Sludge Watch ==> Pennsylvania farmer ordered to stop using sludge/food/slaugherhouse 'fertilizer'

[Maureen Reilly]

Farmer ordered to stop using refuse for fertilizer
By:Bradley Schlegel 12/28/2006
Boyertown Area Times , Pennsylvania

A state regulatory body has suspended Daniel Hunsicker's use of waste from a 
slaughterhouse as fertilizer on his farm in Douglass (Mont.) Township.
The Department of Enviornmental Protection (DEP) ruled that the 
material-which doesn't meet the standards of a recycled replacement 
product-can't be spread on or trucked to the farm, which covers more than 
100 acres along Congo-Niantic Road.
In a letter dated Dec. 13, the DEP stated that SYNAGRO's submission failed 
to demonstrate that the material-a combination of cow manure, undigested 
food and reprocessed water-is "physically and chemically equialvent to a 
commercial product, i.e. fertilizer."
Therefore, it will be regulated as a waste product until the DEP receives 
enough information to declare it a co-product, according to Ron Furlan, a 
state environmental program manager.
Under that designation, the DEP can regulate the odors created by the "gut 
manure."
"We're very pleased with the decision," said township Supervisors Chairman 
Greg Lignelli. "It's a step in the right direction towards solving this 
problem."
Residents began complaining about a foul smell and excess truck traffic six 
months ago. At a special meeting in November, resident Jim McGlory called it 
the "smell of death."
This summer, Moyer Packaging Company, a slaughterhouse near Souderton, began 
paying Hunsicker to accept its waste, which the farmer spread on his field 
as fertilizer.
According to the letter, SYNAGRO can't spread the material on the farm until 
it submits a plan that establishes it as a co-product, which is recycled to 
replace another or comply with the requirements for residual waste.
Under the residual regulations, SYNAGRO must submit an updated mineral plan 
and receive approval of their updated farm management program.
Furlan said SYNAGRO has not contacted the DEP since the determination.
However, Lignelli isn't sure what damage the material could cause to 
residents or the local water supply.
A spokesman from state Sen. John Rafferty's office told Lignelli that 
representatives from local politicians will meet in January to discuss the 
issue.
The supervisors will host a public meeting Jan. 23 at the Gilbertsville Fire 
House.


http://www.berksmontnews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17642436&BRD=2694&PAG=461&dept_id=552976&rfi=6