From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Wed May 30 13:21:42 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 13:21:42 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Ireland - Galway : Stop Shitting On Us Message-ID: admin: There are alot of photos with this story if you want to look at the link: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82138 ............................................................................ Eyrecourt to Galway Co. Co.: Stop Shitting On Us Monday April 23, 2007 16:05 by Mark Conroy - Stop Spreading Sewage At a demonstration outside Galway Co. Co. offices today in excess of 100 protestors put a clear message to Galway Co. Co.: Stop Dumping Human Waste On Farms In East Galway. A selection of the men, women, and children present The protest was organised by residents of Eyrecourt in Galway East, who are fed up (and very concerned about) the amount of human waste - excrement, urine (and tampons and sanitary towels, according to a Sunday World article) - being spread on farms. The 'sludge' as it is called is being used as fertiliser on the farms, and the farmers are being paid to get rid of the waste, both domestic and hospital, which is not pre-treated (gets some lime added, but apparently this doesn't do much) and contains all types of infection, heavy metal and general bacteria, as common sense would dictate. People living in the area have not been able to open their windows, sit outside or even hang out their washing due to the appalling smell from this waste. But, the huge disgrace is that this stuff is seeping into the water supply, polluting the rivers and, of course, ending up back in the food chain. The meat, veg and grain you eat may have come from this land. The residents' demand that the waste be treated properly and incinerated in order to produce energy; they want it properly dried, turned into pellets, and safely disposed of. Also at the protest - besides indymedia - were representatives from RTE, TG4, and Galway Bay FM. The protest itself is to be the focus of a Prime Time documentary tomorrow night - but remember: you read it here first. Related Link: http://www.stopspreadingsewage.org From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Wed May 30 14:09:24 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 14:09:24 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Warkwarth Ontario Sludge Sites - People fear health at risk Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: The people in Warkwarth have been trying to get the attention of public health officials for some time. There is good documentation on community illness. ........................................................................... May 23, 2007 People fear health at risk Photo John Campbell Almost 40 people met with Trent Hills Deputy Mayor Dean Peters and Coun. Bill White last week with concerns. Three dozen people met with Trent Hills Deputy Mayor Dean Peters and Coun. Bill White last weekend to communicate fears that the spreading of biosolids near their homes threatens their health. For some the evidence is incontrovertible. Linda Donaldson told the group she and her husband Roger were among 22 people who became seriously ill in the fall of 2005 after treated municipal sewage was applied on farm fields near their home on Norham Road. All suffered from diarrhea. At one point Mr. Donaldson experienced cramps so severe that the pain caused him to fall to the floor unconscious and an ambulance had to be summoned. ?We had to sell our house and move to Campbellford,? Mrs. Donaldson said. Within six weeks the ?horrible cough? that had been plaguing her stopped. The couple have been seeing a toxicologist in Toronto who has informed them they have elevated levels of heavy metals in their systems. The specialist is also treating six other people from Percy ward ?with similar problems,? and she ?expect(s) the number of patients will grow in the Warkworth area,? Ms. Donaldson said. She and her husband ?were starting to feel really good? until a few weeks ago. ?My chromium has shot up again, so obviously (biosolids are) being spread somewhere,? Ms. Donaldson said. ?Our toxicologist said (airborne pathogens) can travel eight to 10 kilometres from a site.? Research conducted at the University of Arizona bear this out, reported Nigel Young. The researchers found that ?people are safe if they are 10 kilometres away? from where biosolids are being applied. But in Ontario, ?the guidelines still allow the spreading of sludge 25 metres away from a home,? he said. (This separation distance applies if the material is injected or worked into the soil within six hours of being spread; the distance is 90 metres if surface applied.) Last week biosolids shipped from Cobourg were applied on agricultural land at the rear of Mr. Young?s property. It was that massive operation seven kilometres west of Warkworth, involving a convoy of tankers, that led to the May 20 meeting of the residents at the home of Rob Milligan on County Road 29. Most of the people present live along the same road. Mr. Young said he has ?absolutely nothing against? farmers for making use of material supplied to them for free that provides nutrients to the soil, ?because they are working within the guidelines that are laid down.? It?s ?a good economic deal? for them and ?they are up against hard times.? However, he is critical of the way ?the latest amount of sludge was distributed, because there were spillages.? Mr. Young said research conducted by another American university found that biosolids are not tested for all the possibly harmful substances they contain. ?The only thing we can hope for, (with the help of council members), is to get a moratorium, to suspend the use of this sludge until we get proper analysis,? he said. Douglas Hotte said farmers shouldn?t be excused for engaging in a legal practice that research has shown is linked to neighbours getting sick. ?Why are they not taking the moral high ground?? he asked. ?We should shame the farmers who use it.? Mr. Young suggested he should be ?upset at the various government agencies which have allowed this to happen,? a point Mr. Hotte acknowledged. ?We have to do something really fast,? said Michele Mertzer. Her son?s asthma attacks have grown worse in recent days. ?It?s getting scary.? Mr. Peters said Trent Hills asked its legal counsel last fall ?whether or not the municipality could pass a bylaw banning the application of biosolids and the answer was very clearly no.? Last December council approved his resolution that a bylaw be drafted governing how biosolids are applied and requiring that advance notice be given of when it is to be done. ?One of the things that really annoy the hell out of people is the whole absence of proper communication,? he said. ?It?s disgraceful.? Trent Hills received about four hours notice of the spreading that was done May 14. The communications plan he proposes is for the municipality, and through it, residents to be given two weeks? warning. Residents would also be informed of the ?problematic? provisions in the agreement that farmers have with the Ministry of the Environment and the municipality where the sewage is generated. He suggested neighbours could assist with the enforcement by monitoring how the biosolids are spread and how soon they are incorporated into the soil. ?There should be consequences (for violations),? he said. ?We need you to tell us (when that happens).? Mr. Peters said he would table a motion at council this week (May 22) recommending that Trent Hills ?hit the pause button? on the spreading of biosolids. His proposal is to seek an immediate agreement with Cobourg suspending further applications until ?some kind of better understanding? is reached between the two municipalities. ?They?re not doing anything illegal but they?re sure doing things that are causing concerns in our community,? he said. http://www.indynews.ca/article.php?id=1222 From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Wed May 30 14:30:19 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 14:30:19 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Tampa Sludge 'Fertilizer' Plant Explosion - Two Workers Burned Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: Sewage sludge dryers tend toward dust explosion and the dried sludge itself tends to go into spontaneous heating and combustion. Why are we spending public funds to build and rebuild these hazardous facilities that only make a nasty material more dangerous? How many more workers need to be injured before we stop this? Toronto, Windsor, Bronx NY, 3 in Quebec, Milwaulkee- several, Tampa, Hagersville, Amherst..to name a few Under the story you will find the 'Milorganite' Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) that mentions fire and explosion risk. ................................. May 26, 2007 Explosion Burns Two In Tampa Sewer Plant (CBS) tampa An explosion at the Port of Tampa?s sewage treatment plant Saturday morning left two workers burned on their faces, necks, and arms. Investigators say dust may be to blame. The men had been working inside a building where sludge is dried and mixed with fertilizer. Tampa Fire Rescue officials said the process created a fine dust inside the building, which may have ignited and caused a flash-fire. The men, whose names were not released, were transported to Tampa General Hospital where their injuries are described as serious but not life-threatening. They had burns on their faces, arms and necks. The building was not damaged. A telephone message could not be left at the Tampa Fire Rescue Office on Saturday afternoon. .......................................... Material Safety Data Sheet Milorganite?GardenCare 6-2-0 Fertilizer Page 2 of 4 Section 5:FIRE FIGHTING MEASURESFlash Point (Method):NA LEL: ND UEL: ND NFPA/HIMS Rating: Health: 1 Fire: 1Reactivity: 0 Extinguishing Media: Foam, Water Spray, CO2 Special Fire fighting Procedures: Do not breathe fumes. Firefighters should wear normal fire protection gear. Prevent runoff from entering drains, sewers or any body of water. Becomes slippery when wet, guard against falls. Unusual Fire & Explosion Hazards: Do not breathe fumes. At high temperatures, this type of fertilizer can give offundefined fumes. Fine dust dispersion in air may form an explosive mixture. Bulk wetted material may generate heat upon storage. Section 6:ACCIDENTAL RELEASE MEASURESIf Material is Spilled: Sweep, vacuum or shovel material into labeled container. If at all possible, reuse product. Ensure that disposal is in compliance with local, state or federal regulations. Section 7: HANDLING & STORAGEHandling handle as any fertilizer. Avoid breathing dust. Wash after handling. Do not contaminate water by disposal of equipment washwaters. Do not allow to become wet during storage. Storage: Store in a cool, dry area out of reach of children and animals. Keep dry. Bulk wetted material may generateheat upon storage. Note: Some coprophagic canines (fecal eating dogs) may be attracted by the odor of biosolids, transfer their fecal attraction to Milorganite? 6-2-0 fertilizer, rip open bags in storage and over eat. A dog may be sick for 24 to 48 hours, beginning with vomiting that can lead to dehydration, incontinence (stiffness in the hind legs), atrophy, depression, and black stools due to the high carbon content of Milorganite? 6-2-0. In most cases, symptomatic care prescribed by aveterinarian will relieve these symptoms. Section 8: EXPOSURE CONTROL/PERSONAL PROTECTIONProtective equipment suggested for outdoor applications: Wear eye goggles/safety glasses if product may be expected to come in contact with eyes. Protective equipment suggested for confined areas: Provide sufficient ventilation. Wear appropriate safety equipment for any hazards encountered. Product by itselfpresents no specific hazards. Section 9: PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL PROPERTIESSolubility in water: slight pH: slightly acidic (9 parts water to 1 part Garden Care) Appearance: Dark free flowing granules. Product US Screen size -8 +48 with less than 0.1% -48.Odor: Earthy scent. Bulk Density: 50-52 lbs. per cubic footSection 10: STABILITY & REACTIVITYStability: Stable. Conditions to Avoid: Excessive heat; absorbs moisture in highly humid areas. Incompatibility: Strong acids, alkalis and oxidizing agents. Hazardous Decomposition Products: Expected to emit the same types of toxic smoke as would be released during combustion of other organic materials. Hazardous Polymerization: Will not occur. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 3 Material Safety Data Sheet Milorganite?GardenCare 6-2-0 Fertilizer Page 3 of 4 Section 11: TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATIONToxicity Data: Oral (acute): NDDermal (acute): ND Inhalation (acute): NDTeratogen/Mutagen/ Carcinogen (NTP): Not listed.Potential Carcinogen OHSA/IARC: Not listed.US EPA 40 CFR Part 503 (Biosolids Rule)Under the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has conducted extensive screening to determine likely pollutants in sewage sludge, a/k/a biosolids. EPA?s National Survey of Biosolids analyzed for a total of 412 pollutants, including every organic, pesticide, dibensofuran, dioxin and PCB analyte for which EPA had gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS) standards. 64 Fed. Reg. at 72047-48 (discusses the history of Part 503 information gathering on the fate and concentrations of pollutants in biosolids). See, www.epa.gov/fedrgstr.Where the available scientific information indicated there was no risk of harm even at the highest pollutantconcentration level found in the Biosolids Survey, the pollutants were dropped from further risk assessment. Most of the 412 pollutants are simply not present in biosolids at levels of concern. The National Standards for Bisolids Use, 40 CFR Part 503, establish limits for nine common metals and pathogenic organisms (which heat drying kills) at the noobservable adverse effect level and a level of protection of 1 case in 10,000 for cancer risk. The 1993 technical support documents on biosolids risk assessment are available at EPA?s website: www.epa/gov/OST/pc/municipal.html, and theNational Biosolids Partnership also links the scientific risk assessments, www.biosolids.policy.net.Garden Care? is well below the Part 503 national standards. Where EPA lacked sufficient available scientific data toestablish a standard, the pollutants, totally 31, were subjected to a Comprehensive Hazard Identification Study. This screening analysis included dose-response evaluation, exposure assessment and risk characterization. The US EPA concluded, in a December 23, 1999, notice published at 64 Federal Register 72048, that only 3 pollutant compounds left on its list, analytically measured as 29 dioxin-like congeners, might pose an increase risk for a hypothetical highly exposed (through the food chain, primarily daily fats, meat fats and fish that have bioaccumulated the congeners) rural breast feeding mother and child. EPA has proposed a national standard and a final standard is expected after EPA completes its comprehensive Dioxin Reassessment, see, www.epa.gov/ncea/pdfs/dioxin.htm. