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