Sludge Watch ==> Pennsylvania - Judge to rule on sludge

[Maureen Reilly]

October 12, 2006
Judge to rule on sludge
Lower Towamensing farm at center of battle over use of human, animal waste.

By Bob Laylo Of The Morning Call The owner and operator of a Lower 
Towamensing farm say they are permitted to openly stockpile tons of treated 
human and animal waste on their land under a state agriculture law.

But township officials say the law doesn't apply to the farm, owned by 
Barbara Walck and operated by Edgar Lorah, who officials say violated Lower 
Towamensing zoning regulations by having the sludge pile.

Attorneys for the township and the farm were scheduled Wednesday to argue 
the issue in Carbon County Court, but agreed to have Judge David W. Addy 
rule after reading briefs they filed.

The issue began in spring 2005, when Lorah had 360 to 460 tons of waste from 
Valley Forge Sewer Authority and Hatfield Quality Meats delivered to the 
farm. Duane Dellecker, township zoning officer, estimated the pile to be 40 
feet by 30 feet by 8 feet high.

Lorah spread about 100 tons of the waste, which becomes lighter as it dries, 
on the farm in June 2005. The smell prompted complaints to the township, 
including a resident who claimed the stench kept him from having a Fourth of 
July party.

In July 2005, Dellecker mailed a letter to Lorah saying the waste was 
dangerous to the health and safety of his neighbors and it was affecting 
their property use. He ordered the waste to be cleaned up or plowed under.

Walck appealed to the Zoning Hearing Board. After an Oct. 27 hearing to 
determine if the waste was illegally stockpiled, the board ruled that the 
stockpiled sludge can be interpreted as ''intensive farming.'' The practice 
is prohibited in the residential zoning district where Lorah farms, and the 
board ordered the waste removed.

The board said in its decision that ''the stockpiling of sewage sludge 
cannot be considered agriculture or cultivation of the soil. It is simply 
the stockpiling of solid waste, which is not a permitted use in the R-1 
district.''

Walck then appealed the case to court. Her attorney, Stacy L. Morgan of 
Lancaster, said in her brief that farm operations are protected under the 
state Nutrient Management Act and township ordinances can't override state 
law. She cited a Commonwealth Court ruling in Richmond Township, Berks 
County, case this year to bolster her argument.

The township had a regulation that said any farm expansion would require a 
1,500-foot setback, but state law says it needs only a 300-foot setback. The 
court decided state law takes precedent.

In her court filing, Holly Heintzelman, zoning board solicitor, questioned 
whether the Nutrient Management Act applies to Lorah.

''Lorah stockpiled more than 100 tons of sewage sludge on the property from 
May or June 2005 through October 2006,'' Heintzelman wrote. ''The sewage 
sludge on the property was not contained in any type of manure management 
facility as defined by the Nutrient Management Act.''

Township Solicitor James Nanovic wrote in his court filing that the Nutrient 
Management Act is mandatory only for farms that raise livestock. Lorah has 
grown only hay and corn on the land. Nanovic pointed out that agricultural 
farms could voluntarily develop a plan, but Lorah has not.

robert.laylo at mcall.com

610-379-3223

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/lehighton/all-b1_1sludgeoct12,0,6150386.story?coll=all-newslocallehighton-hed