Public has its say on Grays River biosolids

A public hearing on the proposed dumping of Biosolids on a Grays River ranch drew nearly 100 concerned residents to the Rosburg Hall Monday night.

The hearing to consider using biosolids was in response to an application made by Evergreen Septic of Seaview, WA on behalf of the Phil Zerr ranch. The hearing was moderated by Washington Department of Ecology’s (DOE) Kyle Dorsey. He opened the meeting with a presentation that explained the state’s position that there is no problem with the application of biosolids to farm land - even land bordering the Grays River.

The history of biosolids is controversial. Biosolids are a federally, legally described form of agriculture fertilizer made from many different kinds of waste including human feces, urine, pharmacological sources, personal care products and, in the case of large municipalities, all kinds of industrial waste. Essentially biosolids are the result of anything that gets flushed down the toilet or dumped down a drain.

The science breaks biosolids down into two different categories. According to the U.S. Department of Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency there are two classes of biosolids:

A-Class biosolids are treated to the point where concentrations of pathogens are reduced to levels low enough to qualify them as exceptional quality under the law, meaning they are very like the fertilizer one buys at the hardware store.

B-Class biosolids, the class planned for the Zerr ranch, fall into a different category. B-Class biosolids have undergone treatment which reduces but doesn’t eliminate many of the pathogens. Federal regulations (under 40 CFR Part 503) require additional measures to restrict public access and to limit livestock grazing for specified time periods after land applications to allow die-off of bio-pathogens in the soil.

Biosolids begin as waste called septage. Septage starts out as sewage. After a screening process, in this case through a 3/8 inch screen, it becomes biosolids.

“Biosolids are not sewage; they are a product of waste water systems and are in common use in Washington, in many different areas of agriculture,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey said about 80-85 percent of all biosolids produced in Washington are used in agriculture.

“They are used on golf courses and are a component of soil conditioners, top soil manufacturing and lawns, gardens and parks,” he said.

Dorsey told the audience the DOE would only consider new science introduced at the meeting, and personal feelings were not a part of the process. “You have to understand that Ecology works in a legal framework and having this meeting is one of the rules I follow,” he said.

Another DOE directive is to maximize the use of biosolids.

“The law tells Ecology to implement biosolids to the maximum extent of the law possible,” he said.

Because there was a large public response to the initial announcement to dump biosolids on the Zerr ranch, he agreed to a public hearing to take additional comments.

Dorsey explained that the Evergreen Septic application to treat waste dumped on the Zerr farm with lime was to control the odor only. He indicated that there was a seasonal dump limitation and a requirement to sample the soil and keep records at both the 80 acre ranch and at the Seaview treatment plant.

Dorsey’s presentation included many positive statements in favor of the use of biosolids as fertilizer. He pointed to the nutrients found in biosolids, the same nutrients found in nature.

He also explained that in 1988 the DOE first considered over 411 pollutants of concern found in biosolids, a list that has now been reduced to nine: arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium and zinc.

“There are also things the DOE is unsure about including barium, beryllium, manganese and others,” said Dorsey.

Over 20 people testified before the DOE. Nearly all presented a case against adoption of Evergreen’s permit for the application on the Zerr ranch.

Many Grays River residents were skeptical of the findings. Carol Larson from Rosburg said, “That was a very nice little lesson in biosolids, but Mr. Zerr’s farm is in the flood plain that gets a 100 year flood about two out of every three years. Your assessment doesn’t take that into account and I think you're ignoring the floods and endangered species.”

Dorsey replied that some of the best farmlands are in flood plains where farmers routinely apply cow and chicken manure to the land. “All these activities are the same thing, returning nutrients to the soil, the amount of pollutants involved are very small,” he said.

Another concern was expressed about the odor involved in the application of biosolids.

“I’m Karen Bertroch from Grays River. I’m here on behalf of the Covered Bridge Park.” Bertroch told Dorsey the park has a westerly wind that blows over it and she is concerned that the odor from the biosolids would drive away visitors.

“I’m very serious about the odor issue,” said Bertroch, “and my concern is when people come to the park the odor will drive them away, so is there some place we could go and check out the smell to see how offensive it is?”

Dorsey told Bertroch he wasn’t aware of any biosolids application site in SW Washington that allowed public tours.

“I can imagine there would be some liability issues involved,” he said.

“This process troubles me,” said Blair Brady, a Rosburg resident and Wahkiakum County commissioner. “This application uses the general permit process along with a biological impact statement when a site specific determination would be more in order.”

Brady told the DOE panel that the Zerr ranch is in a Tier-1 reach of the Grays River.

“There are at least four endangered species present,” he said. “I’d also like to inform Ecology that the county is exploring how to create an ordinance that will prohibit the disposal of biosolids, county-wide at this time”.

Brady said there is an evolving database being created showing potential problems with the application of biosolids and the county is concerned about its citizenry and would rather err on the side of caution.

Esther Gregg, a Rosburg resident and Wahkiakum PUD commissioner, addressed the DOE panel to tell them that the PUD has a water service near the Zerr ranch and the commissioners were concerned about the biosolids contaminating the water service.

“We serve about 700 people, and our water system is located upstream; however, our concern is our system is old and has leakage. Some of our pipes run across the Zerr field, and if there is a failure in our water system, any contaminated water will get sucked back into our water system,” said Greg. “At the present time, it is our recommendation to not put the biosolids on the Zerr ranch."

Eli Asher, habitat program manager for the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board, also testified, saying the LCFRB is required to coordinate salmon recovery efforts by the state legislature. “The Board is concerned with more nutrient loading in tidal waters already impacted by agriculture, specifically algae bloom and low-levels of oxygen,” he said.

Asher said the LCFRB was also concerned about Evergreen’s contaminants leaching into Grays river water tables that are high most of the year.

“Heavy metals and pharmaceuticals have already been identified in the lower Columbia in levels that can already affect animals,” said Asher.

The DOE said testing on the Zerr ranch would be done on a yearly basis. To date the DOE has four biosolids inspectors to cover the state. The DOE doesn’t do its own research; rather it collects data from research institutes, universities and first hand narratives.

Dorsey told the audience several times that state considers biosolids to be safe, but a 2002 report from the U.S. Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control titled “Guidance for Controlling Risk to Workers Exposed to B-Class Biosolids” recommends the following: Workers and employers may be aware of the need for precautions when contacting untreated sewage, but less aware of the need for basic precautions when using B-Class biosolids.

In the same study the EPA advises: To protect public health the EPA prescribes a restricted period of one year to limit public access to lands were B-Class biosolids have been applied.

A 2002 report from The National Academy of Sciences warned that "There is a serious lack of health-related information about populations exposed to treated sewage," according to Thomas A. Burke, professor, department of health policy and management, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore.

Dorsey said Ecology officials will make and distribute a categorical response to the comments made at the hearing before a final decision is made on the permit application.