Sludge Watch ==> Virginia - opposition forces Synagro to back off sludge storage site

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludge handler agrees to restriction
Synagro says it will not use a Bedford County site as a transfer station for 
treated human waste.
By Todd Jackson
  981-3253

A company that operates a controversial sludge storage site in Bedford 
County has agreed not to use it as a transfer station.

A Synagro Technologies spokesman in Virginia, Hunter Richardson, said the 
operation on Otterville Road will still serve the farm where it's located 
with sludge for fertilizing fields. However, the company will not use it to 
store larger volumes of sludge, also known as biosolids, so it can be hauled 
to other sites, Richardson said.

A planned storage site on a farm off Virginia 122 in Moneta would be 
operated the same way, he said.

"Synagro is committed to addressing local concerns," Richardson said.

The use of sludge for fertilizer has sparked debate between those who 
believe it's a proper recycling tool and those who fear it could cause 
adverse health effects in the communities where it's used. Bedford County 
officials heard from several speakers earlier this year who urged stronger 
local regulation of sludge storage and dispersal. The county was awaiting 
the outcome of the state legislative session, which concluded Saturday.

The General Assembly last month unanimously passed a bill allowing 
localities to adopt ordinances requiring special exception permits for 
sludge storage sites -- a step that would increase governmental regulation 
of them. Senate Bill 1300, sponsored by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, 
would not apply to sludge stored on the same farm where the material would 
be applied.

Newman's bill is one of several measures the General Assembly passed to 
tighten state and local government control over the spreading of biosolids. 
Identical House and Senate bills (House Bill 2802 and Senate Bill 1339) 
would shift all state regulation of sludge to the Department of 
Environmental Quality. Another bill (SB 1313) gives localities the authority 
to restrict sludge storage to certain areas or parcels based on public 
health and safety criteria.

Gov. Tim Kaine has yet to act on any of the bills.

Synagro, headquartered in Houston, is a publicly traded company that helps 
government agencies and private industries manage biosolids. The organic 
materials include all nonhazardous byproducts created by industrial or 
municipal facilities during the water or wastewater treatment process.

Staff writer Michael Sluss contributed to this report
http://www.roanoke.com/politics/wb/wb/xp-106871