Clippings 

  It was a farm idea with a big payoff and supposedly no downside: ridding lakes and rivers of raw sewage and industrial pollution by converting it all into a free, nutrient-rich fertilizer. Then last week, a federal judge ordered the Agriculture Department to compensate a farmer whose land was poisoned by sludge from the waste treatment plant here. His cows had died by the hundreds."      
Appears in the Yahoo News  on 03/06/2008 entitled "Sewage-based fertilizer safety doubted" 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080306/ap_on_re_us/sludge_poisoned_land;_ylt=Anud6Bkn0KGMYZrdUZkX8JxI2ocA

  "Urban centers in Southern California will have to find some other place to dump their sewage after their rural neighbors to the north voted overwhelmingly to stop them from spreading treated human waste on farmland.....  82.69 percent of county voters saying they don't want sludge applied to their land anymore"  
Appears in the San Jose Mercury News  on 06/07/2006 entitled "Rural county rejects big city sewage on farmland" 
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/14764254.htm

  "Sick Factor - those strange illnesses that tend to crop up in sludge-treated areas with such regularity that they coined a term for it: sludge syndrome....if it's so darned safe, so beneficial, why don't Texas, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., keep theirs? Why aren't they slinging their own nutritious "night soil" on their own farms and forests? Why aren't lawmakers there bagging it to spread on their lawns? Why wrangle deals to ship it to Virginia, which, according to Harrison, now ties Pennsylvania for the most sludge-related health complaints in the country?"  
Appears in the Hampton Roads Daily Press  on 4/26/2006 entitled "Sludge: From Ick Factor to Sick Factor" 
http://www.dailypress.com/news/columnists/dp-12533cm0apr26,0,1863694.column?coll=dp-news-columnists

  "As the sole “citizen” participants of the 25-member Biosolids Use Regulations Advisory Committee, they are vastly outnumbered by waste generators, waste haulers, farm organizations and government officials who tend to champion the land application of treated sewage sludge....Residents throughout the state have complained of respiratory problems and skin rashes after biosolids have been spread near them. Other complaints include odor and land application violations.."
Appears in the Lynchburg,  VA News & Advance  on 10/30/2005 entitled "Citizen input scarce on biosolids committee" 
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Common%2FMGArticle%2FPrintVersion&c=MGArticle
&cid=1128767838188&image=newsadvance80x60.gif&oasDN=newsadvance.com&oasPN=%21news%21archive

  "Many Virginians aren’t sure, and some experts suggest we need to know more about applying the euphemistically named “biosolids” before we can unreservedly declare the practice safe. But Virginia isn’t even adequately enforcing what it does know about sludge. Its record for both inspecting applications and punishing violators is appallingly substandard. That must change."
Appears in the The Charlottsville Daily Progress  on 10/14/2005 entitled "Improve state health review’" 
http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Common%2FMGArticle%2FPrintVersion&c=MGArticle&
cid=1128767524314ℑ=80x60cdp.gif&oasDN=dailyprogress.com&oasPN=%21news%21opinion

  "Residents who spoke during the hearing cited health concerns, water contamination and foul odor as just a few reasons they do not want sludge from Massanutten applied to 265 acres of Elkton farmland...."There are many well-documented cases of illness and even some deaths" associated with sludge, said Lori Lawson, of Elkton. Anyone who believes otherwise, she said, has "been grossly misled."
Appears in the Daily News Record  on 10/14/2005 entitled "Sludge? ‘We Don’t Need It’" 
http://www.dnronline.com/news_details.php?AID=1082&CHID=1

  "Virginia's health department is lax in overseeing the spreading of treated sewage sludge on farm fields, a study said yesterday. The study recommended, among other things, that the Virginia Department of Health hire more sludge inspectors....Sludge was spread more than 1,100 times in 2004, but health officials performed only 19 routine inspections, the study said. Health workers did respond to 55 complaints...The health department says limited staffing contributed to the lack of inspections. The department has only three full-time workers assigned to oversee sludge safety."
Appears in the Richmond Times Dispatch  on 10/12/2005 entitled "State report faults sludge oversight Health agency urged to boost checks on use of sewage in fields" 
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Common%2FMGArticle%2FPrintVersion&c=MGArticle&cid=1128767485680
=timesdispatch80x60.gif&oasDN=timesdispatch.com&oasPN=%21news

