Sludge alert

Time to end secret sludge

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public meeting for informational purposes only in the board room of the Goochland County Administration Building at 1800 Sandy Hook Road at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 5.
A list of applications to spread biosolids on land in the county will be available. There will be no public comment.
The whole thing is absurdly secretive.
The use of biosolids, the end product of municipal sewage treatment plants, as field fertilizer is a very controversial subject. It is also a very odoriferous part of Goochland’s rural character.
Proponents of the practice believe that treated sludge poses little environmental threat and contend that it provides an affordable way for struggling farmers to fertilize their land. The sludge has to go somewhere, they say, why not put it on fields and recycle its nutrients.
Opponents of sludge contend that its spread dramatically increases the amount of fecal coloform bacteria in area streams and wells. Sludge, detractors state, contains dangerous heavy metals that forever taint soil and water and pose a serious public health threat.
The battle over sludge has raged for years and is not likely to stop soon. The fact that sludge is applied in a somewhat surreptitious manner is shameful.
While neither the state nor local government may prohibit the spread of sewage sludge, application requires a permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
At the very least, there should be a database, searchable by locality, of all sludge application permits on the DEQ website. Localities should step up to the plate and put a similar list on their websites.
Many people experience adverse health reactions to sludge and should at least have the opportunity to avoid the stuff.
As it is, the only way to know that sludge is being spread is to smell it.
Wherever your beliefs about sludge, at least support more open information about its use.
Contact your supervisors and state representatives to let them know how you feel about secret sludge.
Hon. Bill Janis
Phone: (804) 698-1056
Fax: (804) 698-6756
Email: DelBJanis@house.virginia.gov

Sen. Walter Stosch (eastern Goochland) district12@senate.virginia.gov
Phone: (804) 698-7512
Fax: (804) 698-7651

Sen. John Watkins (most of Goochland)
district10@senate.virginia.gov
Phone: (804) 698-7510
Fax: (804) 698-7651
There is also a Constituent Hotline: (800) 889-0229