Sludge Watch ==> Salem, Oregon - Hopewell gets county to help in sludge war

[Mary Boyd]

http://www.newsregister.com/news/results.cfm?story_no=227246


Hopewell gets county to help in sludge war

*Published: October 16, 2007*

By NICOLE MONTESANO
Of the News-Register

Hopewell residents concerned about the danger posed by Class B biosolids the
city of Salem wants to apply to 740 acres next to a Mennonite school have
drawn support from the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners. Whether that
will make any difference is another matter.

The commissioners decided Monday to have Assistant County Counsel Rick Sanai
research whether the county can ban land application of biosolids. They also
pledged to present their objections to the state Department of Environmental
Quality.

The DEQ has an informational meeting scheduled on the matter for Oct. 25 in
West Salem. It isn't expected to accept oral testimony then, but has agreed
to accept written testimony until Nov. 5.

A group of Hopewell residents made their case to the commissioners at their
informal Monday session. Weeks of research have yielded alarming results,
resident Janice Turner told commissioners, arguing:

n The land on which the city proposes to spread its unwanted sewage sludge
is considered the least suitable type, according to Natural Resources
Defense Council soil survey maps linked from the DEQ website.

Soils in the area drain so poorly, most local fields have been tiled.
Nonetheless, water spilling down from the Eola Hills regularly pools before
emptying into a network of creeks eventually dumping into the Willamette
River.

n The farmer who owns the acreage also owns acreage near Corvallis, and
biosolids applied there have spilled onto an adjacent roadway. The Hopewell
residents presented photographs of a motorcycle driving through spilled
sludge there.

The city said it would handle application on the Benton County site,
something it has also promised in Hopewell, but contracted the work to the
farmer.

And the Hopewell group said the state Department of Agriculture has gotten
complaints about improper pesticide application by the same farmer.

n The DEQ told the state Legislature in January that it no longer had the
funds to adequately monitor groundwater quality, prevent groundwater
contamination or respond to complaints of groundwater contamination.

n According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in
Atlanta, Class B biosolids may contain the disease-causing strain of E.
coli, along with salmonella, shigella, campylobacter, cryptosporidum giardia
and the Norwalk virus.

Other municipal treatment plants, including McMinnville's, also spread
biosolids on farm fields, but longer treatment of the material produces the
safer Class A type.

The Hopewell residents fear contaminants would leach out of the sludge into
waterways, some of which are used for irrigation by area farmers, and end up
contaminating groundwater reserves they tap for drinking water.

Some counties in other states have become concerned enough to ban land
application of biosolids, they said.

Salem has historically disposed of its excess sludge on fields east of the
Cascades, where, in the summer at least, sunlight is more plentiful.

The DEQ said sufficient exposure to sunlight destroys the pathogens found in
Class B biosolids. But in rainy western Oregon, the residents argued, there
may not be enough to assure neutralization before the rains come.

Solid-waste analyst Sherrie Mathison, who sat in on the Hopewell group's
presentation, told commissioners afterward that storing the sludge
year-round, as the proposal calls for, might also prove problematical.

She said that could afford bacteria an opportunity to multiply.

The commissioners suggested banning application of out-of-county biosolids.
However, County Counsel John Gray said the law precludes that.

The DEQ session is slated for 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at Walker Middle
School. The address is 1075 8th St. N.W., Salem.

Written comments should be directed to Jennifer Claussen, Permit
Coordinator, 750 Front Street N.E., Suite 120, Salem, OR 97301-1039.

In other business, the commissioners:

n Heard a presentation from state Sen. Gary George about plans for creation
of a new state park near Dundee.

n Discussed creation of a task force to plan for the continuing function of
county government in the event an emergency displaced workers and/or
destroyed buildings.

n Discussed the impact of federal gift limits on employee appreciation
presentations.

County Administrator John Krawzyck told commissioners the cost of engraved
wooden plaques is beginning to exceed federal limits.

He proposed a shift to hats, polo shirts, vests, jackets and the like for
those reaching new employment milestones.
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