  "Virginia health officials do a poor job of overseeing the spreading of treated sludge on farm fields, according to a study released today. The Virginia Department of Health should hire more inspectors to ensure that sludge is spread properly, the study said.."
Appears in the Richmond Times Dispatch  on 10/11/2005 entitled "Report: Sludge use needs closer look" 
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Common%2FMGArticle%2FPrintVersion&c=MGArticle&cid=
1128767475137ℑ=timesdispatch80x60.gif&oasDN=timesdispatch.com

  "Janice Buchholz was doing yard work at her Prospect home a couple of days after Christmas when an unpleasant odor wafted her way. A farmer about a mile down the road was having sewage sludge, called biosolids, applied to his field. Later that day, Buchholz thought she was having a major allergy attack. “My face swelled,” she said. “My eyes were just like a road map. Blood red. My throat started to burn. My face was beet red. Then I started coughing.” With no health insurance, Buchholz, 59, tried to cure the symptoms with across-the-counter medications. But about 10 days later she went to an ear, nose and throat specialist, who said she was suffering from chemical exposure. Dr. Stephen Goldberger subsequently wrote two letters on her behalf, including one to Secretary of Health and Human Resources Jane Woods. “I feel that her health is being adversely affected by exposure to the airborne components of the biosolids,” Goldberger wrote. This case illustrates that the debate over biosolids has grown more urgent as farmland disappears and non-farming neighbors come into contact with sludge for the first time, even though sewage sludge has been spread in Virginia for decades.."
Appears in the Lynchburg,  VA News & Advance  by Shannon Brennan 07/10/2005 entitled "Sick of all that sludge" 
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=
Common%2FMGArticle%2FPrintVersion&c=MGArticle&cid=1031783755629&image=newsadvance80x60.gif&oasDN=newsadvance.com

  "Based on the alleged contaminated soil, residents from three homes in the more than 200-home tract who filed the lawsuit say they and their families have suffered health problems including weight loss, hair loss, fevers, sinus problems, nose bleeds, fatigue and a host of other ailments." ...   "Vernon Alumbaugh, a toxic soils consultant out of Reno, Nev., said Thursday that he tested the soil at the Iniguez home about two years ago and found high levels of endotoxins, which leads him to believe the family's home was built on sludge."  ...  "Endotoxins, which are released when bacteria is destroyed, have been known to cause severe inflammation in any tissue exposed to them, including lung tissue, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Appears in the North Carolina Times  by Laura Mitchell 06/25/2005 entitled "Construction defects lawsuit filed" 
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/06/26/news/californian/22_10_106_25_05.txt

  "....in the national headquarters of Synagro, the public lavatory reaps dividends. An employee in an adjacent stall flushes his commode, sending his poop on a journey that will end in one of the corporation's trucks, which will dispose of the waste for the city. "We always joke that when we go on bathroom breaks," the employee says, "we're just adding to the bottom line."
Appears in the Houston Press  by Josh Harkinson 03/31/2005 entitled "Wretched Excess" 
http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2005-03-31/news/feature_print.html

  "Plans to sell former sludge-disposal land to a residential developer could pose risks to future homeowners with green thumbs, some residents and experts say. While the property was used for cover crops at the time, homeowners assume risk in eating food from their own gardens grown on such property, said Robert Lawrence, preventive medicine professor at Johns Hopkins University. "It could very well be a hazard," Lawrence said. Lawrence spoke in general terms, but said harmful heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and mercury persist long after sludge treatment."
Appears in the Gazzette.net  by Judson Berger 02/24/2005 entitled "Entzian sludge is a potential, though disputed, risk to gardeners" 
http://www.gazette.net/200508/clinton/news/261819-1.html

