Sludge Watch ==> Hinkley CA- Air Board Discusses What Air Pollution Rules to Enact

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

There are Air Pollution Control Boards in different districts of California. 
These Boards make rules about air pollution sources.  There are huge 
open-air greenwaste and sewage sludge composting facilities in California 
that release huge amounts of greenhouse gases, volatile organic compounds, 
particulate (PM 10), ammonia,  and smog producing compounds.

So in California's South Coast Air Quality Monitoring District open air 
composting of sewage sludge is not allowed.  The facility must use 'best 
available control technologies' or BACT. Same is true of the nextdoor San 
Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

There was a meeting of the Mojave Air Quality District to consider whether 
it was necessary to implement BACT for this air district.  Residents from 
Hinkley are worried about the proposed Nursery Products LLC massive sewage 
sludge composting site, and asked that the Mojave Air Board require that 
such new facilities implement BACT...rather than allowing the pollution from 
the proposed compost facility to contaminate the already compromised 
airshed.

By the way: The proposed Nursery Products facility is located in an area set 
aside for the protection and restoration of the endangered Desert Tortoise.  
The Desert Tortoise is supposed to be protected against toxic elements, 
dust, particulate, and bacteria.

So siting one of the world's largest open air sewage sludge drop zones in 
their prime recovery habitat just isn't a good idea.  The Desert Tortoise 
are dying from respiratory tract infections.....such infections also attack 
people near sludge sites.

For more info on what is killing the Desert Tortoise and how sludge fits in 
see:
The Desert Tortoise Health and Disease

http://www.dmg.gov/documents/tortoise-ws-dec04.pdf

................................................

http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/air_1766___article.html/composting_cost.html



Air board discusses composting rules, reaches no decision


By JASON SMITH, staff writer <mailto:jason_smith at link.freedom.com>
And the discussion goes on.

The regional air board met on Monday in Victorville to discuss composting 
facility regulations, rules which could affect the proposed Dawes composting 
site to be built by Nursery Products near Hinkley, but did not vote on the 
rules.

The rules would have mandated the enclosure of composting facilities only if 
the air district exceeds the pollution limits set by federal standards. The 
air district is currently below the acceptable pollution levels, but 
HelpHinkley.org would like to see composting sites covered regardless.

“You can’t tell me that the dangerous material in any of this stuff — this 
sludge — won’t eventually be blown towards Barstow,” said Norm Diaz of 
HelpHinkley.org. “There are other things that we could be doing with this 
sludge, making low-grade compost is not something that we should be proud 
of.”

Not every one in the crowd was opposed to composting. Bob Feenstra, 
president of Ag Concepts, a company which represents farmers, said that he 
favors the process because prices for chemical fertilizers have increased in 
recent years because they are petroleum-based.

“My whole interest is that farming benefits from compost. It’s win-win 
because the water treatment companies need to get rid of this stuff, and the 
farmer gets a cost-effective fertilizer,” he said.

Jeff Meberg, president of Nursery Products, disputed that the winds would 
blow the compost off the company’s site.

“If (the nearest house to the facility) was 500 feet away, I’d be surprised 
if the compost blows that far,” he said.

The air district’s report stated that the cost to reduce the amount of fine 
dust particles through enclosure of the facility would cost more Nursery 
Products more than $7,500 per ton, a cost the company’s director of 
operations Chris Seney called economically unfeasible.
“(The cost) would eventually be borne by the taxpayer,” Seney said.

Bob Sagona, vice-chairman of the air board, said that he would like to see a 
compromise worked out between the county, Nursery Products and members of 
HelpHinkley.org. Meberg said he would be happy to meet with the group and 
said the company plans to form a citizens’ advisory committee to receive 
public input.

“How would you like to sit down and work out a compromise to make this go 
away?” Sagona said to Meberg.

“I’d like that very much, sir.”