Sludge Watch ==> N-Viro Product Raises Concern in Schuyler County NY

[Maureen Reilly]

Soil Product Raises Concern in Schuyler Co.
Erin Billups   ABC36 News


     Schuyler County residents had plenty of questions Monday night about 
the use of a soil product produced from wastewater treatment, being used in 
local farms. The Schuyler County Cornell Cooperative Extension and the 
County Soil and Water Conservation District facilitated the meeting.

     "Noxious, it smells like death, it's the only thing that people 
describe it as," said Glenn Marsh, an Odessa resident.

     Odessa resident glen marsh is one of several concerned with the use of 
N-Viro, a soil product being used in his town by the locally owned Bergen 
Farms.

     N-Viro is a byproduct of wastewater treatment used to adjust the p-h 
levels in soil.

     "The thing is they've applied this product without knowledge, nobody 
knows what it is, what the laws, what's the proper use, the proper 
application. The impact to the soil, so there's a lot of issues," said 
Marsh.

     The Bergen brothers recently began farming land in Odessa with N-Viro. 
They've used it for the past seven years at their Hector farm.

     "I think where a lot of this started is a lot of people are just 
jumping to conclusions and then rumors get started and i think the product 
that we're using is not what they're thinking it is," said Skip Bergen, 
co-owner of Bergen Farms.

     N-Viro is marketed by the Syracuse based company, Earth Blends.

     Earth Blends President, Jeff LeBlanc, said the product is organic and 
backed by the state department of environmental conservation.

     "We chemically stabilize it, we raise the ph up, kill all the 
pathogens, all the e-coli, monitor for medals, and we do ongoing daily 
testing of the material," said LeBlanc.

     SWCD District Manager Jerry Verrigni said residents seemed please with 
the answers they got Monday night.

     He said if more concerned questions come in during the next few weeks, 
they will arrange another meeting with a DEC representative in late 
February.

     For more information, you can visit these websites: NYSDEC, EPA, 
N-Viro, We Care Organics, or visit the Schuyler County Soil and Water 
Conservation District website.