A Voice Crying in the Wilderness Against Sludge

When it comes to having a voice on whether sewage sludge can be spread in Amherst County, the Board of Supervisors has done just about all it can do. Under state law, however, that is not much.

Synagro Central LLC, one of at least two companies in Virginia that contract with municipal sewage treatment facilities along the East Coast, has informed the county that it intends to spread biosolids on land adjacent to the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail. The 132 acres in the northern part of the county belongs to Wesley Wright.

The property is next to the trail, which begins at Piney River in Nelson County and follows the river for almost two miles to Roses Mill in Amherst County.

The sludge, or biosolids as the industry that hauls the substance prefers to call it, is a mix of treated human waste and industrial sewage.

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A debate on whether the sludge has the potential to cause health problems has been going unabated for several years. Some studies claim that biosolids cause an array of health problems. Others suggest that the waste is an environmentally friendly fertilizer that poses no health hazards.

So what can the supervisors in Amherst do about the firm’s intent to spread the sludge?

They have sent a letter to the director of the state Department of Environmental Quality asking that it not allow the firm to spread biosolids on farmland near the trail. The letter points out that more than $2 million has been invested in the trail, including $1.4 million in federal grants.

Amherst and Nelson counties have contributed some $40,000 to construction of the trail, which follows the former railway track.

The letter also calls the DEQ’s attention to odors caused by spreading the sludge and potential health risks for those who use the trail. “Any dumping, spreading or discharging of biosolids on lands adjacent to the trail could potentially negatively impact, disrupt or shut down one-half of all significant recreational trails in Amherst County,” it says.

The letter could have suggested the folly of spreading the nutrients near the Piney River. Heavy rains could wash them into the river, which is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Once those nutrients reach the bay, they help feed the algae bloom, which along with other problems degrades the bay’s water quality.

While localities have no authority to prohibit spreading the sewage sludge, they can enact local ordinances to test the material, which Amherst has done. The county has an agreement in place with a Sweet Briar College professor to monitor spreading biosolids on farmland in the county.

Those who use the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail have objected to past proposals to spread the sludge so close to the trail.

The DEQ should take those who use the trail for recreational purposes into mind before it gives the green light to Synagro.

It’s the least the state could do to give a voice to the county that objects to spreading biosolids, but has little say over whether it can go forward.