Dumping sewage sludge (called “biosolids†in the trade) on land is the solution promoted by the federal government since dumping the waste in the ocean was banned in 1992. Neighbors abutting one ranch where the Roseburg Urban Sanitary Authority (RUSA) sprays sewage sludge asked for NWEA’s help, concerned about the effect of sludge on their health and their drinking water. RUSA, the Oregon DEQ, and the U.S. EPA all told the neighbors and staff of elected representatives that the operation at the Hayden Ranch was in compliance with federal and state law. However, in responding to NWEA’s public records requests, DEQ realized that – contrary to its representations – RUSA did not have legal authority to dump sewage sludge on the Hayden Ranch. Scrambling to paste over its mistake, DEQ then issued a site authorization letter without providing the required opportunity for public comment.
In November, NWEA petitioned DEQ to reconsider its illegal site authorization letter. The petition explains that DEQ might want to consider the problems with this site given its rather obvious lack of suitability for sludge dumping. Specifically, this land is extremely wet, making it a pathway to moving sewage sludge pollutants to both groundwater and the nearby Umqua River.
Sewage sludge contains toxic pollutants such as arsenic, lead, and zinc, along with human pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella. There are, in addition, completely unregulated pollutants such as pharmaceuticals and flame retardants, as well as excessive nutrients that cause algae blooms. In contrast to EPA’s regulations on water pollution and hazardous wastes, EPA’s regulations on sewage sludge dumping are woefully inadequate to protect farm land and home gardens (through bagged fertilizer). One result is that California has a patchwork of full and partial bans on sewage sludge dumping. But in Oregon and Washington (except Wahkiakum County, which is defending a partial ban in court), residents are currently at the mercy of this sham of a regulatory program that allows residents to be assaulted by airborne sewage dust, water pollution, and, sometimes, horrible odors.