Sludge Watch ==> Virginia - sludge ordinance moving on to supervisors

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludge ordinance moving on to supervisors
By: Kevin Allen, Rappahannock News Staff Writer
04/30/2007

More than six months after a committee began crafting a new sewage sludge 
ordinance for Rappahannock County, the group has finished its job. The 
five-person body wrapped up work Monday on the 21-page document, which is 
now moving on to the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors.


The committee has been working on the ordinance since October, shortly after 
two Rappahannock landowners applied to have sludge spread on their 
properties.

Also known as biosolids, sludge is a combination of human and industrial 
waste that is treated to reduce the prevalence of disease-causing bacteria.

The county has had a ban on sludge application since 1994, but state law 
allows the activity and the state law would supersede the county's ban.

Following strong public opposition, both landowners withdrew their permit 
applications. But the issue was not settled, and the committee wrote the 
ordinance to maintain restrictions on sludge in Rappahannock while working 
within state rules.

Commonwealth's Attorney Peter Luke said Monday that the stickiest part of 
the new ordinance is that it depends on having a local monitor for testing 
sludge samples and reviewing the appropriateness of application sites.

He said Rappahannock is too small to justify hiring a full-time employee to 
do that work, so the county will need to find another county with which to 
share a monitor.

County Administrator John McCarthy said he will introduce the proposed 
ordinance to the Board of Supervisors at its monthly meeting on May 7. The 
supervisors will discuss it at their June gathering and a public hearing 
will be advertised for citizens to voice their support for or opposition to 
the new rules, McCarthy said.

The ordinance is currently written in the most restrictive form that is 
possible, the county administrator said. The document's rules can be eased 
following the public hearing, but the ordinance would have to be 
re-advertised for another public hearing if it were to become more 
restrictive.

New legislation
The General Assembly passed two pieces of legislation during its last 
session that change how sludge is regulated in Virginia.

The first bill consolidates regulation under the authority of the Virginia 
Department of Environmental Quality. Currently, the responsibility for 
regulating the land application of sludge is split between the DEQ and the 
state Department of Health.

The new law will require the DEQ to conduct unannounced site inspections and 
notify adjacent property owners of sludge application.

The second bill allows a locality to require a special-exception or a 
special-use permit for a landowner to begin storing sludge. The legislation 
allows a local government to restrict storage based on public health, 
welfare and safety criteria. It does not apply to farmers who plan to spread 
the sludge on their own fields within 45 days.

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