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Sabroso plan irks neighbors Photo by Jim Craven James Day and his dog, Mariah, walk on land north of Talent where Sabroso wants to dump wastewater from its fruit processing plant. Day, who grows 10 acres of hay nearby, and his neighbors are concerned about potential contamination, odor and bugs from the wastewater, which the Department of Environmental Quality says is safe and describes as "just fruit juice." They say it's not irrigation, it's dumping By WENDY SIPOREN PHOENIX -- Plans to irrigate 50 acres with wastewater from Sabroso Co.'s Medford fruit processing plant have neighbors nervous about potential odor, fruit-loving bugs and contamination of the groundwater. "We are concerned about the pesticides and nitrates in the water contaminating our wells and farming land," said Tim Farrell, who lives next to the property on the corner of Hartley and Colver roads just north of Talent. But Jon Gasik, a senior engineer with the Department of Environmental Quality in Medford, says the wastewater is the equivalent of sugar water and does not pose a threat to neighbors. "This is not sewage," said Gasik, who is currently drafting a permit for the project. "Basically, this is just fruit juice." Other neighbors question whether the ground has the capacity to absorb the water and wonder what might be attracted to 3.7 million gallons of fruit water that will fill a planned holding pond. "To me, anything that's not naturally occurring is going to somehow change the ecosystem up here," said James Day, who grows 10 acres of hay close to Farrell's 8.6 acres. "All we're asking is they think it through." Sabroso Co. uses drinking water to rinse pears, peaches, grapes, apples and berries before processing the fruit into a puree which is sold for use in baby food, gummy candy, fruit rollups and nectar drinks. During the process, the water picks up sugars, starches and small bits of fruit. Currently, the company pays the Medford Water Commission to process the wastewater in the regional sewage treatment plant. But after adding a new processing line in 1996, treatment plant personnel began to notice an increase in the quantity of Sabroso's wastewater. "We really started noticing a difference in 1998," said Gail Hammond, who supervises the industrial pre-treatment program for the plant. Discussions were begun with the company about the types of upgrades to the treatment plant that would be needed to handle the quantity and strength of the wastewater -- at a potential cost of $8 million to $10 million in system development charges. Even after a new method of computing the charges was adopted this spring, Sabroso faced charges of $2 million to $3 million. Rather than paying the large expense to handle their seasonal wastewater needs, Sabroso began looking at alternatives such as on-site processing or pre-processing, but settled on land application as the most cost-effective strategy. The company will still pay about $400,000 in system development charges to increase its permit from 300,000 to 400,000 gallons of wastewater per day. What it doesn't send to the Medford plant, the company plans to truck to an aerated two-acre holding pond on Hartley Road before spraying it on 50 acres now covered with clover, vetch and junegrass. Gasik says it's necessary to aerate the pond in order to keep the water from stagnating and smelling. Cascade Earth Sciences, the engineering firm working on the project for Sabroso, says the wastewater is low in nitrates, which have a potential to cause serious health problems if they contaminate the groundwater. Gasik said he is not concerned about the potential for high levels of pesticide residue in the water because Sabroso already must meet the high standards of its customers -- baby food companies. Sabroso environmental manager Tim Heim said its growers have to meet certain pesticide reporting requirements. He said the wastewater is tested every day and the results are forwarded to the city wastewater plant, but he couldn't immediately say whether those tests included pesticides. Sabroso already has received a sign-off from the Jackson County Planning Department, which reviewed its DEQ application to make sure it complied with the county zoning regulations pertaining to exclusive farm use. "Because they will be using the water to irrigate a crop, it does not require any ... land use application" from Jackson County, said county senior planner Sandy Mathewson, adding that when the project is begun, Sabroso will have to grow a crop. "Under the definition of farm use ... the primary purpose has to be growing the crops and not getting rid of wastewater." And that chicken-or-the-egg question has the 13 families on Hartley Road crying foul. Sabroso says it plans on growing and harvesting an existing cover crop. The Hartley neighbors contend that the plants that exist on the site are common weeds with no commercial value and so the project has no real agricultural use. "They are trying to save money by dumping their water in Phoenix," Farrell said. "Basically, the county has given them a permit to farm weeds." The neighbors have pleaded their situation to one county commissioner and are threatening an appeal. Sabroso is now under the gun from the treatment facility to come into compliance with its permit by July 1. But, according to Gasik, a DEQ public hearing on Sabroso's permit isn't likely to be scheduled until the first part of July. 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