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig?s diseaseEpidemiologists have studied ALS mortality among Wisconsin residents, employees who make Garden Care? and workers at sewage treatment plants in Chicago and found the ALS morality rate to be normal or slightly below that of general population. ALS research has abandoned theories of linkage to metals in diet and has focused on genetic predisposition toward ALS and neurotoxins in particular foods. The complete history of this investigation is available at the National Biosolids Partnership website www.biosolids.policy.net. Section 12:ECOLOGICAL INFORMATIONKeep out of any body of water. Section 13: DISPOSAL CONSIDERATIONSWaste Disposal Method(s): Sweep, vacuum or shovel material into labeled container. If at all possible, reuse product. Material is a fertilizer and should be used as such. Keep out of any body of water. Ensure that disposal is in compliance with local, state or federal regulations. Bulk wetted material may generate heat upon storage. Section 14: TRANSPORTATION INFORMATIONDOT shipping information: Proper shipping name: Class 50 (fertilizer material) ID No.: NA Hazard Class: NAHazmat No.: NA SEC 302: Not listed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 4 Material Safety Data Sheet Milorganite?GardenCare 6-2-0 Fertilizer Page 4 of 4 SEC 304: Not listed. Sec 313: Not listed CERCLA: Not listed. CAA: Not listed. TSCA: Not listed. Section 15: REGULATORY INFORMATIONSARA Information: _No_ Immediate (Acute) Health_No_ Sudden Release of Pressure _No_ Delayed (Chronic) Health_No_ Reactivity _Yes_ Fire Section 16:OTHER INFORMATIONFormat complies with ANSI Z400.1 requirements. Revisions as noted (first issue 01/02/93) DISCLAIMER: This information related to the specific material designated and may not be valid for such materialused in combination with any other materials or in an process. Such information is the best of our knowledge and belief, accurate and reliable as of the date compiled. However, no representation, warranty or guarantee is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. NO WARRANTY OF METCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR ANY OTHER WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IS MADE AS CONCERNS THE INFORMATION HEREIN PROVIDED. It is the user?s responsibility to satisfy himself as to the suitability and completeness of such information for his own particular use. We do not accept liability for any loss or damage thatmay occur from the use of this information. NA = Not Applicable ND = Not Determined Version changeUpdate Section 7 www.milorganite.com/docs/about/gardencare_6-2-0_msds.pdf From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Thu May 31 13:23:04 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 13:23:04 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Ontario - Sludge Can't Be Spread - Too Wet to Plough - Costs go up Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: Here is the story: Ontario, Canada: The weather is wet, so farm fields are not available for sludge spreading. The sludge needs disposal NOW. Increased costs are associated with landfilling the sludge or sending it to fields in a different weather zone. What to do? Land application of sludge is a poor fit with farm needs. The sludge has high heavy metals, it has drug resistant pathogens, it has persistant endocrine disrupting chemicals and pharmaceuticals. It has a poor distribution of nutrients...generally oversupplying phosphorus and undersupplying nitrogen. And... while farms need fertilizer in the spring before planting... and maybe another fertilizing in the fall if there is a winter crop...sludge needs disposal every day....365 days per year. Sludge disposal needs and farm fertilization needs are two very different things...especially in the northern climates. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Spreading sludge is sticky business for Cramahe council Owen, Bob Local News - Thursday, May 31, 2007 Spreading Cramahe Township sludge is proving costly.Cramahe Council was faced with a conundrum on May 15 when it came to discussion the disposal of sewage sludge from its lagoon. The job of removing the sludge was tendered out last year to Triland Environmental Inc. at a cost of $10.75 per cubic metre for approximately 25,000 cubic metres. The bill to the township was just under $300,000. But, recent weather has played havoc; the sludge could not be spread. The contractor is unable to spread the sludge on the designated field this year. To deposit it on fields further away will add to the contractor's insurance, fuel and labour costs. As a result, the new price to complete work this year is $12.75 per cubic metre. That's an increase of $50,000 to the township if all the sludge is to be removed this year. That left council with an awkward problem May 15. Three companies bid last year. The nearest bid to the Triland bid was by Lissom Earth Sciences for $17. 38 per cubic metre, the highest bid $19.91. Public Works Director Barry Thrasher asked for council's direction. Mayor Marc Coombs appeared to sense the dilemma, asking if the market cost to dispose of sludge had dropped. When Mr. Thrasher had no knowledge of changes, the mayor wondered if council might be subject to a bid of $15 per cubic metre if it put the work out for re-tender. Councillor Pat Westrope wanted to know where the money would come from to cover any increase in cost. Mr. Thrasher said there is $350,000 being held in a sewage reserve fund. When Councillor Ed van Egmond noted, "A good deal isn't such a good deal any more," Mr. Thrasher suggested the township doesn't need to remove all the sludge. Ultimately, when the lagoon is closed, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment will require a total clean out. Realizing council was on unfamiliar ground, Mr. Thrasher noted township Clerk Administrator Christie Alexander could find no part of the township's purchasing bylaw to cover this type of situation. Council unanimously accepted Deputy Mayor Jim Williams' motion that council go ahead with Triland - but limit the cost to $300,000. http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=549988&catname=Local%20News&classif= From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Thu May 31 23:49:22 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 23:49:22 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Diamond ring recovered from the sewers Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: Working in sludge has some unusual perks. Touring a sewage treatment plant near Santa Barbara, workers reported finding as much as $1000 per day in cash in the 'rags' machine. Staff more routinely recover $20 - $30 per day in bills. They think the big money might have been flushed down the loo during drug busts. Coins, rings, and jewellery come in the grit from the sewer sucking equipment. One staffer had three diamond rings from only 4 months at the plant. Senior staff had serious jewellery made from the many rings and pieces of jewellery recovered from the sewer. .......................................................... Sewage workers recover 98-year-old Olympia woman's wedding ring By The Associated Press OLYMPIA ? It was a messy job, but two municipal employees painstakingly searched a sewage line and recovered a wedding ring. The effort began after the Public Works Department in the state capital got a letter from Alma F. Coate-Wilson, 98, who wrote that she had accidentally flushed her $8,000, 1.6-carat wedding ring down the toilet in the middle of the night two months ago. Gary Franks, a public works supervisor, said the department rarely gets such requests and usually doesn't have the time to grant them but decided to try this time because of the circumstances. Maintenance workers Bill Davis and Jean Wright started by sending a type of camera through the sewer line. When that didn't work, they flushed the main line, blocking solids using pea gravel. Finally, they went through the solids with a garden hose and found the ring. Four city employees returned it to Coate-Wilson this week. "I was the happiest girl in the world," Coate-Wilson told The Olympian newspaper. "I was floored," she said. "I knew it was forever." Coate-Wilson, a retired teacher, said she was given the ring 39 years ago by Gilbert Coate, to whom she was married for 23 years. "Until my death, I wanted to have it (the ring), of course," she said. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003721818_webring25m.html From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Wed May 2 15:36:17 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 15:36:17 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Honey as topical antibiotic Message-ID: another reason why the decline of bee populations is great cause for concern . . . . . (Thanks to Helane Sheilds) ..................... Last updated May 1, 2007 5:40 p.m. PT Doctor finds a sweet remedy THE ECONOMIST Hospitals do more than house sick patients while they are treated. They also provide convenient havens for dangerous bacteria. Cramming infirm people into one place creates the ideal breeding ground for disease. Add a sprinkling of antibiotics and drug-resistant strains emerge -- the superbugs that are endemic in many places. One doctor, however, thinks he has rediscovered an old weapon that could be useful in the fight against those nasties. It is honey. Honey was commonly used in medicine before antibiotics became widespread. It is still used in the Antipodes; an Australian company makes a product called Medihoney for medicinal use. This formulation is a certified medicine in Europe, but has not been much used there because doctors developed a taste for prescribing conventional antibiotics. Arne Simon of Bonn University Children's Clinic in Germany is now leading an international study to compare honey with existing drugs. The investigation will involve 150 patients in several countries including Britain, Germany and Australia. Simon already has used honey on 150 patients who were not responding to treatment, with some promising results. The patients often were children whose immune systems had been weakened by chemotherapy, which left their wounds from surgery vulnerable to infection. Around a third of them were also given some antibiotics at the same time as having their wounds dressed with honey. One patient, whose wounds had become infected by the potentially fatal strain of Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to the antibiotic methicillin (MRSA), and who failed to respond to other drugs, was free of this superbug within 48 hours of receiving the honey treatment. Research in Australia and New Zealand suggests that honey heals because it attacks bacteria in several different ways at once. Because honey is composed of saturated sugars, it sucks up water, depriving bacteria of the liquid they need to survive and multiply. As bees make honey they secrete glucoseoxidase, an enzyme that releases the bleach hydrogen peroxide when it comes into contact with wound liquids. The low-level but frequent release of this chemical ensures regular antibacterial washes of the wound. Although honey is not about to usurp antibiotics, Simon thinks it should be brought back into conventional medicine -- and not only to sugar the pill. From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Thu May 3 02:54:28 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 02:54:28 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Florida to Dump Sewage on more sections of coral reef Message-ID: Florida To Dump Sewage On More Sections Of Coral Reef System May 2, 2007 8:23 p.m. EST Matthew Borghese - AHN Staff Writer Tallahassee, FL (AHN) - The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) will open a new ocean discharge pipe near Lake Worth, in a move that has alarmed divers and environmentalists across the Sunshine State. The wastewater will hit a coral reef ecosystem, introducing ammonia and other nutrient pollutants into a fragile environment which will most likely be destroyed as a result. According to a group petitioning FDEP Water Facilities Administrator Linda A. Brien to stop the proposed pipeline, "nutrient pollutants fuel coral killing algae blooms." The petition explains, "Dr. Brian Lapointe of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Ft. Pierce, Florida has established that as little as 14 parts per billion of ammonia can trigger a harmful algae bloom on a coral reef. In their ocean outfall permit application Lake Worth estimates the ammonia discharge could be as high as 10.8 parts per million, nearly 1,000 times greater than the amount of ammonia needed to fuel a coral reef algae bloom." http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007226384 From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Thu May 3 12:30:05 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 12:30:05 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Mexico - Chemicals Contaminating Water Message-ID: Blue chemicals contaminating water Reuters Published: Thursday, May 03, 2007 TEHUACAN, Mexico (Reuters) -- Jeans factories have given jobs to thousands in the city of Tehuacan, the heartland of Mexico's denim industry, but they are pumping blue chemicals into rivers used to irrigate corn fields downstream. Dozens of industrial laundries, some of which put the finishing touches to jeans for export, discharge a cocktail of bleach, dye and detergents into Tehuacan's wide valley with almost no government controls, residents say. In just one example of the widespread pollution, a dark blue sludge fills a ditch behind a high-tech Grupo Navarra factory, where jeans are laundered for brands made by Levi Strauss & Co and Gap Inc. Email to a friend Printer friendly Font: ****E.J. Bernacki, a Levi Strauss spokesman based in San Francisco, said Grupo Navarra had failed an independent audit of its laundry facilities last year. The Levi Strauss policy was to help factories that do not meet its standards to correct the problem, he said. No one at Grupo Navarra, which is controlled by a Mexican businessman, was available to comment. Mexico is popular with garment firms because it is close to the United States, meaning a quick turnaround on fast-changing fashion lines. Though many firms have left for cheaper China, hundreds of thousands of Mexicans still work in assembly plants. In Tehuacan, 118 miles southeast of Mexico City, about 35,000 people work in garment factories. Water from the denim laundries runs through Tehuacan, where it mixes with municipal sewage and is discharged untreated in a foaming green torrent to a river that feeds irrigation systems in the downstream village of San Diego Chalma. Farmer Mariano Barragan, 67, uses the water on his few acres of corn planted in fields a few minutes' drive from the center of Tehuacan. "Sometimes it comes out blue, sometimes yellow, sometimes black,'' said Barragan, crumbling between his fingers the bluish gray crust the dirty water leaves on the soil. "I know when the chemicals are strong because the leaves shrivel and my skin starts itching.'' Barragan said health authorities have told him not to plant tomatoes and root vegetables because of a risk of contamination. But corn is permitted and is sold locally and to buyers from Mexico City. Locals say they do not know if the waste water presents a long-term risk to their health, but some complain of chemical odours that irritate their throats. "They let the strong chemicals out at night. It wakes you up because it catches in your throat,'' said Gerardo Diaz, who lives next to an open sluice bringing effluent from a small jeans laundry. Most major jeans firms now require their suppliers to use water treatment plants and monitor waste water for dangerous substances. Grupo Navarra uses a modern treatment system and last week the water coming from the factory was clear. However, activists say the company does not always switch the plant on. "This is clear evidence that Grupo Navarra lies,'' said local rights activist Martin Barrios, digging a stick into the slimy indigo-coloured mud. Gap stopped bleaching and dyeing at the factory in 2005 but does launder jeans there. Industry leaders in Tehuacan blame most of the pollution on the dozens of small unregulated laundries that wash, bleach and dye jeans for Mexican brands. "We all know Mexican firms demand less than the international brands,'' said Javier Lopez, spokesman for the city's industry chamber. "Sometimes the attitude is that the water is contaminated anyway by unregistered factories and animal waste.'' Tehuacan is also a centre for pig and poultry farming. Just outside Tehuacan, two rusting government signs