  "A Christiansburg proposal to spread treated sewage on a Mud Pike Road farm is causing concern among some nearby residents who draw their water from wells....Christiansburg has been spreading sludge on the Childress farm across Mud Pike Road from the proposed site for well over a decade. For more than eight months, residents of the Viewland subdivision, part of which abuts the Childress farm, have been required to boil their water due to fecal coliform contamination in their water supply."
Appears in the Roanoke.com, Roanoke, VA   03/02/2005 entitled "Sludge-spreading plan worries neighbors." 
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv%5C19427.html

  "While Delegate Preston Bryant’s measure to establish a nutrient credit-trading program among the state’s largest sewage treatment plants wends its way through the final days of the General Assembly, measures to reduce or control the amount of sewage sludge spread on farm and pasture lands are not faring as well....Given that agricultural runoff is the second largest source of nitrogen pollution in the bay, why does the state allow the land application of nearly 250,000 dry tons of sludge annually? Almost half of it comes from out of state, making Virginia one of the leading importers of municipal sewage sludge or biosolids as it also known."
Appears in the News Advance, Lynchburg, VA   02/24/2005 entitled "A disconnect between sludge, nutrient runoff". 
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA/MGArticle/
LNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031781212275&path=

  "There's no disputing that flame retardants have saved lives and property. But recent studies have found that the chemicals are somehow finding their way into our food."
Appears in the CTV.ca, Canada   02/14/2005 entitled "CTV study finds flame retardants in many foods" 
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1108145858873_103555058

  "Agricultural runoff is already the second biggest nitrogen polluter of the Chesapeake Bay. Why is the state permitting the land application of nearly 250,000 dry tons of biosolids each year, almost half of it from out of state?....In the last two years, the department has posted more than 100 complaints about the spreading of biosolids on its Web site from residents around the state. “We investigate all complaints,” Sawyer said.....Most citizen complaints about biosolids involve odor and trucks tracking the sludge on their roads. The most vocal opponents are those who report respiratory and skin problems after inhaling freshly applied biosolids...“Virginia’s current sludge regulatory process is insufficient to protect against adverse water quality impacts that may result from runoff of nutrients and toxic substances,” the two-page statement said. That matches an Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency report on biosolids in 2000, which said, “EPA does not have an effective program for ensuring compliance with the land application requirements ... Accordingly, while EPA promotes land application, EPA cannot assure the public that current land application practices are protective of human health and the environment.”."
Appears in the News Advance, Lynchburg, VA  by Shannon Brennan on 02/13/2005 entitled "Virginia still importing sewer sludge". 
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA/MGArticle/
LNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031780798096&path=

  "Del. Ben Cline's assessment of the General Assembly's efforts to protect our environment (Protecting our environment, Tuesday AFP), while it makes good reading, falls short of facts and substance needed by the citizens of Virginia as protection from the harmful effects of sludge/biosolids land disposal.....I challenge any reader to show proof that the application of sludge/biosolids, under current practice, is safe for Virginians or their environment. This is an open challenge of the facts. It would be well if your paper challenged state legislators to address the needs of Virginians, i.e., illness issues, water-quality issues, meaningful testing/monitoring enforcement policy and practice, quality of life and specific sludge/biosolids issues. Until then, Virginia is on the path to becoming the largest cesspool in the nation (390,000 Virginia acres are permitted to receive sludges, domestic and imported). Also, you may want to know to what extent sludge/biosolids runoff is polluting Virginian waterways."
Appears in the Augusta Free Press  Guest View by C.W. Williams on 02/11/2005 entitled "The truth behind protecting the environment". 
http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$31578

