Sludge Watch ==> Virginia- Senate OKs Sludg Legislation

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

These new provisions are seen as totally inadequate to address the sludge 
problems facing Virginia.


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Senate OKs sludge legislation


Conor Reilly
mreilly at newsadvance.com
January 26, 2007



RICHMOND - Legislation that would give local governments the power to ban 
ponds that store treated human waste unanimously passed the state Senate on 
Thursday with little fanfare or debate.

Sponsored by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, the bill is of particular 
interest to Bedford County, where officials have asked state leaders for 
help to keep a storage site out of the county. The bill now heads to the 
House of Delegates.

“This is a huge issue,” Newman said. “I think we can rid our localities of 
any new facilities.”

Virginia localities would be able to decide where and if sludge storage 
ponds are appropriate using a permitting process if Newman’s measure 
ultimately passes.

State laws don’t allow localities the power to regulate sewage sludge ponds. 
That power rests with the Virginia Department of Health.

Ponds are used by biosolids companies to store treated human waste before it 
is spread on nearby farmland. Sludge ponds can overflow during heavy rains 
and spill onto adjacent properties and into nearby waterways.

Bedford County asked the state for help in December after a biosolids 
company requested to store sludge at a site south of Bedford City during the 
winter.

There is already a sludge pond off Otterview Road that was approved by the 
state last year. At its peak, the pond held about 2,800 wet tons of sludge.

Newman said he hopes to target existing sludge ponds in the state, but 
“constitutionally, it appears at this moment to be off limits.”

Delegates Kathy Byron, R-Bedford County; Lacey Putney, I-Bedford County; and 
Clarke Hogan, R-South Boston, co-sponsored the proposed law.

Newman’s bill is part of a larger legislative “sludge package” announced 
earlier this month. That effort, supported locally by Byron, Putney, Hogan 
and Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, would regulate the spreading and testing 
of sludge in Virginia.
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