stand on a derelict plot of land, promising the construction of a plant to treat the city's waste water. The signs have been there for more than five years but building has not begun. http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=1d8585a8-6f96-4d40-ab21-405e6ba10bcb From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Thu May 3 13:22:08 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 13:22:08 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Barstow Calif - sludge spreading halted - nitrate contaminated wells Message-ID: http://www.desertdispatch.com/onset?db=desertdispatch&id=509&template=article.html City looks into providing bottled water to Soap Mine Road residents By AARON AUPPERLEE Staff Writer May 3, 2007 - 7:16AM 'Is our water safe to drink?' Soap Mine Road resident Christina Bryne asks DPRA consultants Gary Vargas, right, and Robert Falero at Wednesday's City Council study session on nitrate pollution in the Soap Mine Road area. BARSTOW - Jim Swartwout, a Soap Mine Road area resident concerned about nitrate pollution, told the City Council he cares about the "little guy." And by the end of Wednesdays study session on nitrate pollution, he felt like the Council did, too. At the conclusion of the meeting, Council member Joe Gomez directed the city - without accepting blame in the matter - to investigate providing water to families in the Soap Mine Road area whose water has high nitrate levels. "We had a Council member stand up and help get some people some water," Swartwout said. "Now it's starting to change." Gomez asked the city to determine the cost of providing bottled water for families drinking from wells with a nitrate levels of nine milligrams per liter or higher. He also asked that city staff determine how many women in that area are pregnant because nitrate contamination presents a health risk to infants. As nitrates work into an infant's body, it can block the blood from properly carrying oxygen, potentially a fatal situation if untreated. Drinking water is considered polluted when it contains 10 mg/L of nitrates or more, according to Mike Plaziak, a senior engineering geologist with the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. City Manager Hector Rodriguez said the city will do the analysis based on the Council's direction. Based on tests done last year, there are 12 wells in the Soap Mine Road area with a nitrate levels above nine, said Soap Mine Road resident Christina Bryne. Soap Mine Road residents plan to have their wells retested on May 10. Soap Mine Road residents have butted heads with the city over nitrate contamination in the area since learning about the contamination in 2006. In 2004, the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board ordered the city to stop spreading sewage on the fields after finding high levels of nitrates in the ground water. City efforts to monitor and define the nitrate contamination became partially de-railed in April when a report from DPRA, an environmental consulting firm, questioned the testing data presented to the city. Gary Vargas, a consultant with DPRA, said he was unable to draw many conclusions from the testing done by RGS because of inconsistencies in the data. RGS is a sub-contractor hired by Aquarion, the city's wastewater treatment service provider. "We would have loved to have used it, but we couldn't," Vargas told the Council. After reviewing the data, DPRA questioned at least a dozen reports that have duplicate or near-duplicate results across several testing sites and numerous inconsistencies in the data. A total of 17 monthly monitoring reports from March 2003 to January 2007 were found to have questionable laboratory results, according to the report. DPRA marked every monitoring report from June 2005 to January 2007 questionable. DPRA's report suggested that the city and Aquarion end its relationship with RGS. Pat Lendway, the city's wastewater treatment coordinator, said the city is investigating that relationship. Aquarion's contract with the city ends in February 2009. Plaziak said Lahontan will issue a report on May 18 evaluating DPRA's report and could require the city to do additional investigation in the area. "The validity of the data is of concern to us, serious concern to us," Plaziak said. "We're going to look very closely into that." Lahontan may also issue an enforcement order to the city directing it to clean up pollution found to be the city's fault, he said. The enforcement order could also mandate that the city provide bottled water to affected residents. From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Thu May 3 15:46:07 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 15:46:07 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Evian Criminals - the New Snob Appeal of Tap Water Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: This looks like a good news story. We should be delivering tap water that is good enough to drink! And we shouldn't be putting tap water into one-use plastic bottles that will live forever in landfill (and ditches). This author takes the wrong lesson from this story. We need to conserve clean ground and surface waters. Not pollute them with sewage. And stop buying little plastic bottles of water to serve at meetings. Bring back the water jug. .................................................. from Slate Magazine. Link: http://www.slate.com/id/2165124 Evian Criminals The new snob appeal of tap water. By Daniel Gross Posted Thursday, April 26, 2007, at 7:23 PM ET Last month, the San Francisco Chronicle spotted a hot new food trend in the Bay Area. Instead of offering diners a choice of still or sparkling bottled water with their (inevitably) locally grown delectables, trendoid restaurants such as Incanto, Poggio, and Nopa now offer glorified tap water. Sustainable-dining pioneer Chez Panisse has also joined the crowd, tossing Santa Lucia overboard for filtered municipal water, carbonated on-site. The reason: It takes a lot of energy to create a bottle of water and ship it from Europe to California. And so of-the-moment bistros can boost their enviro cred by giving away tap water instead of selling promiscuously marked-up bottled water. "Our whole goal of sustainability means using as little energy as we have to," Mike Kossa-Rienzi, general manager of Chez Panisse, told the Chronicle. "Shipping bottles of water from Italy doesn't make sense." Chez Panisse's decision to swap Perrier for public water highlights how quickly the culture surrounding food, drink, and the environment has shifted. Not long ago, bottled water represented the height of urban sophistication. Today, bottled water is just another cog in the carbon-spewing, globe-warming industrial machine. There is a growing conflict between those who want to drink clean, pure water and those who want to breathe clean, pure air. Until relatively recently, bottled water was a snobbish luxury good?Perrier, Evian, and San Pellegrino, fey-sounding foreign brands, seemed absurd. Thanks to our superior infrastructure?New York City's delicious tap water is actually believed to be a competitive advantage for the city's bagel and pizza makers?it is perfectly safe to drink the water in the United States. Given the price?for long periods of time, a gallon of bottled water cost more than a gallon of gas?it seemed silly to pay up for this plentiful commodity. And it seemed pretentious to believe that our overburdened palates should be forced to develop a preference for what is generally presumed to be a tasteless substance. The presence of water sommeliers at the Ritz-Carlton in New York and at Alain Ducasse's New York restaurant (now closed, soon to reopen) was more novelty than a necessity. But like other high-end comestibles?sushi, good coffee?bottled water has become democratized. According to data from the International Bottled Water Association, bottled water in 2003 became the second-largest American beverage category. As soda sales stagnated, bottled water sales took off. Total U.S. consumption rose nearly 60 percent between 2001 and 2006. Last year, industry revenues were an estimated $11 billion. Per-capita consumption has risen almost 50 percent from 2001, to 27.6 gallons in 2006. Globally, the United States is the largest consumer of bottled water, although on a per-capita basis, we were only 10th in 2005. (That year, Italians consumed almost twice as much bottled water per capita as Americans.) The rapidly growing sector has attracted the interest of huge beverage companies. Coca-Cola owns Dasani and is reportedly interested in buying Glaceau, which makes flavored waters. Pepsi owns Aquafina. Poland Spring is also a major player. But these companies, whose products are available in convenience stores, vending machines, and office refrigerators, aren't delivering expensive European spring water to elites; they're producing cheap, glorified tap water for the masses. And they package the product in plastic, not in glass. Bottled water is an industry, not a craft. (And even the schmancy European operations are industrial.) Whether it's Santa Lucia in Italy or Poland Spring in Maine, bottlers process the stuff. They regulate the mineral content, sometimes they carbonate it, and they bottle, package, and ship it to distant markets on trucks, trains, and ships?burning fossil fuels and emitting carbon dioxide in the process. And so there is a sort of reverse snob appeal in shunning bottled water. Restaurants like Chez Panisse are telling their customers that they prize the Earth?and their customers' values?more than their own profits. (Companies like Whole Foods and Wal-Mart that conspicuously pay above-market prices for electricity generated from renewable sources are doing the same thing.) I, for one, would welcome the abolition of bottled water at restaurants. Whether you're on a date or at a business meal, expressing a preference for tap water generally makes you look cheap. But I don't know if the food snobs want to go too far. If sustainability comes to outweigh consumer preference or variety at restaurants, America's food culture will suffer. If you're based in Northern California, which has an embarrassment of agricultural riches, insisting on using only local products isn't much of a sacrifice. In Ohio, or Maine, or New York, it would mean self-denial on a massive scale. Part of the appeal of a great food city like New York is the sheer variety of choices. I'm all for the Union Square Greenmarket, where delectable fruits and veggies are trucked in from farms within a day's drive. But I also love the Chinatown stalls stocked with strange, far-flung vegetables, Japanese steakhouses selling Kobe beef, and the readily available French truffles. Where do you draw the line? Apparently, Chez Panisse draws it at wine. Its wine list has plenty of California vintages but is also stocked with bottles that have been shipped, in the same carbon-intensive process through which water bottles are shipped, from France, Italy, and South Africa. Bottled water's swift transformation from glass-encased luxury good to d?class?, plastic-wrapped menace was entirely predictable. Over the past century, we've seen numerous examples of products that, so long as they were available only to a select few, were viewed by those elites as brilliant, life-improving developments: the automobile, coal-generated electricity, air conditioning. But once companies figured out how to make them available to the masses, the elites suddenly condemned them as dangerous and socially destructive. So long as only a few people were drinking Evian, Perrier, and San Pellegrino, bottled water wasn't perceived as a societal ill. Now that everybody is toting bottles of Poland Spring, Aquafina, and Dasani, it's a big problem.Related in Slate In 2003, Ann Hulbert chronicled what happened when Berkeley High School adopted a Chez Panisse approach to school lunch. Last fall, Daniel Gross investigated the economics of apple-picking. A June 2002 article explained why posh types in London refer to sparkling water as fizzy water. In January 2004, Sara Dickerman explained how haute cuisine went mass market. Daniel Gross (www.danielgross.net) writes Slate's "Moneybox" column. You can e-mail him at moneybox at slate.com. He is the author of Pop! Why Bubbles Are Great for the Economy. From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Thu May 3 15:48:57 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 15:48:57 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Prions may be more mobile under limed conditions! Message-ID: Toward Safer Disposal Of Animals Infected With Mad Cow And Other Prion Diseases Science Daily: ? Burying prion-infected carcasses of cattle, deer and other animals in lime may actually enhance the spread of those infectious proteins through soil, a new study suggests. Placing quicklime on carcasses once was thought to be the best way to foster quick decay of bodies and to prevent the spread of disease. The study is scheduled for the April 15 issue of ACS? Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly journal. In the study, Joel A. Pedersen and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin cite the need for safe methods of disposing of prion-infected carcasses, noting that prions can resist harsh conditions such as strong disinfectants and dry-heat temperatures of 1,100?F that destroy other disease-causing agents and that prions can remain infectious in the soil for at least three years. Pedersen and colleagues investigated the effect of different conditions (pH, salinity) on the adsorption, or attachment, of prions to sand particles. They found that prions become less firmly attached to sand particles, and thus potentially more mobile, under alkaline conditions. These conditions would be produced by lime, as well as in older landfills. In the natural environment, acidic conditions may keep prions near the soil surface, increasing the risk that animals will ingest prions and become infected, the report says. The team is conducting further research to determine whether these expectations are borne out. Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Chemical Society. From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Tue May 1 21:12:51 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Tue, 01 May 2007 21:12:51 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Spinach - is it safe for our kids? Message-ID: http://www.masslive.com/editorials/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-1/117774578742130.xml&coll=1 EDITORIALS If it's safe for Popeye, is it safe for our kids? Monday, April 30, 2007 'Eat your spinach," parents have told their children for generations. "It's good for you." Can a parent say the same thing to a child today with absolute certainty that the leafy green vegetable is healthy? Spinach is a good source of fiber, protein, vitamins A, C, E, K and B6, as well as calcium, but can a parent be certain that it is not also a source of E. coli? A series of food poisoning cases - bagged spinach, lettuce and peanut butter - has made Americans worry that their food isn't safe. More recently, contaminated pet food was sent to hog farms in as many as six states, prompting fears that the tainted hogs have entered the human food supply. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office, declared food safety as a "high-risk" issue to public health and the economy. Lawmakers heard last week from people sickened by tainted food at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations. When it comes to government regulation of food safety, there are too many cooks in the kitchen. The U.S. Agriculture Department is responsible for meat, poultry and eggs. The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for fruits and vegetables, while the pesticides used by farmers to protect produce from pests are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Seafood? Call the National Marine Fisheries Service. Altogether, there are 15 agencies that handle food safety. There is legislation in both the Senate and the House that would consolidate food safety under a new independent food agency. Another federal agency? That could be a recipe for disaster, but the nation can no longer depend as much as it does now on individual food companies to ensure that its food is safe. Some consolidation is in order, and a thorough review of the outdated rules on food inspections is necessary. Also, the government should have the authority to issue a recall. When American consumers buy a food item in a supermarket, they put their trust in everyone who has played some role in making it appear on the grocery shelf. It's time to restore that trust. From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Fri May 4 13:27:34 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 13:27:34 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Sludge-free: Jump in Sales of Organic Baby Food Message-ID: http://www.mercurynews.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?articleId=5778720&siteId=568 Organic baby food grows into a healthy little market By Therese Agovino Associated Press San Jose Mercury News Article Launched:04/29/2007 01:37:53 AM PDT NEW YORK - Pauline Amell-Nash worried that the pesticides and additives used to grow and preserve food were bad for her 1-year-old daughter Sophia, not to mention the earth itself. That's why the pureed carrots, sweet potatoes and fruits Sophia ate were purchased from makers of organic baby food. "She is so small I just thought that the more pure, honest things she ate would be better for her," the Claremont mother said. "I also thought it benefits the environment. I want to raise my child with an idea of social responsibility." The environment has become a very hot topic these days, especially among parents who want to protect their children's health and the world they'll be inheriting. Parents like Amell-Nash are propelling a surge in organic baby food sales, and that has prompted more companies to either join or expand their offerings in the sector. Organic food still accounts for a tiny portion of the overall baby food market, but it is definitely growing. Whole Foods Market said it has tripled the space allotted to organic baby products in the past five years. Last year, baby food institution Gerber Products rebranded and broadened its organic line, while Abbott Laboratories introduced an organic version of its Similac baby formula. The U.S. Department of Agriculture inspects food producers to insure they meet its standards for organic products. They include banning the use of conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge for produce, and antibiotics or growth hormones for animals. Organic baby food sales soared 21.6 percent to $116 million in the 52 weeks ended Feb. 24, after jumping 16.4 percent a year earlier, according to the Nielsen Co. Meanwhile, overall baby food sales rose 3.1 percent to $3.7 billion in the same period, after being essentially flat a year earlier. The data was gleaned from U.S. grocery, drug and mass market retailers, excluding Wal-Mart. Gerber Products replaced its Tender Harvest brand last year with a line called Gerber Organics and added products such as cereals, juice and food for toddlers. The change was meant to make it more evident that the food was organic, said Anna Mohl, vice president of marketing-infant nutrition at the baby food maker owned by Novartis AG and now being sold to Nestle SA. "We needed to be more explicit," Mohl said. While Tender Harvest, which was introduced in 1997, was selling well, its growth wasn't matching the overall organic baby food category, she said. Mohl said Gerber didn't consider leaving the category because she believed moms wanted to purchase organic baby food from a brand they trusted. She declined to give the brand's sales. Big companies aren't the only ones addressing the demand for organic baby products. Two years ago, Gigi Lee Chang started Plum Organics, a line of frozen baby foods, now a very hot area, according to Whole Foods officials. Lee Chang got the idea to start the company when she heard friends talking about her son's healthy appetite. She decided that the organic foods she had been preparing for him might be a good business opportunity. The products are sold nationally and an extension of the line is planned for later in the year. Freezing the food instead of jarring it retained more freshness and nutrients, she said, adding, "By freezing, I'm trying to replicate the homemade aspect." Producers said adhering to the USDA regulations makes organic foods cost more, but parents are willing to pay the difference. For example, a 25.7-ounce container of organic Similac formula retails for about $27.50, while the traditional brand would cost $23.50, according to Scott White, vice president-pediatrics-U.S. at Abbott Nutrition. Gerber said its organic products cost about 30 percent more than its traditional baby foods. Camille Fremed, mom to 20-month-old twin sons, said the additional cost isn't a huge burden and believes organic is worth the expense. "I'll scrimp on other things," said Fremed, a tech project manager who lives in Ridgefield, Conn. She favored the Earth's Best brand because it offers lots of variety. White said Abbott entered the organic formula market because there was an interest from moms. "There is no clinical evidence to say the product is better or healthier," White said. "Moms feel better using it. It is a lifestyle choice." Doctors said parents shouldn't feel guilty if they can't afford the extra expense. The USDA doesn't claim that organic food is safer or more nutritious than conventionally produced food, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has no official stance on the subject. Dr. Jatinder Bhatia, chief of neonatology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and a member of the pediatrics academy's committee on nutrition, said there is no evidence that organic baby food is better or safer. Raisa Lilling uses organic food in meals she prepares for her daughter Elliana because it is less expensive than buying pre-made products. She notes Elliana hasn't had many of the stomach problems and ear infections common in other infants. "I believe she'll be healthier as an adult," said Lilling, who lives in Santa Monica. "It is worth all the extra work." From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Fri May 4 13:42:22 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 13:42:22 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Pennsylvania - Synagro in trouble over food processing sludge Message-ID: "A DEP notice forwarded by Community Relations Coordinator Mark Carmon said waste hauler Synagro Inc. was sent a compliance order for "illegal storage and/or dumping of solid waste, to wit Food Processing Waste and/or Food Processing Sludge, on the surface of the ground without a valid permit..." "However, Carmon said Synagro cooperated fully with the department supplying all necessary information about the material which Hill described as "99 percent pig manure." " The department cited the waste hauler for storage of a "putrescible residual waste" outside a container creating odors and other public nuisance. " (Thanks Helane..admin) ................................ http://www.republicanherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18300047&BRD=2626&PAG=461&dept_id=532624&rfi=6 DEP says East Brunswick farm in compliance with ordinance BY SHAWN A. HESSINGER TAMAQUA BUREAU CHIEF shessinger at republicanherald.com 05/04/2007 NEW RINGGOLD - The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says an issue with the dumping of waste on an East Brunswick farm has been resolved. The department issued a notice of violation in March after a Texas-based waste hauler dumped 570 tons of " food processing waste" in a community already concerned over land application of sewage sludge. There's no fines issued or anything," said East Brunswick tree farmer Jeff Hill, who raised the ire of township residents in 2006 when he proposed applying waste from sewage treatment plants called "biosolids" to his and an adjacent farm prompting an ordinance against use of the material. A DEP notice forwarded by Community Relations Coordinator Mark Carmon said waste hauler Synagro Inc. was sent a compliance order for "illegal storage and/or dumping of solid waste, to wit Food Processing Waste and/or Food Processing Sludge, on the surface of the ground without a valid permit..." The department cited the waste hauler for storage of a "putrescible residual waste" outside a container creating odors and other public nuisance. In early March, newly appointed East Brunswick Township supervisor Jeff Faust used the application of the material as an example of why the state's monitoring is not sufficient to protect local residents prompting passage of a local ordinance. "There are a lot of issues along with this that haven't been implemented properly," said Faust, appointed to replace former supervisor Glenn Miller, the second member of the board to resign over the contentious sewage sludge issue. However, Carmon said Synagro cooperated fully with the department supplying all necessary information about the material which Hill described as "99 percent pig manure." "It was not biosolids," Carmon added. Carmon said the department eventually granted the company permission to spread the material over what Hill estimates were 24 acres of an adjacent farm belonging to Susan Smith. The sewage sludge issue has concerned county residents, leading to ordinances seeking to regulate the material in communities as diverse as Rush and West Penn Townships and Tamaqua. A farming regulation ordinance which contained a section on sewage sludge was rejected by Washington Township Supervisors. The East Brunswick ordinance has even drawn attention from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, which says it may challenge the ordinance in court. In a letter to the township supervisors in February, executive deputy attorney general Louis J. Rovelli warned the township that a review of the local ordinance banning corporate application of biosolids in the township may violate a state law against interfering with agriculture. Farmers argue the controversial 2005 Agriculture Community and Rural Environment legislation is necessary to protect generations old farming operations in the face of a growing residential community brought on by sporadic rural development. Opponents say the legislation leaves communities defenseless against an evolving agriculture industry replacing small family farms with larger operations using questionable practices and having no local accountability. From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Fri May 4 13:53:34 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 13:53:34 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Dirty Deals - Trucker in jail - associated with N-Viro, sludge, topsoil Message-ID: Dirty deals Local trucker held in Clinton County jail News of his extradition raises many questions - as he was a previous hauler of topsoil, NViro and sewage sludge By Ann Hawksby annie at denpubs.com PLATTSBURGH ?It seems Arthur Blakesley, former Plattsburgh resident and owner of Blakesley Trucking, is in some deep doo-doo - so to speak. Blakesely, who in the past had been contracted by the City of Plattsburgh , WeCare Organics, LLC, and Veolia Water - the firm formerly responsible for the management of the Clinton Count Compost Facility, where the controversial NViro soil amendment products were processed is being held at the Clinton County jail. He is facing a whole slew of charges including grand larceny for a spree of crimes he allegedly committed in NY, NJ and Texas. In Mahwah County, NJ, Blakesley, 48,was arrested for jumping bail in Texas, where he was charged for committing forgery and over $100,000 of theft. Mahwah Police Capt. Stephen Jaffe told NJ reporters that there were lots of misrepresentations made by Blakesley. The warrant out of Caldwell County, Texas, charged that Blakesley, who also held addresses in Pennsylvania, Florida and New York and a criminal history that includes civil actions in other states, with skipping out on $150,000 bail bond. At the time of the arrest in NJ, Blakesley was in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and a small bag containing $23,900. Local charges Here in Clinton County, he must answer to charges of fraud and grand larceny stemming from his business relationship with WeCare Organics, LLC, a company that had been contracted by the City of Plattsburgh to transport sewage sludge from the wastewater facility to the Clinton County Compost Facility. WeCare alleges that among other things, Blakesley made unauthorized charges at a local fuel company and at Ward Lumber. He also owes the Team Transportation Worker?s Compensation Trust $34,234. Local response As news of Blakesley?s alleged crimes began to surface, Town of Mooers Supervisor Rudolph ?Ruddi? Miller recalled concerns stemming from the uproar created when Blakesley and other WeCare truck drivers hauled hundreds of tons of what they were told was NViro to a farm on a remote farm in that township. Without warning the trucks drove up and down the Bashaw Road during the late night and early morning hours - and then the stench set in, causing unrest among many area residents. ?He was portrayed as an honest business man, we had our doubts, and now we know differently,? Miller said. Miller and other town officials had been told during a closed-door meeting with NYS DEC officials and representatives of Veolia Water (formerly US Filter) and WeCare that they need not be worried about the odorous substance as it had been tested prior to being trucked to the site. ?Veolia sent test results to the town, but we were never convinced that we had gotten accurate information,? Miller said. ?They told us there was only 400 tons, but we all knew there was much, much more than that.? ?Their paperwork didn?t seem to match what was physically there, and when we called them on it, well let?s just say we never did get real answers,? Miller said. ?We were told the finished NViro product was black and granular, but this stuff was light grey and clumpy - and it smelled strongly of ammonia.? That was back in 2004, and shortly afterwards the similar situations began to happen in other surrounding communities. Beekmantown actually took a landowner, Graham Layman, to court and won the case, forcing him to remove what the jury considered to be solid waste from his property on Route 9. Despite the many voices of concern regarding the authenticity of soil brought there, the DEC refused to test it, noting that the CCCF had a permit to make NVIRO - a product they and the EPA have deemed as safe. ?Leaving it up to the producers to take their own samples was questionable in itself,? said Beekmantown town supervisor, Dennis Relation. ?Who?s to say they didn?t use the same sample repeatedly? There were no real checks and balances there.? ?I feel they (governing authorities) should now return and take at least one, preferably two samples from each of the sites where residents and town officials had complained,? Miller said. ?And they should take it to a non-biased laboratory for testing.? ?I think we deserve at least that.? In Plattsburgh The City Environmental Services Manager, Jonathan Ruff, said he saw no need for concern, even though Blakesley was involved with the transportation of sewage sludge, NViro and owned a topsoil business. According to Ruff, NViro was used at some of the city parks and at the US Oval. ?However, I am not aware of any factual information that leads me to believe that any of the N-Viro material distributed from the compost plant by Veolia was improper,? Ruff said in response to some recent questions. ?We have reams of documents and signed certifications that support that the sludges