  "...it is our conclusion that sewage and/or pulp and paper sludges are hazardous wastes that are unacceptable for agricultural application and that contaminants therein have a possibility of entering ground and surface water and/or into the nutrient cycle of soil for eventual uptake into plants and into animal or human food cycles. Therefore it is our belief that the present "Guidelines" are based on incomplete and grossly out-of-date "science" that even the U.S. EPA has recently admitted has many gaps.....What we know about spreading sewage sludge on fields makes it a bad idea; what we don't know makes it a terrible one. The status quo is unacceptable."
Appears in the Safe Water Group on 01/28/2005 entitled "Sewage sludge and paper sludge are hazardous wastes". 
http://www.safewatergroup.org/Stories/sewage_sludge_and_paper_sludge.htm

  "Janice Buchholz told a House subcommittee Thursday that she has letters from two doctors saying that biosolids spread on a farm near her home made her sick. Airborne contaminates caused her upper respiratory passages to burn and swell, she said, a condition her doctors call a chemical reaction to the treated human waste spread on farms as fertilizer....Several bills currently working their way through the legislature would tighten the state’s biosolid regulations, though nothing this year would outright ban the nearly 300,000 dried tons of biosolids from being spread on Virginia farmland annually."
Appears in the Lynchburg, VA News Advance by Kevin Crossett on 01/28/2005 entitled "Biosolids bill moves on". 
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Common%2FMGArticle%2FPrintVersion&c=
MGArticle&cid=1031780508243ℑ=newsadvance80x60.gif&oasDN=newsadvance.com

  "If county supervisors don't keep sludge out of Kern, Dean Florez says he'll do it for them.Florez, the Democratic state senator from Shafter, said Friday he'll introduce Senate Bill 360 to ban imported sludge. But, he added, he hopes Kern County supervisors will outlaw treated human sewage from the Southland before he does. At stake is the fate of some 380,000 tons of biosolids trucked into Kern every year from Los Angeles, Orange County, Oxnard and other urban coastal areas. The treated sewage is spread mostly on crop land not used to grow human food."
Appears in the Bakersfield Californian by Gretchen Wenner on 01/21/2005 entitled "Senator and new supervisor throw down the gauntlet, demand county halt imports of sludge. 
http://www.bakersfield.com/local/story/5232825p-5263383c.html

  "... But critics say using sludge on farms poses a health threat to nearby residents, an environmental threat to nearby streams and groundwater and is simply unpredictable because of the variety of chemicals in a truckload of sludge. ....  "It's one of the most complex mixes of chemicals out there," said Robert Hale, a professor at the College of William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science who has studied the types of chemicals that show up in sludge. Hale has studied in particular brominated diphenyl ethers. The compound is used as a flame retardant, but according to Hale's research, also shows up in sludge."
Appears in the Daily Press by Patrick Lynch on 01/19/2005 entitled "Pros, cons of sludge as fertilizer debated". 
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/southofjames/dp-51459sy0jan19,0,3802515,print.story?coll=dp-news-local-soj

  "Christmas came a little early for some Convent residents who have been pushing for a Madisonville company to stop spreading sewage sludge in sugar cane fields near their homes.....But, while residents in the area are happy to see the spreading stop, many blame the sludge for some of the medical problems they have suffered over the past few years. Roderick Williams lives near the fields where the sludge was spread. He said he and his neighbors have suffered from burning skin, boils and rashes since the spreading started in 2000..."The itching and the burning didn't take place until the sewage was dumped," said Williams, whose mother and sister have been active in pushing for the spreading to stop. "It's bad enough that we've been surrounded by the (chemical) plants all of our lives"
Appears in the The Times-Picayunel by Allen Powell on 12/18/2004 entitled "Convent residents claim victory over sludge Firm will no longer spread treated sewage". 
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-6/110335293157160.xml

  "Anyone who wants to use treated human sewage as fertilizer in West Penn Township must first notify township supervisors....The ordinance does not allow the township to regulate the use of biosolids but allows it to collect information each time it is applied."
Appears in the Morning Call by Sarah Fulton on 12/08/2004 entitled "West Penn passes sludge law". 
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b2-1westpenndec08,0,1014177.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed

