Riverside Bans Sewage Sludge as Farm Fertilizer

Riverside County officials voted unanimously Tuesday to ban the use of sewage sludge from Orange County and elsewhere as fertilizer on local farmlands.

The move makes Riverside one of at least six agricultural counties in the state that is unwilling to accept Southern California’s mountainous stockpile of human waste.

Supervisor Bob Buster said he voted for the ban because of possible health risks created when wet sludge is spread on land near houses and schools.

“There is also a quality of life issue,” Buster said. “It’s like getting a blast of smell from an open septic tank. I don’t think people should have to put up with that.”

The Orange County Sanitation District had been sending more than one-third of its sludge--called biosolids--to Riverside County.

The agency has depended on farmers to use 530 wet tons a day of the sludge as fertilizer on nonfood crops such as alfalfa and cotton. However, none of the sludge is used in Orange County, which some Riverside officials criticized as a double standard.

Earlier this month, Riverside County’s health officer increased restrictions on the locations where sludge can be applied. The sludge cannot be used on farmland that’s within half a mile of homes or schools--a buffer zone that, in effect, is a de facto ban, sanitation officials said. Until now, the Riverside’s buffer zone was 500 feet.

Tuesday’s vote was no surprise to Orange County sanitation officials.

“It’s what was expected,” said Layne Baroldi, a senior regulatory specialist with the sanitation district. “I’m disappointed, obviously. . . . Science supports reuse.”

Across the nation, more than 5 million dry tons of biosolids were produced in 2000, and California was the biggest producer. About 40% of biosolids are used as fertilizer across the nation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency supports the use of biosolids of farmland, and earlier this year rejected a call by activists for a moratorium on the practice.

“Because of the strict federal and state standards, the treated residuals from waste water treatment [biosolids] can be safely recycled . . . and applied as fertilizer to sustainably improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth,” according to a report by the EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management.

However, the EPA has asked the National Academy of Sciences to review whether potential health risks were considered when the federal regulations were adopted, as well as existing standards for removing disease-causing pathogens.

Additionally, EPA research microbiologist David Lewis said there is already evidence that bacteria and chemicals found in sludge pose a health risk.

“The symptoms that are most commonly reported are things like burning eyes, burning throat and burning lungs, congestion and coughing. Nosebleeds are one of the more common symptoms,” said Lewis.

That’s no surprise to Shelley Pfeifer of Winchester, who is about 200 feet downwind from a 300-acre wheat field where sludge is applied. Every time her 4-year-old grandson visits and a fresh batch of sludge has been applied, he gets nosebleeds so intense that he chokes.

Pfeifer said pediatricians have ruled out internal causes, saying it could be an allergic reaction to an unknown irritant. Pfeifer is a member of Riverside County’s advisory committee on the use of sludge.

The Orange County Sanitation District can still send sludge to Kern, Kings and San Diego counties. However, Kern and Kings counties have passed ordinances banning the import of sludge starting in early 2003.