processed by Veolia were done so in accordance with applicable requirements and that the N-Viro product that Veolia distributed from the site was, in fact, properly processed. The records and operation are also audited by EPA and DEC.? When asked about the ?smelly, sloppy? product brought to a Beekmantown site, Ruff said ?Veolia was clear that there were some sludges that resulted in very odorous N-Viro. Once the cause of this was determined, those sludges were no longer accepted at the facility.? Ruff went on to say, ?this does not mean that the material was unsafe or not processed properly, only that those particular sludges were better suited to other processes from the perspective of odor. Perhaps this was the case for the material (obtained by the Beekmantown landowner).? Ruff said ?BT did not haul topsoil to the Oval soccer field project.? ?I believe the top soil that BT hauled directly for the City was to the waterfront development project. My recollection is that all were satisfied with the material.? ? I do not recall if Mr. Blakesly was involved in other local projects,? Ruff added, ?even if he was, the records we have support that only properly manufactured N-Viro was distributed from the site; therefore, I do not feel there is a cause for worry.? Plattsburgh City Mayor Donald Kasprzak said he does have some questions he?d like Mr. Blakesley to answer to. Timeline of Blakesly Trucking?s work for the City of Plattsburgh as provided by Jonathan Ruff, Environmental Services Manager: >From 1998 - 2002: BT hauled merchant sludge to Clinton County Compost Facility (CCCF) and compost to markets as sub to WeCare. >From 2001 - 2005: BT hauled City sludge from Water Pollution Control Plant to CCCF and other disposal sites as sub to WeCare. >From 2003 - 2005: BT hauled merchant sludge to CCCF and N-Viro to markets as sub to WeCare/Veolia. At times, BT worked for WeCare on the leased Norco property. BT also hauled a limited amount of sawdust, woodchips and topsoil for City and also worked as sub to Veolia at CCCF. From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Fri May 4 15:57:12 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 15:57:12 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Florida - chemical burns, stench, fumes - occupational hazards of sludge Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: This plant looks like it may be out of compliance with occupational safety requirements. In Ontario, Canada, the staff at the N-Viro sludge lime plants need to wear full respirators to prevent them breathing in the fumes from the reacting lime and sludge. A lawsuit has been launched in Canada by a sewage treatment plant worker who became extremely ill from exposure to these kinds of chemicals and gases. Remember they are likely inhaling mercury and heavy metals, pathogens, endotoxins, mold and fungus as well as gases like hydrogen sulphide. You might want to discuss the occupational risks with the director of public works at Oldsmar: jmulvihill at ci.oldsmar.fl.us ...................................................................................... Where it all goes after we flush It takes a strong stomach to turn Oldsmar's wastewater into fertilizer. Face masks don't block the odor. By TAMARA EL-KHOURY Published April 24, 2007 [Times photo: Douglas R. Clifford] Joshua Wolfe od Oldsmar's wastewater treatment plant prepares a sludge sample for a 217-degree oven. Later, he will measure the moisture loss. "This is definitely not for the squeamish of heart as far as working goes," he says. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OLDSMAR - Their jobs, like those of their counterparts across Pinellas County, are not glamorous. Seven days a week, the 13 men who work at the Oldsmar wastewater treatment plant deal with the waste Oldsmar residents flush down their toilets, push down their garbage disposals and rinse down their drains. The stench has knocked the uninitiated on their rears. The chemicals needed to process the sludge can burn and scar. But Joshua Wolfe, 37, just 15 months on the job, is already immune to the unpleasantries. On a recent Tuesday, he packed 10 grams of sludge into a foil dish with his bare hands to prepare it for testing. "This is definitely not for the squeamish of heart as far as working goes," Wolfe said. Waste management remains one of the core - if forgotten - functions of local government for sanitation. But the vital occupation could soon change significantly under a grand plan this small Pinellas County city has for changing how it and a host of regional neighbors deal with human waste. Oldsmar wants Pinellas County, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and Clearwater to join it in building a multimillion-dollar biosolids drying facility to produce a safe, organic pellet-shaped product that can be sold as fertilizer. Economics, along with environmental issues, are forcing the newfangled proposal. The sod farms in Manatee, Citrus and Hardee counties that Oldsmar and other local cities have shipped their processed sludge to for decades are being snapped up for real estate development; those that remain demand higher environmental standards. The new technology has other benefits as well, as it uses heat rather than a caustic chemical to neutralize the biohazards in sludge. But until the new facility and its heat-drying technology is deployed, the messy and dangerous step that gets repeated every Tuesday night at the Oldsmar plant - lime stabilization - will continue. On a recent rainy Tuesday, Wolfe, who hopes to get his operator's license, worked alongside Jim Hudgins, 56, an 18-year veteran of the industry. "Just so you know, this is third-degree chemical burn," Wolfe said, lifting his calf and pointing to a scar caused when lime splashed into his boot and rubbed against his skin. By the time Wolfe and Hudgins started work, the wastewater had already gone through multiple filtering and neutralizing processes, separating most of the water from solids and foreign objects such as adhesive bandages, shoes, sand and other things. The resulting solid moved onto the gravity belt Tuesday, looking like muddy water, and was still just 1.2 percent solid. Then the sludge is mixed with a polymer, causing the sludge and water to repeal from each other, creating a 7.9 percent solid. The result is thick enough to make a mud ball. What started out as 35,000 gallons of wastewater is reduced to 7,000 gallons of sludge by the time it leaves the gravity belt and is fed into one of four pits, each holding up to 12,000 gallons of sludge. Next, Hudgins and Wolfe don face masks to protect their skin as caustic granule lime is pulled down from a silo on the roof to mix with water. The liquid lime is then pumped into the four tanks holding the sludge. The masks do nothing to block the stench as the sludge is blended with the lime. Hudgins and Wolfe don't flinch. A novice could faint. For three hours, the mixture is churned until the sludge's biohazards are neutralized. Then it's held for an additional 22 hours before it's hauled once a week to sod farms. On Thursday, a tanker hauls off only 35,000 gallons of sludge from the Oldsmar plant - the eventual byproduct of nearly 12-million gallons of wastewater that flows in weekly. "When people go to the bathroom, they don't know where it goes," Hudgins said. "They just don't want it to come back at them." [Last modified April 24, 2007, 00:07:01] http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/24/Northpinellas/Where_it_all_goes_aft.shtml From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Sat May 5 14:26:24 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Sat, 05 May 2007 14:26:24 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Questioning the Compost Supply Chain - This recycling of wastes is risky Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: This is a very important story. It summarizes the problem...companies paid to 'recycle' wastes with few if any quality standards. Its a recipe for disaster. .................................................... Questioning the compost supply chain As politicians increasingly use composting to solve municipal waste and recycling issues, what happens to the pesticides, herbicides and pharmaceuticals that may have gone into the mix along with the lettuce leaves Deborah K. Rich, Special to The Chronicle Saturday, May 5, 2007 If soil, which breaks down fallen plant and animal materials, can be likened to the Earth's liver, then composting is becoming the liver of modern society -- tasked with processing and reducing lawn clippings, food scraps, manure and sewage. Given the chemicals we spray on our lawns, feed our livestock and swallow to keep us happy and functioning, are we asking too much of our collective microbial liver? Can composting detoxify chemicals, or are we spreading heavy metals, pesticides and drug residues in our gardens? The answers to these questions are uncertain. Composting is the mixing and management of organic waste (plant and animal materials and byproducts) to achieve ratios of carbon to nitrogen that accelerate and maximize microbial degradation of organic matter. By harnessing the power of microbes, municipalities can reduce and recycle plant and animal waste even where land and time are too scarce to accommodate the soil's comparatively slow rate of decomposition. "By composting, you are duplicating what nature would do given the chance," says Dale Arnold, director of quality control and research at Kellogg Garden Products. Kellogg sells compost and other soil amendments to 3,500 independent retail nurseries, as well as Home Depot and Lowe's. "Nature takes a long, long time to make compost. All we're doing is speeding up that natural cycle." Yard trimmings, wood waste from construction, animal manure, agricultural byproducts and biosolids from sewage treatment plants are the primary feedstock for the roughly 170 composters and waste processors that operate in California. All are valuable sources of carbon and plant nutrients, and these materials, once composted, can be used to maintain and improve soil health and productivity. Adding composted organic materials to soil improves soil fertility and structure, thereby lessening dependence on synthetic nitrogen and counterbalancing the heavy drawdown of nutrients and the successive degradation of soils that result from continuous farming and gardening. Soils high in organic matter are more porous, more drought resistant and less prone to erosion than are soils lacking organic matter. Chemicals remain Often these feedstock materials enter the composting process still laden with chemicals. Yet standards for finished compost, which vary from state to state, generally require regular testing only for heavy metals and pathogen indicators. Seldom do states ask that producers test their compost for residual pesticide or pharmaceutical compounds. Unlike farmers composting manure and plant residues for their own use, gardeners purchasing compost at a nursery seldom know what went into the compost, where the feedstock came from or what chemicals were on them. "Compost," says William Brinton, founder and president of Woods End Laboratories in Maine and a pioneer of modern compost production and testing systems in the United States, "has become anonymous and untraceable; a single compost product can now contain a mixture of unknown ingredients from all over a county or a state." The compost supply chain is poised to become even more difficult to trace as city and state politicians turn to composting as a means to meet their solid-waste reduction goals. "Composting now is being driven by recycling mandates set by politicians," Brinton says. "When I got my start in the composting world in the '70s, our motivation was to create products that nourished the soil. That was the goal, and then we worked backwards and asked how do we take ingredients like manure and crop residues and make wonderful compost for the soil? "Now it's the cart pulling the horse: The recycling cart is pulling the compost horse. I'm not saying the goals of making good soil amendments and recycling are incompatible. I'm saying that this sets up the challenge to maintain the integrity of compost, a challenge that will become more intense as the industry grows even larger." Aside from the standards set by the National Organic Program for compost used in organic food production systems, national standards exist only for composts made from solids captured in the treatment of sewage at municipal wastewater treatment facilities. In 1993, the EPA developed heavy metals and pathogen standards that sewage solids -- also known as sewage sludge or biosolids -- must meet before they can be spread on land. Subsequently, these same standards were extended to compost made from biosolids and sold to wholesalers and retailers. The California Integrated Waste Management Board regulates composting in the state and requires that all compost produced in California meet the heavy metal and pathogen indicator standards set by the EPA for biosolids, regardless of feedstock source. California does not require testing for chemical residues such as pesticides, antibiotics or hormones. Heavy metals, many of which -- like lead, arsenic and cadmium -- are toxic to humans at low levels, aren't subject to microbial degradation in soil or compost systems. Preventing their buildup in soil requires restricting how much is added to the soil in biosolids, compost or any other soil treatment. Some scientists are concerned whether heavy metals standards developed for land application of biosolids are appropriate for compost because compost is often applied at much higher rates than those allowed for sewage sludge. "I think it is a very different story when you are applying compost heavily over a short term than when you are applying smaller amounts of sewage sludge over the long term because the bioavailability of these compounds is very different when they're freshly applied and fresh material," says Tom Richard of the department of agricultural and biological engineering at Pennsylvania State University. "There is a lot of organic-matter cycling going on, and these minerals will go through more available phases as they cycle round." To qualify for unrestricted use on organic farms, compost must have lead, cadmium and arsenic levels two to four times below those permitted by EPA standards for the highest-quality biosolids. Drugs break down Unlike heavy metals, human and animal drugs have been repeatedly shown to break down in both soil and compost. "In general, drugs, once they hit manure, are metabolized relatively quickly," says Michael Payne, dairy program coordinator for the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security. "When you add a proper compost step, you even accelerate that because of the heat." A recent study of composting examined its ability to break down 10 pharmaceutical and personal-care product residues in biosolids collected from a wastewater treatment plant in San Diego. Fatih B?y?ks?nmez, of San Diego State University's department of civil and environmental engineering, found that composting for 45 days reduced residues of 9 out of 10 products by at least 85 percent. Hormone residue in sewage and animal waste appears to be similarly reduced by the composting process; they are natural compounds and highly susceptible to microbial degradation. But how low a level of hormone residue is safe is unclear. Scientists are finding that even very low levels of hormones -- washed into streams in municipal and dairy wastewater -- can significantly affect fish and amphibians. Research is also linking hormones to increases in a variety of human diseases, including some cancers. A study published in 2005 by Heldur Hakk of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service found that composting reduced the incidence of estrogen (17B-estradiol) and testosterone in chicken manure by 84 to 90 percent in 139 days. In his discussion of results, Hakk cautions that the rate of hormone degradation will be affected by how well the compost is aerated, and by the moisture level, porosity and particle size of the compost. Time makes a big difference Time, says Brinton of Woods End Laboratories, is another key variable in the reduction of hormones through composting, and of antibiotics and other drugs as well. "If you use very short turnaround systems, the breakdown of these drugs is a concern,'' Brinton says. "Most composters are composting 60 days at least, and some composters are waiting six to eight months because they know the compost only gets better and better. Every once in a while I hear of a five-day compost system, and that's just not long enough. Most states say you can meet EPA law in five days with in-vessel composting, or 15 days for other systems, but then you need to store it for 30 days. So some safeguard is built in." Scientists probably have a better understanding of how pesticides break down during composting than they do of any other class of man-made chemicals. When interest in composting yard waste as a means of keeping it out of landfills surged in the late 1980s, many state and local public agencies studied how well composting reduced pesticide residue. Compost pesticide residue consistently proved to be so low that most composters today only occasionally conduct tests to verify that pesticide residue is reduced to the point where the compost will not be toxic to plants. But the low incidence of pesticides in compost isn't proof that compost can handle society's worst chemicals. The successful elimination of pesticide residue in compost is due at least as much to regulatory action as it is to microbial activity. Since the 1970s, the EPA has banned or restricted use of pesticides that persist in the environment. Chlorinated compounds, like DDT, resist microbial breakdown in both soil and compost. The food residue thresholds authorized by the EPA for each pesticide help as well, placing, by default, a ceiling on the amount of pesticide entering composting systems. The safeguards aren't foolproof. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, clopyralid -- an herbicide used to control broad-leaved weeds in turfgrass, and hay, wheat and other crops -- persisted in composted lawn clippings at levels high enough to cause damage to garden and nursery plants in eastern Washington and Idaho. Studies found not only that clopyralid breaks down very slowly in compost, but also that it is highly toxic to some plants, including sunflowers, legumes, tomatoes and potatoes, even at residue levels well below those allowed for use on turf and grass crops. Washington and California banned the use of clopyralid on residential lawns and restricted use of clopyralid by commercial applicators in 2002. Since then, no further damage from clopyralid residues in compost has been reported. Even with pesticides that break down rapidly in compost, questions remain. Only a small amount of pesticide "disappearance" during composting is due to mineralization, whereby the compound is reduced to water and other inorganic compounds. Much of the pesticide volatilizes, vaporizing into a gas. Depending upon the compound, the vaporized pesticide may or may not pose environmental risks. Another large portion of the pesticide is absorbed (or bound) to organic matter in the compost. While bound, the pesticide is unavailable for uptake by plants; however, as the organic matter breaks down further over time, the pesticide may again become bioavailable. As our dependence on compost to both reduce our organic wastes as well as to maintain the health of our soils grows, composting without a more complete understanding of the fate of chemicals in compost becomes increasingly risky. "I believe that composting is the best tool that we have for handling many of the different types of organic materials that we use," says Richard of Pennsylvania State University. "It can reduce their impact significantly and at lower cost than other options that we have, and we really do need to have a society that does a better job of recycling its organic matter. "But we need to look pretty hard at a lot of these different compounds. We are depending on composting to handle increasing amounts of the 50 percent-plus of our waste stream that is organic. To not be studying these emerging questions seems to be pretty naive." Monterey writer Deborah K. Rich is a frequent contributor to Home&Garden. E-mail her at home at sfchronicle.com. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/05/HOGD3PJOUT1.DTL This article appeared on page F - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Sat May 5 14:36:40 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Sat, 05 May 2007 14:36:40 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Virginia looks at ecoli into waterways...neglects look at sludge Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: Too bad they didn't look at the use of sludge on farmland as well. ...................................... DEQ lists ways to better protect area waterways Sarah Watson swatson at newsadvance.com Saturday, May 5, 2007 Click here for detailed maps of area watersheds There are three things anyone can do to help lower E. coli levels in area waterways: ensure septic systems are working properly, pick up pet waste and plant trees near streams whenever possible. That?s one of the messages Department of Environmental Quality officials shared Thursday night at a public meeting at the Lynchburg Public Library when they presented a draft study analyzing elevated E. coli levels in seven sub-watersheds feeding into the James River. ?Lots of times your septic system is failing and you don?t even know it,? DEQ coordinator Lauren Theodore said. ?If it?s not working, that water could be running into the creek that?s nearby.? The Total Maximum Daily Load study, which establishes the baseline level of pollutants that can be in a water body without going over state limits, was triggered several years ago when more than 10.5 percent of water tests came back with elevated E. coli amounts. Though the presence of E. coli doesn?t necessarily mean those exposed will get severely ill, there?s a strong correlation between seeing high rates of E. coli and incidence of gastrointestinal illnesses, DEQ coordinator Lauren Theodore said. Some of the efforts to lower E. coli levels in area watersheds include keeping livestock out of streams and continuing work on closing all combined sewer overflows, which allow raw sewage to pour into waterways after heavy rains, Theodore said. The presentation didn?t trigger a discussion on the CSO work in Lynchburg as Theodore hoped. Rather, several citizens from various localities asked if the study addressed the effects of biosolids, or treated sewage sludge used as fertilizer, on area waterways. Though biosolids use was calculated in the model, the amount of land in the study area where sewage sludge has been used was negligible compared to more urbanized problems, Theodore said. ?This is just the starting point, Theodore said. ?A lot of things are up to the community to decide what you want to do.? Water projects: Here are some of the other water quality projects around the area: ? Adrienne Averett, DEQ senior water supply planner, said the DEQ is working with localities to develop a regional water supply program. The goal is to establish a comprehensive planning tool to help local governments develop their own water supply plans by looking at current usage and ensuring water sources can support current and future use in a 30- to 50-year plan. ? Tim Mitchell, Lynchburg City Utilities director, said since starting the CSO project, 100 overflow sites have been closed and overflow volume has reduced by 80 percent. However, there are 32 overflow sites that still need closing and those are the most difficult and expensive to do. Closing all the CSO sites will not solve the bacteria problems in area waterways, but it will make a significant difference. ? Patricia Fitzsimmons, Lynchburg College professor and coordinator for the Blackwater Creek Watershed Planning Committee, said part of the planning committee?s work is to develop a watershed plan for the Blackwater Creek. The goal is to create a flexible document that localities and developers can use to help ease pressures on the Blackwater Creek watershed caused by growth. The plan is scheduled for completion in January. More information: ? To learn more about the DEQ?s Total Maximum Daily Load studies, go to: www.deq.virginia.gov/tmdl/mtgppt.html or www.deq.virginia.gov/tmdl/develop.html From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Sun May 6 01:06:53 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Sun, 06 May 2007 01:06:53 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> ONtario - Rothsay Rendering Sludge Stinks out Neighbours - In Truro NS, too Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: Rothsay Rendering - owned by the self promoting folks at Maple Leaf Foods - has started stinking out the neighbours in Southern Ontario. They have been plaguing the neighbours in Lower Truro Nova Scotia for years now. Enough already ................................................................................ Clark cries foul over dumping of Rothsay sludge Councillor and ministry clash over legality of animal waste Richard Leitner, Mountain (Apr 13, 2007) Stoney Creek Councillor Brad Clark is vowing to fight an "illogical" Ministry of the Environment ruling that the Taro dump can accept animal-rendering sewage waste after recent shipments left neighbours gagging and heading indoors. "Since I got here, this was the No. 1 issue all of a sudden," he said. "No matter where you went in the community, everyone was talking about the smell." Taro voluntarily halted disposal of foul-smelling sewage sludge from the Rothsay animal rendering plant in Flamborough on March 28, when the ministry's on-site inspector returned from a two-day training course. Both Taro's owner, Newalta Industrial Services Inc., and ministry officials say the dump is legally permitted to take the waste, but stopped doing so because of odour complaints. Those complaining included Phil Robinson, who moved to the area last year and was overcome by the stench while riding his motorcycle on Mud Street. "You take 50 Johnny-on-the-spots, use them for a year without putting any chemical in it and open all the doors, and stand 50 people two feet away from it in the dead heat of summer, that's what it smelled like," he said. "I thought, 'How can people live across the street from this place?' It was nasty." Mr. Clark, who calls the ministry's interpretation of Taro's licence conditions "nonsense," said he will take up the matter with Environment Minister Laurel Broten and city council. The site's licence forbids the disposal of "putrescible waste." In his view, this clearly includes animal waste undergoing putrefaction -- or decomposition -- and emitting putrid odours. "Putrescible stuff is the stuff that really reeks. There's a clear clause in there," Mr. Clark said. "I don't know how they can possibly argue with any credibility that the company is currently in compliance with their (licence)," he said. "Come and knock on the doors in the community. Go door to door and tell them it's OK to take this waste. Tell the neighbours that. There's just no way." But Mark Dunn, acting district manager for the ministry's Hamilton office, said "putrescible waste" traditionally applies to kitchen-type food scraps. While Taro's licence forbids it from accepting municipal or domestic sewage waste, it is silent on commercial and industrial sewage, which means the site is allowed to take Rothsay's, he said. "Is it putrid by the Webster's (dictionary) definition? For sure, that's why the neighbours complained that it smelled," Mr. Dunn said. "But traditionally our definition of putrescible has usually meant things like your home-compost-type material, the stuff you'd find in domestic or commercial garbage that rots, like kitchen wastes," he said. "Again, in this case the odour was the issue. We said, 'Guys, this is causing a problem. Either you're going to have to find some way of addressing the odour or stop receiving it,' and it was decided they would stop receiving that material." Newalta's regional manager, Michael Jovanovic, said Taro had been taking "lagoon sludge" from Rothsay for several months, attributing the problem to a 17-tonne load received just before shipments were halted. The severity of the stench only became apparent the next day -- when the inspector returned -- and efforts to bury the waste were made more difficult because it had been spread over a larger area, he said. "The change in wind caused it to get away from us," said Mr. Jovanovic, who also rejects Mr. Clark's contention that the waste was putrescible and therefore barred under Taro's licence. "It was acceptable quality as far as the environmental quality is concerned, but obviously not acceptable from an odour perspective, as we have learned," he said. "We take these operational issues very seriously and we're making sure that we don't have this problem recur." But a First Road West resident who also complained said any time the prevailing southwest winds switch direction, the neighbourhood south of Mud Street is inundated with odours. Len Wise estimates he's complained 15 or 16 times in the past year. "They've been blaming mushroom farms and everybody else that they could blame it on except themselves," he said, describing the latest smell as "very putrid and very irritating." A resident in the area for more than 30 years, Mr. Wise said the ministry's response is consistent with Taro's controversial history, including its approval without public hearings and receipt of hazardous U.S. industrial sludge that prompted the province to change the law. "How many more loopholes do we want to put into this place?" he said, questioning how the ministry's on-site inspector can be away for two days without a replacement. "That is absolutely bizarre. OK, you send somebody away for a training course, great," he said. "(But) you don't let the site operate without that. That's the only protection we've got." http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/hmn/news/news_763465.html From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Sun May 6 02:07:03 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Sun, 06 May 2007 02:07:03 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Charleston West Virginia - sludge compost didn't work Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: It bunged up the equipment, stank, had restrictions on use, and plain didn't work out. Now Charleston makes compost with NO SLUDGE IN IT. Bravo. ............................................................................................... April 25, 2007 800 pounds for $12 Charleston selling its compost dirt cheap By Jim Balow Staff writer Gardeners, take note: If you?re looking for a cheap source of compost, the city of Charleston has a deal for you. Drive your pickup to the city?s composting facility off Hanna Drive in North Charleston ? assuming you can find the place ? and Dennis Holt or Cliff Lanham will be glad to dump a scoop of rich, black compost into the bed. An 800-pound load will set you back a mere $12. City officials held their first public compost sale Friday and plan to continue selling the stuff from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Friday until the end of May or until the stockpile is gone. Longtime residents may remember that city-made compost has a less-than-ideal reputation. State environmental officials effectively blocked earlier plans to sell compost over concerns it wasn?t completely safe. Rest assured, that was the old compost, made with sludge from the North Charleston sewage treatment plant. The new compost