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Where Doss Sewage Sludge Conte From? ■ Sewage sludge is a by-product of treating wastewater from homes, businesses and some industries. In some older cities when sanitary sewers are connected to storm sewers, sewage treatment facilities may also - receive runoff from street, parking lots, and yards. ■ ' Wastewater treatment facilities are designed to separate solids from water to allow the water to be safely discharged. They are also designed to treat the solids to reduce the level of disease -causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites so that the remaining solids can be safely and beneficially used. ■ Sewage sludge is a slurry that is 80% to 99% water. The rest is a mixture of organic and inorganic solids and dissolved substances. Sewage sludge contains nutrients The numbers are changing, however,.The 48% of sludge that is being disposed in landfills or sludge -only disposal sites is decreasing as landfill space has tightened. More and more communities are turning to beneficial applications. New and innovative uses of sewage sludge have been developed in recent years and the science behind established practices has greatly improved. How Can Sewage Sludge Be Used? Sewage sludge can be used in many ways. The organic nutrient content as well as its soil enhancing properties make it a practical choice for farmers, landscapers, foresters, and homeowners. Farmland—Sewage sludge has been beneficially used on farmland for many years. It typically contains S30 - $60 worth of nitrogen per ton and is an excellent soil amendment. While it is not a complete replacement for chemical fertilizers, it does do some things chemical fertilizers cannot do. It promotes necessary bacterial activity and improves the structure of soil allowing it to absorb more water, thus reducing dangerous runoff. It is also less expensive than chemcial fertilizers. ■ Homes and Gardens—High quality sludge can be processed (usually composted) into a dry granular substance that is easily handled by landscapers and homeowners. It is also less expensive than commercially available peat moss or top soil. Homeowners and landscapers across the United States - from Philadelphia to Milwaukee to Seattle - have been using sludge derived products for many years. Treated sludge has also been widely used on municipal golf courses and national, historic landmarks such as the grounds of the White House and Mount Vernon. ■ Forests—Sewage sludge has been used successfully for many years on forested areas to reduce runoff and enhance tree growth. There have been many studies documenting two to three -fold growth increases where trees have been grown with treated sludge. I ■ Land Reclamation—Sewage sludge has also been used with dramatic success to reclaim lands destroyed by §trip mining, erasion, and construction. In Pennsylvania, sewap sludge has been used to help reclaim thousands of acres of land at abandoned strip mine sites. Sewage sludge is also being applied to revegetate the side of a severely eroded mountain that Incineration 16% Surface Disposal 10% L 7-j Landrdied 38% Beneficial Land Application 36% was highly contaminated by a zinc smelting operation in Palmerton, PA. Now Safe Is Sewage Sludge? ■ The research conducted for this rule validates the long- standing use of sewage sludge on the land as both safe and beneficial. Sewage sludge is a valuable resource that can be safely recycled back into the land. It has, in fact, been used on farmland for many years with no documented adverse affect on human health. The rule contains incentives for communities to produce cleaner sludge and to consider changing from wasteful disposal practices such as landfilling to beneficial projects. The regulation also prescribes how communities may incinerate or otherwise dispose of sludge safely. Who Is Affected and How? The rule includes standards that apply to publicly, privately, and Federally owned facilities that generate or treat sewage sludge, as well an any person who uses or disposes of sewage sludge or septage. These standards consist of pollutant limit, management practices, and operational standards. The regulation establishes pollutant limits for sewage sludge that is applied to the land or disposed of by either placing it in a a surface disposal site or by firing it in an incinerator. The regulation also includes requirements for reducing pathogens in sewage sludge that may cause disease. The other requirement of the regulation address the frequency of monitoring, record keeping, and reporting. This rule is designed, for the most part, to be self - implementing, meaning that anyone who uses or disposes of sewage sludge must comply with all of the provisions of the regulation whether or not they have a permit. The rule requires compliance with monitoring and record keeping requirements 150 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register. The rule also requires compliance with other standards as soon as possible but no later than 12 months from the date of publication (or 24 months if construction is required). ■ EPA intends to include the requirement of this rule in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit applications. Permit application deadlines are being phased in, the first applications being due six months after this rule is published and the rest becoming due over the next several years. (The Clerk gave a copy of the complete information packet to Director Pinto). 21 JAN 25 1994 BOOK 91 F,vF597