter Teresa.

Synagro, one of the nation's largest sludge handlers, has stored sludge in 
piles on Sussex-Surry's land, "slung" the sludge into forestland using a 
spreader that flings the gooey material hundreds of feet, and spread it on 
farm fields, according to the suit.

A Synagro spokesman said the company had not been served with the lawsuit 
yet, and declined to comment.

Sidney J. Brandon Jr., the registered agent for Sussex-Surry LLC, could not 
be reached Monday.

The plaintiffs claim the sludge created a stench, irritated their eyes and 
lungs, and inhibited their basic right to enjoy their property because of 
the dust, odor and flies.

Sandra Wyatt claims the sludge aggravated a lung condition and forced her to 
move from her home. She is seeking $7 million in damages, far more than the 
five other plaintiffs.

The suit says Wyatt's doctor told her that her "lungs were suffering as a 
result of an irritant inhaled into her lungs that caused inflammation and 
scarring."

The case does not seek to overturn Virginia sludge laws or put a spotlight 
on the scientific debate over the hazards of the material. Instead it 
focuses on the two families' struggles living next to land where sludge is 
used.

"Plaintiffs have been injured, aggravated, driven from their homes, 
irritated, inconvenienced, and/or otherwise negatively impacted by the 
spread of hazardous and noxious sewage sludge," the suit claims.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-84749sy0nov21,0,2487888.story?coll=dp-news-local-final