Sludge Watch ==> California - Newberry Springs tries to get sludge regs enforced

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

There are several sludge related regulatory failures that have gone
unaddressed in Newberry Springs.  Despite 3 years of complaints, enforcement
of both San Bernardino County and Federal Part 503 requirements has been
essentially non existent.

The farmer (who I understand owns no farmland) was paid to take sludge 
material.
The sludge originated at the Victor Valley sewage plant and was
then 'composted' and distributed by California Biomass.   The sludge was
certified to Class A according to annual reports provided to the EPA Region
9 office.

Problem is that the lab tests provided to the EPA showed that sludge went
out to Newberry Springs that contained over the allowable levels of
bacteria..and do not meet the requirements for Class A.  There was no
enforcement  action or violation notice stemming from the certification
violation.

On California Biomass website they claim to take only 'clean green vegetable 
matter'
even though they take and distribute Victor Valley sewage sludge.
http://www.californiabiomass.com/products.html

  Under the
Part 503 requirements, sludge must be used to fertilize a crop within two
years of farm placement.  In Newberry Springs there are piles of sludge that 
have been sitting
for over two years and there is sludge that has been spread on land that is
not in agricultural use and has no water supply.  Newberry Springs is in the
Mojave Desert.  No water = no crop.  The spread sludge has been sitting
on top of the
parched soil for more than two years.  It is blowing on the neighbors - so 
they
can't barbeque without getting the smell and they risk getting mouthful of
it on windy days.   They are worried about bacteria from the sludge growing
in their swamp coolers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler) and
generating unhealthy conditions in their homes.

The sludge has been blowing around Newberry Springs on properties that are
not farmed. This violates the Part 503 regs.  After 2 years the material 
reverts
to solid waste.
The County is supposed to have it removed.  No enforcement.

The County of San Bernardino has a Landspreading Ordinance (Article 11 of
the County Code) that requires permits for landspreading of sewage sludge.
No permits were obtained.  Dan Avera, SB County Environmental
Health,recently  wrote a letter to Newberry Springs Community Services
District saying that the ordinance would be fully enforced.  But there has
been no enforcement  action to that effect on the sludge that is blowing
around Newberry Springs.

Some sludge was also spread on a pistachio farm in Newberry Springs.  
Pistachios are
havested by shaking the nuts onto the ground where they are gathered in 
netting.
Sludge use is not allowed without a waiting period.  No waiting period was 
enforced.

Indeed when people phone the Environmental Health offices to complain
about the sludge in Newberry Springs, they are told by the same staffer that
the Environmental Health Department is unaware of any sludge in Newberry
Springs and has never received a complaint.  This astounding cognitive
disorder can take place several times a day.  So while Dan Avera claims that
the sludge ordinance will be fully enforced, the enforcement staff claim
that there are no complaints, despite a three year history of complaints.

Sludge in Newberry Springs: on land  that is not farmed, stockpiled in
the wind to blow around town,  Class B sent out as Class A, no permits 
applied for,
no respect for the landspreading ordinance...

Without enforcement, regulations are meaningless.


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

County presses for more regulation of applying treated sewage as farm
fertilizer
April 2, 2008 - 3:36PM
By Jason Smith, staff writer

NEWBERRY SPRINGS - A Victorville wastewater treatment plant has agreed to
temporarily stop using treated sewage for fertilizer on Newberry Springs
farms while the county considers increasing regulations on the spreading.

The Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority spreads biosolids, human
waste that has been processed to kill disease-causing organisms, on at least
four farms in Newberry Springs and Lucerne Valley, according to Daniel
Avera, the chief of the county's environmental health department. Neighbors
and members of the Newberry Springs Community Services District have
complained about the odor, flies and possible groundwater contamination from
the biosolids, leading the county to press for additional regulation on its
use, Avera said.

Diana Willams, director of the Newberry Springs Community Services District, 
said that she began writing letters to government agencies asking for 
further regulation on biosolid spreading in 2006. Because the water table is 
relatively close to the ground - Williams' well is about 40 feet deep - 
residents are concerned that the biosolids might seep into the drinking 
water supply, she said.

"They're be no way of knowing if we were being poisoned," she said. "It's 
not like we're a municipal water company that tests our water."

She said some residents don't feel that it's fair that the town accept the 
material from other sewer systems when Newberry Springs residents use 
privately owned septic tanks.

"Why are we being made to take all of Victor Valley's sludge?" she asked. 
"It's an environmental disaster."

Avera said that using biosolids as fertilizer is already heavily regulated 
by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The federal rules require 
that the material be tested for harmful bacteria and heavy metals, and 
controls the rate at which biosolids are applied to the lands.
County rules are very similar to the existing regulations, but environmental 
health officials are hoping to reach an agreement with the treatment plant 
to require geological studies to measure the long and short term impact to 
the groundwater, Avera said.

The Victorville treatment plant complies with the EPA's regulations and its 
biosolids contain very low levels of heavy metals, Avera said, and when done 
according to the law, spreading can be safe and does not pose a public 
health risk.

A 2006 letter to the Newberry Springs Community Services District from the 
Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board states that water board 
officials found the spreading to be legal and without adverse water effects. 
Still, Avera said he was concerned about the long-term impact of the 
spreading.

"We're going to need this water for a long, long time," he said.

Part of the opposition to the spreading comes from the public's confusion 
about what is actually being placed on the land, said Michael Hardy, 
vice-president of California Biomass, which contracts with the treatment 
facility to spread the biosolids. Most people assume that untreated sewage 
is spread, he said. However, the sewage is treated before use. He said the 
company uses a third of the permitted amount of biosolids on lands and 
spreads only three months out of the year.

Eric Archibek, who spreads biosolids on alfalfa and grain fields on his 
Silver Valley Road farm, said that farmers use the product because it is 
cheap and effective.

"It's a good source of fertilizer," he said. "I don't think it smells any 
worse than other fertilizers such as chicken or cow manure. It's legal."

Roger Snyder, who lives about 150 yards from Archibek's property, agreed 
with Archibek concerning the smell. Despite living downwind from Archibek's 
farm, Snyder said he has not noticed any strange odors from the farm. Two 
other neighbors of Archibek also said they were not negatively affected by 
the spreading.







http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/biosolids_2973___article.html/spreading_water.html