Sludge Watch ==> Virginia - packed courthouse reviews state and local sludge authority

[Maureen Reilly]

Don't budge on sludge
By: Anita L. Sherman
10/05/2006


The pressure valve on the sludge issue is off for the moment.

After a packed courthouse hearing on Monday evening, Rappahannock County 
Administrator McCarthy said on Wednesday morning that Recyc Systems had 
phoned him.

"Recyc was called by Mr. Manwaring and then they immediately called me. The 
application has been withdrawn," said McCarthy who added, "certainly the 
time constraint has been removed and it doesn't mean that another applicant 
might not pursue later but now the pressure is off."


Susan Trumbo of Recyc Systems confirmed on Wednesday that Jim Manwaring had 
withdrawn their site - Red Oak Ranch Associates, LLC, - from consideration 
for land application of sewage sludge. She declined, however, to say why Mr. 
Manwaring made this decision. "You'd have to ask him," she said.




James Manwaring was not reached for comment. He was the county's sole 
applicant for the application of sewage sludge.

At Monday's public hearing, Manwaring, who had sat quietly while nearly 30 
speakers urged the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors to either retain 
the county's ban on sludge or put in tighter restrictions, was one of the 
last to speak.

"I've been listening and I'm very concerned about our property," said 
Manwaring who told the audience that he had visited a friend's farm in 
Madison County, seen sludge firsthand and was comfortably surprised that it 
didn't contain condoms. "It was damp material and full of lyme," said 
Manwaring who added that it appeared to come from residential properties 
rather than industrial and he wasn't overly alarmed.

However, Manwaring reiterated that while he was considering application of 
sewage sludge he also shared the concerns of many of his neighbors and 
residents of Rappahannock County about its consequences.

"I'd like everything to be done properly and I'd certainly encourage the 
local government to put tight monitoring in place," added Manwaring.

"I'm in no hurry to do this."





Legal constraints

With the Virginia State Department of Health in the business of issuing 
permits for sludge application, Rappahannock County would be hard pressed to 
do otherwise even though sludge has been banned for land application since 
1994. It is not banned from incineration or being hauled off to a landfill.

Commonwealth's attorney Peter Luke gave Monday's audience a quick overview 
of the county's history regarding sludge but emphasized, "The Virginia 
Supreme Court said the county cannot forbid what the State allows, or allow 
what the State forbids," adding, "we may have won a battle in the past, but 
we lost the war."

One of Manwaring's closest neighbors, Harold Creel, was the first to speak 
on Monday.

"Heavy metals don't break down," said the Stonewall District resident. 
"Recyc didn't address that."

Urging that the supervisors come up with heavy restrictions, Creel was open 
with his praise for Manwaring. "They don't eat babies, they are honorable 
stewards of their land."

Another Stonewall District resident, Emery Lazar, stated his concerns that 
the Environmental Protection Agency wasn't doing enough and there were 
inherent weaknesses in their rulings regarding not only human health but the 
welfare of wildlife.

"No way to ban, well, being sued is not the end of the world," said Lazar 
who reminded the audience about the original formation of the Rappahannock 
League for Environmental Protection established in 1970. "Remember, it was 
originally a legal defense fund."

Later in the evening, RLEP's current president Paul Farmer read from a 
prepared statement. "The Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection 
believes that keeping sewage sludge out of Rappahannock County is in the 
best health, safety, environmental, and financial interests of every county 
citizen. We oppose repeal of the County ban on the land application of 
sewage sludge at this time. We believe that removing the current sludge ban, 
without substituting strict regulation of sludge use, sends the wrong 
message to companies looking for rural sites in Virginia to deposit 
out-of-state urban sewage sludge. It also sends the wrong message to County 
landowners who might otherwise be unsure of the advisability of accepting 
sewage sludge on their properties," said Farmer.

One speaker got the attention of the audience as she had traveled from 
Christianburg.

"I work for a non-profit agency and we can help you," said Shireen Parsons. 
"You have not lost the war."

"The wind blows and the rain flows, just how much will you big corporations 
poison you," said Parsons whose remarks brought a round of applause from the 
audience.

In remarks made after the meeting, Parsons shared other concerns.

"To my mind, the good thing that happened is that the Board of Supervisors 
tabled the matter of the ordinance rather than rescinding it. The 
unfortunate thing is that they didn't pound the table and declare 
unequivocally that they're determined to stand firm and develop a new, 
effective ordinance to ban corporations from engaging in the land 
application of sludge. Despite everything that was said, they think 
'regulation' will make it all okay," said Parsons in an email to the 
Rappahannock News.



What now?



With Manwaring withdrawing his application for the land application of 
sludge, the county players have been given some time but it is the plan of 
county officials to move ahead.

In a conversation with Board chairman Bob Anderson at the end of Monday's 
meeting, Anderson, who said that he has known Manwaring for years, said, 
"Jim isn't going to move forward on this until we have an ordinance in place 
that everyone is comfortable with."

"Fertilizers are expensive," said Hampton District supervisor S.Bryant Lee 
as he was leaving Monday's hearing. "I couldn't afford to do it this year. I 
think the key thing is monitoring and if land application is allowed, then 
strict monitoring will be necessary. We'd probably look to an outside source 
as we wouldn't need to hire someone. We could use some one who does it for 
surrounding counties."

At the end of Monday's hearing, it was decided that McCarthy would put 
together a committee to look hard at the current regulations and bring that 
information to November's meeting.

"I'm confident that another applicant will eventually proceed and so it is 
the plan of the board to proceed with a review," said McCarthy.

Email the reporter at asherman at timespapers.com

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