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Biosolids bill sludges through system Legislature ready to act on wastewater, sewage efficiency measures By JOHN DARLING The state Legislature is nearing completion on a bill that would clear up widespread legal questions around the use of wastewater and biosolids on farmlands. Senate Bill 212 defines conditions and sets up a more efficient process by which local governments can approve the application of wastewater and biosolids (processed sewage, or "sludge") to farmlands, but leaves the Department of Environmental Quality with the final say, as is the case now, said Laurie Aunan, DEQ legislative liaison. Ashland officials have no plans to reconsider hillside spraying ASHLAND - City officials will not revisit a May 2000 council decision that abandoned plans to spray effluent on a hillside outside city limits. In 1995 the council approved the idea. Residents near the site opposed the plan for health reasons and the spraying never took place. Senate Bill 212, if enacted, would offer a chance for reconsideration. "None of the council has expressed an interest in moving forward on that," City Attorney Paul Nolte said of the plan to use the wastewater to irrigate a poplar tree plantation. Construction has already started on a building to house a membrane treatment system to clean city water. The city is under a Department of Environmental Quality requirement to lower phosphate levels in its wastewater. The city's treated effluent currently is emptied into Bear Creek. Sludge from the city treatment plant is hauled to a landfill. The bill would make it easier for cities like Ashland to spread their treated wastewater and sludge on farmlands. It would also make it easier for companies like Medford fruit processor Sabroso to dispose of their wastewater for irrigation. Application of industrial wastewater and treated sewage biosolids that meet DEQ standards have been allowed on farmlands for many years, said Willy Tiffany, a Salem lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities. The bill requires public notice and comment period for such applications, defines agricultural use and requires DEQ approval, he said. "Cities benefit because it sets up a clear process and we're not caught in the loop where an angry neighbor files a suit with LUBA (the state Land Use Board of Appeals) and it's tied up for five years," Tiffany said. The bill passed the Senate 25-3, but was opposed in the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee by Cal Martin of Clear Water Technology in Medford, and Jim Elliott of Ashland, who worked against Ashland's 1999 plan to spray treated effluent on a hillside north of town. House passage is expected this week and Senate concurrence on House amendments is likely, said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Ken Messerle, a Coos Bay Republican. Messerle is chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, which originally heard the bill. "It's a good bill and we put a lot of time into it," Messerle said. "It's a win-win for farmers because they need the water - and for food processors, who can't put wastewater into streams." The bill was written to remedy legal tangles of municipalities and food processors such as Sabroso, a main supporter of the legislation, he said. Sabroso's rinse water from fruit concentrate production contains fruit sugars and is too warm to put in streams, said company President Jim Root. It's too costly to cool the water, he added, so Sabroso applies the water to its leased wheat fields south of Phoenix. Citing odors and lowered property values, neighbors filed objections with LUBA, which told Jackson County it needed public comment before issuing a land use compatibility statement (LUCS) last May. The county responded by holding April hearings on neighbors' objections and will issue a report by June 13. At the heart of the dispute was the question of whether the operation falls under regulations for a farm activity or utility service, said Ron Ebert, farm and forest land specialist with the state Department of Land Conservation and Development in Salem. LUBA ruled that such operations actually fall in both areas, so SB212 set up a distinct third area with guidelines for land applications in EFU (exclusive farm use) zones, which should preclude further legal challenges, he said. Martin and Elliott testified against the bill, saying it would open the door to an array of health concerns from using processed human wastes on farmlands. "It's an extremely dangerous bill, a Trojan horse," said Martin. "It started out as a bill to help Sabroso recycle their wastewater, but it got stripped (and rewritten) by DEQ and now there will be no public hearing when we apply wastewater or biosolids." Elliott said, "Now it's a DEQ land-use bill. It allows septic tank haulers to dump fecal sludge on farmlands and the neighbors have no right to challenge it." Government officials disputed these charges. "The appropriateness of the use of this (biosolids) was decided long ago by DEQ and the Environmental Protection Agency," said Ebert. "This bill just defines and streamlines a process. You still need DEQ approval. That's not affected. And DEQ still refers cases to counties to see if applicants should be given a land use compatibility statement." Ashland Public Works Director Paula Brown said, "Properly treated biosolids are legal now for farmlands, under federal regulations, which are there to protect public safety. DEQ regulates the process and there shouldn't be any problem." After a Friday conference with bill opponents, DEQ staff and Jacksonville Republican Sen. Jason Atkinson, Sen. Messerle said, "I couldn't understand their (opponents) objections and I'm not convinced they made their case." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.