  "... The state has denied a township sewage sludge processor's application to renew its permit, a decision that effectively shuts the plant down....The decision is a victory for residents who have fought the processor for more than a decade, arguing that the smells and noise the facility produce have no place in their community."
Appears in the NJ Express-Times by Sarah Leitch on 11/30/2004 entitled "N.J. shuts down sewage sludge site". (limited 14-day archive)
http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/nj/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1101809069157750.xml

  "... New Hampshire Supreme Court has upheld a town ordinance adopted seven years ago that permits only Class A sludge to be spread on land in this community....  In a decision made public yesterday, the court ruled towns may enact ordinances more stringent than state or federal law with regard to the spreading of biosolids, maintaining both state and federal regulations expressly permit communities to adopt stricter standards....Susan Slack of the New Hampshire Municipal Association said the ruling was important because it "reaffirms the town's authority to regulate the application of sludge," something that would have been lost had the court ruled differently."
Appears in the Union Leader by Roger Amsden on 12/1/2004 entitled "High court upholds Tilton's stricter standard on sludge".
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showfast.html?article=47749

  "... Frederick County will be able to monitor the application of treated human waste on county farmland, thanks to a Board of Supervisors decision Wednesday. .... The measure will require farmers to notify the county each time they spread biosolids on their land....  About a year ago, some county residents began complaining about odors and health problems caused by the practice. That prompted the creation of an ad-hoc Biosolids Committee."
Appears in the Winchester Star, Virginia on 11/11/2004 entitled "Frederick Plans to Track Farmers’ Waste Treatments".
http://www.winchesterstar.com/TheWinchesterStar/041111/Area_waste.asp

  "... Spottswood [VA] residents became concerned when one of their neighbors, Vince Trombetta, shared some research he had found about health risks associated with this fertilizer, called biosolids. Trombetta informed the women that biosolids were human waste from a sewage treatment plant or scraps from industrial food-processing plants. Trombetta talks about the issue like an expert, because he has done extensive research. Since receiving the original letter from Houff's Feed & Fertilizer, he put in about two hours on the Web every day, called scientists across the nation, attended lectures and meetings on the subject in neighboring counties and set up personal interviews with experts. He also circulated a newsletter of compiled findings to neighbors, with the help of Debrot. He set up an anti-sludge meeting for residents"
Appears in the Newsleader.com, serving Central Shenandoah County, VA on 10/26/2004 entitled "Residents unite against biosolids Man incites anti-sludge movement."
http://www.newsleader.com/news/stories/20041026/localnews/1479316.html

  "... we understand the concerns expressed by some Augusta County residents alarmed by the proposed use of biosolids as fertilizer. Actually, we applaud their activism in bringing this matter to the forefront and challenging it."
Appears in the Newsleader.com, serving Central Shenandoah County, VA on 09/28/2004 entitled "By any other name ..."
http://www.newsleader.com/news/stories/20040928/opinion/1315554.html

  "A company that applies biosolids to farm fields in Franklin County was fined $35,000 for spreading and storing the treated sewage sludge unlawfully. Synagro Mid-Atlantic Inc. has paid $35,000 to the state Department of Environmental Protection for several violations in Franklin and five other counties between January 2003 and July 2004. Synagro is the region's largest land applier of sewage sludge, according to DEP....Violations included spreading sewage sludge on frozen ground, spreading sewage sludge on an adjacent landowner's property without written consent, improper storage of sewage sludge, and failure to prevent runoff from entering nearby streams."
Appears in the Public Opinion, Chambersburg, PA on 09/23/2004 entitled "Sludge company fined -  State levies $35K penalty for sloppy handling
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/news/stories/20040923/localnews/1291437.html

  "... sewage plants are being converted due to widespread fears that the messier Class B sludge may pose a threat to public health, to say nothing of concerns about odor and flies. Riverside and three other counties ---- Kern, King and Fresno ---- ban Class B sludge. Spreading of all types of sludge is barred in 17 other counties, according to a Riverside County report, but San Diego and Orange counties do not regulate the material."
Appears in the North Country Times, California on 09/15/2004 entitled "Ordinance likely to trigger increased sludge use"
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/09/16/news/californian/22_02_159_15_04.txt

