Sludge Watch ==> "Under Bioterrorist Attack" - Synagro in Pennsylvania

[Maureen Reilly]

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/local/ci_6816899

Residents raise stink about sludge in Shrewsbury Twp.
DAINA KLIMANIS The York Dispatch
09/06/2007

Their complaints were similar: a stench that makes them gag, nitrates that 
contaminate their wells and repeated infections that sent them to the doctor 
or the hospital.

About 75 of the people who crowded the Shrewsbury Township building 
yesterday came united by one concern: sludge.

"We feel we are almost under a bioterroristic attack," said Susan Fox, a 
township resident who presented a petition with hundreds of signatures 
opposing the use of sludge at the George Phillips farm.

The nutrient-laden cake of biosolids, or sludge, is made of human and other 
waste collected by wastewater treatment plants.

The sludge can send polluting runoff into streams and puts heavy metals into 
the soil, but publications by the state Department of Environmental 
Protection and the Penn State cooperative extension service state that 
sludge can be safe, as long as it is applied according to regulations.

Following the rules: Farmer George Phillips said he has followed every rule 
over the last two years as he has used sludge to fertilize

about 600 acres of his corn, wheat and soybeans. Though he knows the 
neighbors are opposed to it, he said their complaints are among many he has 
had to deal with as he practices agriculture in an increasingly developed 
township.

"When we spread manure, the neighbors holler," Phillips said. "When we feed 
the cows, the neighbors holler. When we go down the road with a tractor and 
a wagon, they holler. No matter what we do, the neighbors holler."

But many of those who spoke yesterday said they understand farming. Fox said 
she keeps horses, chickens and peacocks on her 45 acres. Township resident 
John Fockler said he grew up on a farm and helps a hog farmer with his 
crops, but has never smelled anything like the sludge on Phillips' farm.

"My wife says it smells like a dead horse," Fockler said.

Others said that since the sludge spreading has started, they have been 
constantly sick and the contaminants in their wells have increased.

Adjustments possible: Mark Reider of Synagro, the company that provides the 
sludge to Phillips' farm, said the material meets state requirements for 
environmental safety. Nevertheless, he said his company and Phil-
lips are looking at using different equipment to improve the way the sludge 
is spread.

After the meeting, Reider said they might also seek to change the farm's 
soil conservation plan to allow for tilling after the sludge is applied, 
which could reduce odors.

Despite hostility from residents at yesterday's meeting, Reider told 
township residents he cares about their complaints.

"If I was not concerned, I would be home with my wife and my two little 
children," Reider said.

Looking for action: Several township supervisors said they agree with 
residents that the sludge is causing a problem, but are limited in what they 
can do. When they wrote the state DEP about their "deep concern" about the 
sludge in 2005, they were told state laws supercede the township's right to 
regulate the sludge-spreading.

Realizing those limits, the township voted yesterday to have township 
solicitor Pete Solymos look into the township's options, including the 
possibility of filing a lawsuit.

Solymos said the township residents could strengthen the lawsuit by joining 
in. It could be worth it, but it would be a long and expensive process, 
since residents would have to prove their claims the sludge is hurting their 
health and well-being as they claim, he said.

Township officials will also meet with county and state officials to see if 
anything can be done.

Supervisor Paul Solomon said he didn't want to hear that the system could be 
better monitored or improved somehow, he wanted to hear that the sludge 
application could be stopped.

"They had their chance and really messed up," Solomon said.

--Reach Daina Klimanis at 505-5439 or dklimanis at yorkdispatch.com.