is made entirely from ground-up leaves and wood chips that crews collect from across the city. ?We bring the raw material up here ? leaves, wood chips,? said Assistant Public Grounds Director Bill Shanklin. A mountain of mixed leaves and wood chips sits in one corner the property, the site of the sanitary board?s former composting plant. ?That pile, that?s just what we?ve picked up since Christmas,? Shanklin said. Beside it is a second, darker pile of rich, processed compost. Shanklin calls it compost mulch, because it?s a mixture of fully composted leaves and partially digested wood chips. Workers also run this mulch through a huge screening machine to remove all the chips, rocks and other foreign material, leaving a finely textured compost suitable for seedlings or spreading on lawns, he said. Though they?ve started making compost only since October, Public Grounds workers have produced a lot of it. ?We?ve used over 600,000 pounds in the city since January,? Shanklin said. ?Sometimes we?ll collect over 200,000 pounds of new material in the city in a week. The city will collect between 1.2 million and 2 million pounds of leaves a year.? Not all of it goes to North Charleston, though ? only the waste collected in nearby neighborhoods, City Manager David Molgaard said. The rest gets trucked to the city landfill near Kanawha City. In fact, until last fall, all yard waste was being dumped in the landfill, despite objections from the state Department of Environmental Protection, he said. ?We were under a DEP mandate to find an alternative way to dispose of our yard waste.? A long history of composting The city?s experiments, and troubles, with composting date back nearly 20 years. Dan Halloran, then manager of the Sanitary Board, was mixing sewage sludge with wood chips at Copenhaver Park as far back as 1989, mainly as a way to dispose of sludge from the sewer plant. The Sanitary Board went high-tech in 1996 when it invested $5.5 million in a composting machine. Mayor Kemp Melton opened the plant, housed in a 300-foot-long building, two years later. Though sewer rates were raised to pay for the plant, then-Councilman Dave Hardy predicted it would save money in the long run. But it didn?t. It never worked right. Halloran said Elk River mud from the water company?s treatment plant ruined the sludge, and new filters were bought. The mixer, sort of a giant rototiller, clogged on the gelatinous mix. By 2000, things were working well enough that the city was ready to begin selling sludge compost to the public, but the DEP imposed a number of restrictions. ?You couldn?t apply more than x number of pounds per acre,? Molgaard recalled. ?You couldn?t apply it within x number feet of a river. We were using it in our garden beds across the city.? The city ended up giving the stuff away, Molgaard said. City officials finally threw in the towel last year. ?The Sanitary Board was facing major repairs,? he said. ?They were losing I think $250,000 a year in operating the facility, because they have the option of taking their sludge to the landfill.? In exploring the city?s options for disposing of yard waste, Molgaard found the best choice was reopening the compost plant, but without the sludge. The city now leases it from the Sanitary Board for $1,000 a month. As in the past, city workers deposit raw materials in long bays inside the compost building, where giant pumps push air through from underneath to aerate the mixture. Instead of the broken agitator, they stir the piles with an endloader. Temperatures are kept at the ideal level, between 160 and 170 degrees F, to cook the bad microorganisms and release nutrients, Shanklin said. With little publicity, eight people showed up for the first compost sale Friday, he said. ?Mostly pickups, one dump truck. We took in $96.? If you don?t have a truck, you can bring a trash can or bucket and fill it yourself, he said. In setting the price this year, city officials weren?t trying to make money, Molgaard said. ?Part of that was to see how it would go and part of it was to clean out the bays and make room for next year. ?I haven?t done a cost-benefit analysis yet, checking the number of man-hours were spending up there. I know we have some equipment problems. I?m not sure we?re saving a lot of money. But it gives us efficiencies in collecting leaves. It?s giving us a product we can use for mulch and compost.? Shanklin says the compost beats artificial fertilizers. ?This is like applying an IV to the plant. It?s controlled release. It?s Mother Nature?s way of feeding plants.? To contact staff writer Jim Balow, use e-mail or call 348-5102. http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/News/2007042423 From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Sun May 6 12:57:53 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Sun, 06 May 2007 12:57:53 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Scotland - old incinerator burning sludge pellets - waiting for new plant Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: In Europe, the dirty old incinerators are being phased out while new energy biomass plants with better pollution controls are built. The antique Scottish Longannet power plant is co-firing coal and sludge pellets and has very bad emissions. Scottish authorities have asserted that burning the sludge is less toxic in the environment than land application of the sludge - even if it means burning it in one of the most polluting facilities in Europe. They propose to continue the incineration at the old plant until a new cleaner plant is built. People are upset that the life of the toxic old incinerator will extend to 2010 but rural residents don't want to see any more land application. They have been looking at 400 tons of sludge per acre on forested lands, and they are disgusted. Scottish Water produces more than 110,000 tonnes of sewage sludge each year. 48% is converted to a fuel and used in electricity generation (all to Longannet) 27% is applied to non-agricultural land 23% is applied to agricultural land 2% is disposed of to landfill ..................................................... Taxpayers face massive legal bill over illegal burning of sewage By Rob Edwards, Environment Editor Leaked memo reveals watchdog and power firm are flouting law Sunday Herald May 6 2007 TAXPAYERS COULD be lumbered with a large legal bill because Scotland's environment watchdog is allowing 200,000 tonnes of sewage sludge to be illegally burned in a polluting power station. A secret Scottish Executive memo, leaked to the Sunday Herald, reveals that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has made a deal that enables sludge to be incinerated at Longannet power station for four years, in breach of European law. The memo, to the first minister Jack McConnell last year, warns that Scottish ministers risk being taken to court by the European Commission and landed with substantial costs as a result. advertisementThe revelations have provoked an angry response from environmentalists, who are demanding action from the incoming Scottish Executive. "Something really stinks about this whole situation, and it's not just the sewage," said Friends of the Earth Scotland. Half of Scotland's sewage sludge - 50,000 tonnes a year - is burned alongside coal at Longannet, near Kincardine on the Firth of Forth. The plant, run by Scottish Power, has long topped Scotland's pollution league, belching out tens of thousands of tonnes of toxins. The sludge is supplied by Scottish Water and turned into dried pellets at Scottish Power's Daldowie plant in Glasgow. Other sludge is spread on to land. Sludge-burning at Longannet became embroiled in a high-court battle in 2004 after Sepa alleged emissions breached European pollution limits. This was denied by Scottish Power. The argument hinged on whether the sludge pellets should be defined as waste under the European Waste Incineration Directive. The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled the pellets were waste, and ordered Longannet to cease burning them by December 28, 2005. But Scottish Power appealed the ruling and carried on incinerating sludge at Longannet. On April 13, 2006, the company was served with an enforcement notice by Sepa which, instead of requiring the burning to stop, insisted progress was made on building a new, less-polluting power plant to take the sludge. ScottishPower has since applied for planning permission for the new plant to be built at Longannet. The original aim was to have it up and running in 2009, but that has now slipped to 2010. The leaked memo to McConnell from a senior executive official explains the deal done by Sepa and Scottish Power. In exchange for Sepa allowing time for a plant to be built, the company would take no action on its legal appeal, and "drop it at an appropriate point", the memo said. But this could "expose Scotland and the UK to infraction proceedings" from the European Commission, the memo warned. "We have discussed this course of action with Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), who are supportive but emphasised that, should infraction proceedings be taken, Scotland would be liable for any costs." Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "This cosy little arrangement could end up costing the Scottish taxpayer many thousands of pounds." He pointed out that Sepa and ScottishPower had known for seven years that burning the sewage was illegal. "Scotland deserves a modern sewage management system that recovers the nutrients and energy without putting health and the environment at risk. Sepa must drive that transition as fast as possible, not turn a blind eye to illegal practices." Sepa denied collaborating with Scottish Power to break the law. The action it had taken requiring an update on progress with the new plant every three months was "appropriate and proportionate", said a Sepa spokeswoman. "It is considered that presently there is not an environmentally better option to deal with the quantity of sludge involved. Sepa is continually monitoring that position and the operations of the site." Scottish Power agreed that continued sludge-burning at Longannet was "the best practical environmental option for the immediate future". A spokesman added: "The new plant, going through the planning process, will provide a long-term, secure and sustainable solution for the disposal of sewage while supplying green energy and helping meet renewable targets." http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.1379943.0.taxpayers_face_massive_legal_bill_over_illegal_burning_of_sewage.php From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Sun May 6 13:10:55 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Sun, 06 May 2007 13:10:55 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> California - School contaminated with vinyl chloride -soil and groundwater plume Message-ID: Sludgewatch Admin: There are more and more concerns about school contamination. Schools are using sewage sludge on playing fields. In many parts of the US and Canada areas designated for suburban development are heavily sludged just a year or two before the houses are constructed. These subdivisions and their schools are being built on top of tons of sludge. There are lawsuits related to sludge contamination in subdivisions in a number of states in the USA. The Norco school case below speaks to the need to do a full environmental assessment near waste facilities. What is being done for students and teachers who are now exposed to these toxins? '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' California Norco High contamination mystery lingers; no problems found at other schools To Download story podcast go to: http://www.pe.com/localnews/coronaarea/stories/PE_News_Local_C_gas21.ac3e03.html 10:00 PM PDT on Friday, April 20, 2007 By PAIGE AUSTIN The Press-Enterprise Parents, students and teachers can breathe easier, knowing that common construction materials are not releasing a cancer-causing gas into classrooms, officials with the Corona-Norco Unified School District said Friday. Preliminary test results from indoor air samples taken at Corona High School and El Cerrito Middle School do not show levels of the carcinogen vinyl chloride, said Ted Rozzi, the district's assistant superintendent for facilities. The tests commissioned by the district last month were the first major efforts nationwide to test vinyl tiles, carpets and wall coverings for links to cancer-causing indoor pollution in public buildings. If the district had found traces of vinyl chloride in the air, the findings would have had major public-health effects. This week's findings suggest that there is not a widespread health threat from building materials, but it also leaves school and state officials wondering why vinyl chloride gas has been found in the air at Norco High School. "This is good news. I'd rather be dealing with a unique situation at one school than to discover that we have a widespread problem," said school board member Bill Hedrick. "We're back to wrestling with why (the contamination) is at Norco High School." The findings were pretty predictable, said Hedrick, who has long maintained that the indoor air pollution is likely linked to underground contamination from the nearby Wyle Labs hazardous-waste site. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control found the contamination at Norco High while investigating pollution from Wyle Labs, which is across the street from the school. Wyle Labs, which closed two years ago, tested military products, electronics and parts for rocket engines and space shuttles at the site for about 47 years. The state had traced a plume of soil and groundwater pollution from Wyle to the surrounding residential neighborhood and below portions of the high school. Trichloroethylene, also known as TCE, is the main contaminant in the plume. TCE, a banned industrial solvent, breaks down into vinyl chloride, and that fact led state officials to suspect that the underground plume could be linked to the indoor air gas. However, state officials were unable to link the school's indoor pollution to the plume, prompting them to speculate that the building materials were to blame. The district ran tests at the two other schools because they have buildings that were erected about the same time as the affected building at Norco High School using the same materials. Working with state officials, the district plans to continue testing at Norco High School to find the source of the problem, said Rozzi. They will test indoor air in the school's science building early next month to see whether the building's ventilation system is properly dispersing the gas, he said. In June, the state will conduct another round of underground testing to try to link the plume to the indoor air pollution. Susie Wong, a spokeswoman for the Department of Toxic Substances Control, said department officials have not yet seen the test results from Corona High and El Cerrito Middle schools and cannot comment on them. Although officials are no closer to identifying the cause of the problem at Norco High School, Hedrick says he has no regrets about spending the time and energy testing the building materials in other schools. "We bring all of these students together, and I think we need to have a high standard to ensure their safety," he said. "(Vinyl chloride) is not a chemical you want around if you can avoid it. I think we will continue to try to mitigate it and discover the cause." The levels of vinyl chloride inside Norco High School are not high enough to pose a health risk to students, but they could slightly increase the cancer risk to employees who work in the contaminated areas for decades, said state officials overseeing the Wyle cleanup effort. In all likelihood, the indoor air contamination is coming from the plume, said Mike Schade, the polyvinyl chloride campaign coordinator for the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. The