  "I have people who live behind me who have high levels of lead and mercury in their bodies," said Marc Miller, a Menifee resident and member of a county committee that explored the sludge issue. "We have headaches, bloody noses, respiratory illness, mercury exposure, nickel exposure, lead exposure, and numerous issues related to our health..... In 2001, health complaints prompted the Board of Supervisors to ban so-called Class B sludge, biosolids treated to remove some, but not all, pathogens."
Appears in the Press Enterprise, Riverside, CA on 09/15/2004 entitled "Rules allow sludge to be used on farms"
http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_sludge15.a1645.html

  "Their biggest question is the currently unknown or little known effects of the sludge and its contents on the health of those living near the hay fields and pasture land on which it is applied. Studies have found that some of the sludge contains heavy metals such as chromium, mercury and lead, materials that don’t evaporate over time and have the potential to cause serious harm. Sludge odors, obviously airborne, have also been found to harm human health, including eye, nose and throat irritation, diarrhea and shortness of breath."
Appears in the News Advance, Lynchburg, VA on 08/29/2004 entitled "Health still concern in use of sludge"
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=
Common%2FMGArticle%2FPrintVersion&c=MGArticle&cid=
1031777602689ℑ=newsadvance80x60.gif&oasDN=newsadvance.com

  "A Nova Scotia grain farm that sprays its crops with human sewage must stop the practice until results from lab tests come in, says a group of neighbours concerned about possible health risks. The province's environment ministry requested new tests be conducted to see if the biosolids used by Inglewood Farms near Truro, N.S. contain 12 pesticides, industrial chemicals or drugs such as Prozac."
Appears in the CBS News, Canada on 08/29/2004 entitled "Neighbours want farm to stop using biosolids during test period"
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/08/28/biosolids_Inglewood040828.html

  Residents Seek Biosolid Regulation Reform

• Don Williamson, opposes biosolids - “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.” 

• Sue Mays, opposes biosolids - “You can’t know what’s going to happen.”

• Del. Watkins Abbitt, (I) 59th District - “Your two staff people need to be reassigned; we need new people in here we can trust.” 

• Richard Knox, opposes biosolids - “There are dangers in this stuff.” 

• Mays - “There’s nothing free in this world. Let’s ask why you’re giving it to us for free.” 

• Linda Rogers - “It smells terrible.” 

• Keith Willis, opposes biosolids - “It’s bad for your health.” 

• Rogers - “They should rule it out altogether.”

• Mays - “You don’t know what’s going to happen five, ten, fifteen years down the road.”

Appears in the ABC 13 on 08/20/2004 entitled "Residents Seek Biosolid Regulation Reform"
http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0804/167404.html

  "Shenandoah County (Virginia) wants to know the long-term health risk associated with biosolids being spread over land. A resolution passed through the Public Safety and Code Administration Committee this week will ask the General Assembly to investigate current state laws and regulations. The resolution says that the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors has gotten conflicting information on the long-term health effects of land application of biosolids. To that end, supervisors want the Department of Environmental Quality to have the authority to ensure that appropriate oversight and controls are in place."
Appears in the Augusta Free Press, serving Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County, Virginia on 08/06/2004 entitled "Supervisors question biosolid regs"
http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$24739

  "In southern Clarion County , a citizens’ group called FORWARD (Friends On Ready Watch Against Raw Deals) is battling proposal by ALCOSAN (Allegheny County Sanitary Authority) to spread sewage sludge on several farms. Several municipalities, including Porter, Madison and Licking townships, have adopted ordinances to test sewage sludge for compliance with state regulations."
Appears in the Clarion News on 08/03/2004 entitled "Local gar-bage and sludge issues surface in Harrisburg"
http://www2.theclarionnews.com/General_News/31110.shtml

