Rappahannock County passes sludge ordinance

August 2007

  land application of sewage sludge
  Land application of sewage sludge.

RLEP's Rick Kohler has been a member of a five-person sludge committee authorized by Rappahannock County's Board of Supervisors to develop a sludge ordinance, which the BOS approved on July 2, 2007. (Read the Rappahannock News story.) The ordinance includes requirements and procedures for permitting; testing and monitoring of sludge content, spreading, and containment; documentation in county land records; and transportation and storage of sludge in the county. All relate to the public health, safety, and welfare of county citizens and the environment. Under Virginia's Dillon Rule, localities can only regulate the application of sewage sludge (biosolids) as a fertilizer, not ban it. This is in contrast to Pennsylvania, where municipal home-rule has been used to ban corporate dumping—in effect abolishing corporate rights within their jurisdictions. This approach is likely to be adjudicated up to the Supreme Court level to test the obligations of a corporation, now held to be a "person," and whether "nature" has constitutional rights.

County works on sludge ordinance

by Rick Kohler, Winter-Spring 2007

Rappahannock County will soon consider an ordinance to control the application of sludge, or "bio-solids" as renamed by the politically savvy industry. Bio-solids are the solid remains left in the tank after the sewage treatment plant finishes processing and the water is run off. The sludge is partially dried, and then either hauled to landfills, burned, or applied as a soil amendment and fertilizer.

Is sludge good, cheap fertilizer that won't harm humans, or does it endanger the environment? Application of sludge provides lime and nutrients and builds the soil at a lesser cost than conventional fertilizers. However, many industrial pollutants, antibacterial soaps, street debris, and pathogens are flushed into large sewage plants, and the processing system may not adequately remove all of these. Application of this material to soil may have unknown consequences to earthworms, insects, ground foragers and other members of the food chain, including humans.

A committee appointed by the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors is drafting an ordinance for review by the board, which will then accept, reject, or modify it. A final ordinance will then be drafted and presented at a public hearing, followed by a final vote of the board. The committee has reviewed legal actions in Pennsylvania and other states, and is keeping an eye on the progress of other Virginia counties dealing with the issue. The difficulty that the county faces with an ordinance is that, by law, the county cannot supercede the law of the state (the often-mentioned "Dillon Rule"). Technically, the county is unable to enact regulations that go beyond state regulations.

The ordinance the committee is working on does not ban sludge application or attempt to supercede the state regulations. However, most committee members believe The Chesapeake Bay Act may allow the county latitude to widen buffers along streams and other bodies of water from the state regulations of 50 feet to 100 feet. The committee is considering requiring wider buffers from schools, parks, nursing homes, and other facilities, as well as further documentation of water courses, potable water sources, drain tile lines, slope restrictions and other methods of control.

The emphasis of the ordinance is three-fold:

  • Inform the landowner, through the application process, of the potential risks and liabilities of applying sludge
  • Create a method of record keeping that is open to the public by requiring notices of application, which are required by the state, but also by keeping a permanent record of all applications in the Rappahannock County Zoning Office and a permanent record on individual tax records by the Commissioner of Revenue
  • Create a legally enforceable framework within which the county may act to control application.

The committee will meet again on April 30th and plans to have a preliminary draft for the Board of Supervisors to consider in May.

Background and references

In September 2006, Recyc Systems, Inc., a sludge hauler, filed applications with the State Department of Health to apply sewage sludge to two private properties in Rappahannock County. Reaction by County residents was immediately and overwhelmingly negative. As of October 4, 2006, both applications have been withdrawn by the applicant landowners. According to County Administrator John McCarthy, "This eliminates whatever immediate concern there was for the imminent land application of sludge in Rappahannock County. As the County is confident that another applicant will eventually proceed under the state permitting process, the Board's efforts to review a local regulatory system will proceed."

RLEP's position on the land application of sewage sludge.

For detailed information on the issues and science involved in this controversial topic, consult the authoritative documents below:

From The Daily Press, Hampton Roads, Virginia, editorial, "What's in it? Until we know, sewage sludge is a cause for concern." September 29, 2006. The editorial states "Governmental regulation and oversight of sludge are so inadequate that the question 'Is it safe?' can't be answered with any scientific confidence." [Read more]