Sludge Watch ==> New Hampshire Sludge Compost Company - named one of Dirty Dozen

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Sludge compost - there need to be standards and certification for composts 
and soil ammendments in the US and Canada

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


Holderness-based company, tagged by environmental group, says product is 
safe
By BENJAMIN KEPPLE
Union Leader Staff



An environmentalist group yesterday tagged Holderness-based Resource 
Management Inc., which manufactures topsoil and related products, with one 
of its "Dirty Dozen Awards" for the company's biosolids recycling work.
But RMI's president defended the company's efforts, saying its biosolids 
operation is safe and cost-effective for communities and well within 
regulations.
"I've been in this industry since 1988, and as long as I've been working 
with recycled biosolids, there has been controversy. That's largely due to 
lack of understanding as to what goes into a program," said Shelagh 
Connelly, who heads the 25-employee company. "This is kind of an old debate, 
and it is hard when people get set in their ways and aren't open to new 
solutions."
The "award" from the Toxics Action Center, a New England group which favors 
aggressive enforcement of environment regulations, was the latest salvo in a 
long fight over the use of biosolids in New Hampshire. The argument has been 
going on for more than a decade. Yesterday's Dirty Dozen awards were 
announced throughout New England.
The term "biosolids" is a friendly word for human and other waste reclaimed 
from sewage treatment plants. After sewage has been treated at the plants, 
the nutrient-rich, sludge-like material which remains is then treated again 
to remove pathogens and other unwanted materials. If it then passes a 
battery of tests -- for things such as volatile organic compounds and toxic 
metals -- it can then be used on land as fertilizer. However, federal law 
restricts its use to places like farms or fields used to grow animal feed.
RMI generally trucks its product directly to farms throughout New England 
and New York, including about 200 sites in New Hampshire. Regulations 
determine when the biosolids can be used, so they're either spread right 
away or stored at the farm .
sites. One hundred acres of forage land, for instance, might require about 
500 to 600 cubic yards of biosolid fertilizer.
Yesterday, environment advocates decried the practice of biosolid recycling. 
Among other things, they charged the practice could lead to illnesses among 
those living near areas treated with biosolids. They said the sludge could 
instead be converted to fuel or used in a "bioreactor," a type of landfill 
which uses sludge to quickly break down organic waste.
"We're very concerned about these practices. There are alternatives." said 
North Sandwich resident Caroline Snyder, president of Citizens for 
Sludge-Free Land.
However, RMI's Connelly said the current biosolid recycling program was safe 
and heavily regulated. The sludge RMI recycles is tested for the presence of 
more than 100 contaminants before being cleared for use. She also noted the 
biosolids were far more regulated than animal manure, which is regularly 
used as fertilizer.
"It's tested here in New Hampshire. We have some of the most rigorous test 
rules in the country, if not the world," Connelly said.
The present regime also has economic benefits for New Hampshire taxpayers, 
Connelly said. For instance, she said it would cost the city of Concord 
about $100 per ton to dispose of its biosolids in a landfill. However, RMI 
charges under $30 per ton to remove the city's biosolids, a service the 
company also provides for Manchester, Nashua and Laconia, among other 
cities.
The cost differential, Connelly said, gave taxpayers a "huge economic 
incentive" to stick with recycling their biosolids as opposed to disposing 
of them.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Holderness-based+company%2C+tagged+by+environmental+group%2C+says+product+is+safe&articleId=08d920ba-b945-46a8-b824-58e2d94e8c44