  "Westmoreland's adoption of a sludge-monitoring ordinance makes it the 16th Virginia county to do so, said C.M. Sawyer of the Virginia Department of Health's Division of Wastewater Engineering. In 2003, Sawyer said, 6,000 dry tons of treated sewage were applied in Westmoreland County, where 15,000 acres of cropland are permitted to receive it. The new ordinance will allow the county to receive at least $2.50 per ton to cover the expenses of a county biosolids monitor."
Appears in the Fredericksburg, VA Freelance on 07/14/2004 entitled "Board still differs on staggered terms"
http://www.freelancestar.com/News/FLS/2004/072004/07142004/1431453

  "Cody says the culprit contaminating the well is fertilizer that ran off nearby fields several years ago and still oozes from the ground after it rains. Cody provided photos showing what he called sludge running down a slope to the well. He says workers applied biosolids - a nutrient-rich organic material resulting from the treatment of sewage sludge - within 140 feet of the well site. For several decades, the wastewater treatment industry has recycled sludge by treating it and spreading it over agricultural fields. It can also be incinerated or buried in landfills. Lorrie Loder, community relations manager for Synagro Technologies, Inc., says the company followed all local, state and federal rules in 1999 when applying biosolids in the El Casco Lake area. By law, material must be kept 500 feet away from any domestic well." 
Appears in the Press Enterprise Moreno Valley-Perris the Opinion Column on 07/02/2004 entitled "Well a source of ill will"
http://www.pe.com/localnews/morenovalley/stories/PE_News_Local_land02.57568.html

  "A California grand jury investigating the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer on farmland has found that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations do little or nothing to protect ground water, rivers and streams from the toxic contaminants in sludge."
"EPA regulations are weak; on-site pollution monitoring is either infrequent or doesn't occur; and EPA regulations do not cover all of the many potential contaminants in sewage sludge." 
Appears in Herald Tribune, Fl in the Opinion Column on 06/26/2004 entitled "Sludge, coast to coast California grand jury's findings are a reminder to Floridians"
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040626/OPINION/406260305/1030

  "Dr. Edward I. Gordon has treated several people who claim biosolids aggravated their illnesses or caused their sickness, said he has seen a correlation between the spread of treated sludge in a neighborhood and health complaints." Dr. Gordon goes on to say "...they haven’t proven they’re not a problem." 
Appears in Lynchburg News and Advance on 5/9/2004 article by Jennifer L. Berghom entitled "Campbell Co. Residents concerned about safety"

    "Indiana Gazette June 4 Rayne Township Thirty-two residents attended the township supervisors meeting Thursday to oppose the use of biosolids, treated sludge from municipal sewage plants, as agriculture fertilizer on the Bush and Adams farms at the intersection of Stadtmiller and Receski roads. The biosolids would come from wastewater treatment plants in Johnstown."
Appeared in Indianna Gazette on June 5, 2004 article by Mary Ann Slater and John Como entitled: "Municipal Roundyp". http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11856960&BRD=1078&PAG=461&dept_id=151025&rfi=6

    “I am against it. It has not been proven to be safe or unsafe. I would prefer to err on being safe,” said Donald Prill, a landowner adjacent to the properties between Manawa and Bear Creek where waste can be applied. “A lot of money and effort has been spent to protect the Little Wolf watershed.”
Appears in Appleton Wisconsin June 11, 2004 article by Roger Pitt entitled "Waupaca town fails to stop city from spreading waste"
http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/news/archive/local_16473356.shtml

  "Growing numbers of people living near sites where the sludge is spread have reported bacterial and viral infections, some fatal, after contacting sewage sludge and breathing dusts blowing from the treated fields. My research at EPA and the University of Georgia showed that chemicals in processed sludge that irritate the skin and respiratory tract may make people susceptible to infections." 
Appears in In These Times on 03/18/2004 entitled "The Sludge Hits the Fan"
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/firststone/comments.php?id=659_0_8_0_C