center is a nonprofit organization that works with communities dealing with hazardous building materials as well as waste sites where underground pollution seeps indoors by a process called vapor intrusion. Schade called on state and school district officials to continue investigating the source of contamination at Norco High School in order to eliminate it. http://www.pe.com/localnews/coronaarea/stories/PE_News_Local_C_gas21.ac3e03.html From maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca Sun May 6 13:22:09 2007 From: maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca (Maureen Reilly) Date: Sun, 06 May 2007 13:22:09 -0400 Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Tom Linzey - Democracy School Message-ID: Turning Defense into Offense: Challenging Corporations and Creating Self-Governance by Tom Linzey It?s rare that someone comes along and tells us emphatically that we activists no longer have to keep banging our heads. Linzey has a solution. You may not like what you hear because we may have to give up hope in order to get there. But I and many others think he?s right on target and ought to be listened to. Excerpted from a speech at the recent October, 2006 Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, CA. After ceding our authority to decide whether the Monsanto or Weyerhaeuser Corporation will tinker with genetic codes of life or buzz-saw their way through old growth forest ecosystems, and exchanging it for a regulatory process that assumes that they will, but merely regulates how fast, the wonder is not that things have gotten worse, but that things aren?t worse than they are. So why has our activism failed so miserably to not only build the world that we want, but even to draw a line in the sand to keep things from getting worse? Perhaps it is because our activism is built, tooth and nail, on one critical and most times, completely unquestioned assumption. That unquestioned assumption, a box within which we?ve constructed our activism over the past four decades, is the assumption that we actually live in a democracy. That is, we assume that we live in a country where it actually matters what majorities of people think and want; where it actually matters what a majority of people within a given community think and want. It is that assumption that hardwires our organizing the assumption that the fundamental governing structure under which we live, actually recognizes, and is dictated by, the will of majorities. It is that assumption that determines that our activism will be sufficient if we merely perfect our roles as regulators, consumers, and investors. That if we just get enough people to write letters to congress, that if we just get enough people to attend a hearing or protest, that if we just get enough people to buy the right stuff, or invest in the right stuff, that we?ll force those who actually run this country to reverse course. In other words, in assuming that we live in a democracy, we mistakenly tailor our strategies and our tactics towards mobilizing people in the same tired old ways that have now failed for close to half a century. Perhaps, just perhaps, we?re in this mess today not only because we don?t live in a democracy, but we find ourselves in this mess because we?ve never had a democracy in this country. Indeed, perhaps the corporate cultural IV in our arms has been working so well that it?s hard for us to even imagine what self-government would look like. As a result, we tangle ourselves further each year by continuing to define the nature of the problems we face as the projects themselves that we seek to oppose: thus, we define the problem as aerial herbicide spraying in Alaska; or a toxic waste incinerator being built in Ohio; or sewage sludge being dumped in Berks County, Pennsylvania. In defining the problem as the project itself, we then gather people who care or we work to convince people that they should care - in the belief that if we just mobilize enough people that the decision-makers will take note and the project will be stopped. In short, we assume that it matters that community majorities don?t want the spraying, incinerators, or the sludge. *** Community majorities are overridden on a daily basis. Regulatory agencies legalize projects and actions that communities don?t want. Zoning and land use ordinances are routinely overridden by judicial doctrines like the Fair Share Doctrine in which courts can throw out zoning and land use ordinances if those laws don?t allow for the communities fair share of development as compared to communities next door; local laws are routinely nullified that conflict with state and federal laws. And when communities really try to practice democracy, and refuse to swallow what they?ve been given, corporate managers write new preemptive laws and use the state legislatures to nullify community lawmaking. When state legislatures get out of hand, they use the federal government to preempt the state legislature. When national governments get out of hand, they use international trade agreements to preempt them. What wasn?t so clear to me, at least, was how that structure of law became like a dead hand from the past, ending up insulating agribusiness corporations and the small number of people running them - against community majorities in rural Pennsylvania. To my surprise, it turned out that the only thing jettisoned by the American Revolution was the king. The English structure of law, on the other hand, was heartily embraced by those drafting the U.S. Constitution many of whom were lawyers, of course, in the finest English traditions who revered English Law. And so, that body of law, forged in the fires of expanding an empire while protecting minority rule at home, was thus hardwired into the fundamental governing document of this country, the U.S. Constitution. Now that?s an astonishing proposition to some, but not to our folks in Pennsylvania who are being hit upside the head with that structure of law on a daily basis. Something in that proposition has made deep sense to them, especially when they listened to what some of the founding fathers had to say about it. Listen to James Madison, generally regarded as the architect of the constitution who bluntly stated:. ?Our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation. . . It ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority?. Madison, again: ?The states ought to be placed under the control of the general government at least as much so as they were formerly under the king and British parliament?. The courts tell us that garbage is interstate commerce, that corporate pork production is interstate commerce, that cell phone towers are interstate commerce, and that production and distribution of toxics are interstate commerce. . Under the commerce clause, exercising local, democratic control over those industries can not only get you sued, but forced to pay future lost profits to waste, agribusiness, telecommunications, and other corporations. In addition to the Commerce Clause, the constitution now shields corporations under the 1st Amendments free speech protections (thus enabling corporate advertising to frame issues before anyone even decides to run for office); shields corporations from surprise regulatory inspections as unreasonable searches and seizures under the 4th Amendment; requires governments to pay corporations for the impact of health and safety laws under the 5th Amendment; and now cloaks corporations with the fundamental rights and protections of Equal Protection and due process under the 14th Amendment. It?s no wonder that some anti-federalists, challenging the ratification of the constitution itself in the late 1700s, declared that the plan of governance it set forth was nothing less than a plan for a global economic empire that would commence in a moderate aristocracy, eventually swallowing up every other government on the continent. So what does all of that have to do with the mess that were in today? Well, as it turns out, everything: whenever we try to fix the mess, we run not only into our courts, the legislatures, and our culture being wielded by a corporate minority against us, we also run smack into the ultimate trump card; the Constitution itself. In 2004, I stood on this stage and told a Bioneers crowd how a hundred small, rural, conservative Pennsylvania townships, targeted for hog factory farms in their communities, had begun to take aim directly at the four corporations that control over sixty-five percent of pork production in the United States. I told the story of how those communities reframed the problem away from the air and water pollution and property devaluation caused by factory farms indeed, away from factory farms themselves - reframing the problem as the corporatization of agriculture, and the elevation of the rights of those corporations over the rights of those communities. I told the story of how some of those communities followed the lead of nine mid-western states and began passing laws banning agribusiness corporations from farming in essence, prohibiting those corporations and the few who run them from defining what farming would look like within those communities. In a very real way, they acted to replace corporate minority decision-making with community self-government. I told the story of other communities who watched as two children died in Pennsylvania after being exposed to land applied sewage sludge, and who began passing local laws that prohibited sludge corporations from operating in their communities. . All together, over 300,000 people are now living under new governing frameworks we?ve drafted with them. In passing those laws, all of those communities crossed a line a line that has been carefully etched by a corporate minority who have used the law to place all real decision-making and thus all real governing - beyond the authority of we the people. As they watched, people in these communities saw the Pennsylvania Legislature work overtime, on behalf of the agribusiness industry, drafting state legislation to preempt the anti-corporate farming and anti-corporate sludge ordinances communities had adopted. For over five years, those communities joined hands with each other to stop those bills aimed at nullifying their local laws. In support, our organization led a statewide coalition of environmental, labor, municipal, and farm groups to run interference for those communities. Together, we successfully kept that republican-driven legislation from becoming law each legislative session from 2000 to 2005. All of that changed, however, when a liberal democrat from Philadelphia became Pennsylvania?s governor. Governor Eddie Rendell quickly known in our circles as Fast Eddie - pulled something off that even the republicans couldn?t for those five years. He put together a coalition of legislators that passed a bill even worse than the bills we had beaten back. His bill authorized the Pennsylvania Attorney General to sue our local townships to overturn their ordinances. Five months ago, the Attorney General filed the first lawsuits against four townships under Rendell?s law. Now, when the power and authority of the state from the governor?s office to the Attorney General?s office to the offices? of their legislators all join together to override lawmaking by majorities, it doesn?t take belief in a Tom Linzey or a Richard Grossman to figure out that something is fundamentally illegitimate in a system in which our own governmental institutions are almost always on the side of property, commerce, and corporations; and almost never on the side of local control, rights, communities, and nature. That structure can?t be deemed a democracy. It can, however, be rightly defined as a corporate state. The prospect that we actually live in a corporate state and not a democracy is now dawning on community leaders and elected officials across rural Pennsylvania. *** To which I explain that if we truly live in a corporate state and I think the data is pretty much in on that one and the constitution is the trump card used like rebar to support this concrete structure of law, then our work must focus on actually replacing our Property and Commerce Constitution with a Rights and Nature Constitution. Otherwise, I explain, we will always be beaten by the constitutional trump card plunked down last by a corporate few. Which is usually where my lawyer friends the ones that I have left - run away as fast as they can. But folks in rural Pennsylvania aren?t running away. Instead, they?re turning directly into the storm - not because were telling them that they should, but because they?ve seen how the system works, and understand that creating a new system is the only option they have left. It is thus disobedience born from desperation. *** Yes, people are taking self-governance very seriously in the Keystone State. They?re challenging you to get serious with them. On September 19th, Tamaqua Borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, via Ordinance Number 612, became the first municipality to adopt a new generation ordinance, becoming the first municipality in the United States to recognize the rights of ecosystems and natural communities. On September 27th, Rush Township in Schuylkill County became the second. On October 16th, Blaine Township in Washington County became the third. In addition to those new generation ordinances, some Pennsylvanians have begun to recognize the need to do battle with a property and commerce constitution by writing their own rights and nature constitutions. Several communities have now taken the first steps to write those constitutions under Pennsylvania?s home rule laws. Two weeks from now, the residents of St. Thomas Township, Franklin County; and West Pike land Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania will be voting on whether to create a new constitution for their municipality one that may fundamentally challenge current constitutional underpinnings. All of those efforts across Pennsylvania are being supported by, and driven by, our Daniel Pennock Democracy Schools named in honor of Danny Pennock, a boy who died after being exposed to sewage sludge in Central Pennsylvania. Our three-day activist training schools are now open at a dozen locations across the United States. In response to requests from community activists energized by this work, we recently hosted our first annual campaign school in New York?s Hudson Valley two months ago, with attendees from Virginia, Alaska, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and California. That gathering is now helping to give birth to new campaigns that reframe problems and design new strategies that take aim at the corporate state. In response to requests from institutional and individual philanthropists, we?re also hosting our First Funders Democracy School Retreat in Southwestern Virginia the second week of November. Where will all of this lead? I believe that we are lending support to the first stirrings of a real peoples? movement that is seeking to establish a rights and nature jurisprudence a structure of law that places the rights of people, communities, and nature above the claimed rights of property, commerce, and empire. Eventually, it may result in five hundred to a thousand Pennsylvania communities writing new governing structures which may, in turn, drive a rewrite of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Those communities will then join hands with others in other states to drive a rewrite of the federal constitution. Crazy? Maybe, but I ask myself what?s the alternative? Watching this planet continue to implode. It?s not work for the fainthearted. Many of our friends in Pennsylvania are putting their reputations, their families, and in some cases, their lives on the line. In those places, they?ve given up hope that the legislature will help them, that the courts will help them, that environmental gro