A group of Plainfield Tp residents are outraged over Nazareth Borough Municipal Authority's plan to spread sewage sludge on their farmland. They've been before Northampton County Council a few times. If it's any consolation, they are not alone. Last week, Save Carbon County's Linda Christman addressed Bethlehem City Council over its practice of spreading sewage sludge from its wastewater treatment plan on Carbon County farmlands.
Christman noted that a city staffer told her that it would cost $500,000 a year to send this sludge to a landfill instead of spreading it in Carbon County. She said cost should not be a consideration when it comes to doing the right thing. She added that the City could add an anaerobic digester to its wastewater treatment plant as an "economically viable alternative."
These digesters expel gas, which can be used to generate electricity to run the wastewater treatment plant and to sell on the grid.
"This use of sewage sludge to fertilize farm fields is poisoning land across Pennsylvania and the United States," she said. "Something needs to change."
Various state laws restrict a municipality's ability to regulate sewage sludge. But Bethlehem, dewspite its Climate Action Plan, is itself participating in this practice.
33 comments:
The ultimate form of recycling, natural manure, rather than chemical fertilizer, Yes, shit does stink, it always has, even that of environmentalists. Get over it.
So the WWTP dumps their sludge on farmland and right into the Lehigh when it rains. Interesting.
Is this sludge dumping illegal and/or considered by state regulators to be unhealthy. I believe the answer is no. The answer may be to do what southern states when saddled with illegals. They shipped them to progressive sanctuary cities to make progressives live their yards signs. Townships should find something nasty to ship into progressive Bethlehem. I'm thinking chicken shit, the worst of the farm shits, for Bethlehem's community gardens and open spaces. It's legal, organic, and quite consistent with the Bethlemites' ethics re: environmental concerns. Fair is fair. It's time to shit on Bethlehem.
If the practice is “…poisoning land across Pennsylvania and the United States”, why is there no federal or state law against it? My guess is because the practice is not unsafe, and those opposing it are the usual whack jobs looking for a cause.
Instead of going to Bethlehem to complain, why don’t they go to the farms that are accepting it? It’s not like the city is just showing up and dumping it without permission.
My guess there is that the farmer finds the practice beneficial to their land as well their bank account, and the farmer(s) would quickly school them that their “facts” are wrong. I have yet to meet a farmer that would “poison” their own land.
I didn't know they were spreading the mayor and council all around Carbon County. No wonder Carbon County smells so bad.
I believe Allentowns wastes are spread on a farm in Lower Mt Bethel. Are these farms paid to accept this stuff? The odor is absolutely horrible to bear!
"So the WWTP dumps their sludge on farmland and right into the Lehigh when it rains. Interesting."
I asked you for your source when you first stated that WWTP dumps into the Lehigh, and you said you heard it at a meeting. That is not evidence. You continue to repeat what may or may not be true. I know sludge is being spread bc it is admitted. I do not know about dumpting into a river.
Bernie believed his shit does not stink !
"I believe Allentowns wastes are spread on a farm in Lower Mt Bethel. Are these farms paid to accept this stuff? The odor is absolutely horrible to bear!"
Allentown shit goes to Carbon as well. I know one person who lives there who by himself could clear out a county.
" My guess is because the practice is not unsafe, and those opposing it are the usual whack jobs looking for a cause."
Raw sewage is unsafe, although it has been used as fertilizer for thousands of years. Class A biosolids are relatively safe. Class B biosolids are less so. Much of the fertilizer you buy for your garden is actually a Class A biosolid mixed with other material.
Pennsylvania has long had "right to farm" laws that really mean the only way to stop the use of sludge is by convincing a farmer it is not in his interests. Most farmers do not use it.
https://www.sludgenews.org/about/sludgenews.aspx?id=5
Has anyone read any more about the microplastics in sludge that is not filtered out of waste. The sludge is spread on land and the plastic gets incorporated in the growing crops. I seem to remember an article in local papers when this subject was in earlier Bernie blogs.
Bernie, Bethlehem, as well as Easton and Allentown have older combined sewers, this means stormwater is directed to the treatment plants as well. In heavy rains, the systems are designed to overflow into the creek. Bethlehem discharges to the Saucon which flows shortly thereafter into the Lehigh. Now, solids and sludge do not overflow. However, untreated sewage water DOES go in during storm events, albeit in a diluted form. The cost to fix this is huge (you'd need to rebuild much of the sewer and stormwater lines in the cities) so the DEP and EPA have separate criteria for them.
9:23, And your basis for this assertion is? I don't need "I heard it at a meeting." Is this something the city admits?
DEP regulations the spreading of treated sewage sludge on farmland. The main problems occur when a farmer does not comply with the regulations, or when the materials are not plowed into the ground quickly enough. A compromise would be for the city to set up another level of oversight to make sure that the practice is occurring in a proper manner.
By the way, the European Union is getting very strict about spreading nutrients on farmland, and it is expected to greatly reduce agricultural production. Farmers are getting politically organized against the measures, including winning many seats in the Dutch Parliament.
You should better expose what the Nazareth Municipal Authority has done:
They used eminent domain on the Seiple farm, taking over 50 acres from the estate for necessary business functions.
They sold that same property for $53M when a realtor found they could make $$ from the warehouse farm that Chrin put in.
They used the profits of an eminent domain land grab to buy a preserved farm in Plainfield Township NEXT TO A PARK AND RECREATION FACILITY to spread their sewage by-product, and are looking for a farmer to do the farming.
This is not the bill of sale taxpayers were given when land preservation was created in the county!
Preserved farms development rights were bought with our tax dollars, with a waiver signed by the owner that they would not spread sewage sludge or biosolids on the farm.
Nazareth Municipal Authority primary function of the property is to dispose of their sewage sludge, NOT FARM. They are leasing the property off to a farmer to grow crops, as long at they spread the sludge.
The farmer is not local. Nazareth MA is not local. The sewage is not local. The tax dollars that preserved the land WAS local.
The planning of the Plainfield Community Park and Achenbachs Grove Recreation Area, the tax dollars used to develop those properties for community recreation are now wasted to the odor of sewage sludge that will be spread and stored on this property.
DON'T DUMP YOUR NAZARETH POOP ON PLAINFIELD TAXPAYERS.
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/wrong-use-for-preserved-farmland-opinion/article_bfd8729e-4b9f-11ec-b5c1-2b7920034fc2.html
Excellent opinion piece written by a fella, who I believe was part of the farmland preservation program development.
EPA 503 Regulation for biosolids was developed decades ago (1993). Since then, biosolids have been found to contain hundreds, (yes hundreds!) of harmful chemicals and heavy metals, including PFAS and PFOS (forever chemicals) which adversely effect the environment we live in.
Maine has gone through it. Florida is learning problems that go with it. Check out what is happening in Michigan.
It is long past due to revisit 503 and how we "recycle" our waste into our food chain. You are what you eat, and what is in our food is killing us.
12:46, Has spreading started yet in Plainfield? I see the only remedy is persuasion. If you resort to the courts, I think you lose. The state legislature would be the body that could give municipalities some say in the spreading of biosolids and in recognizing the problem.
Bernie, this is "9:23". Yes the fact that the city has an older combined sewer overflow isn't a secret, it's a challenge many cities have. You could probably call up Ed Boscola and have him explain it all. I know because I've toured the sewer plant... Here's a link from the EPA explaining the whole thing:
https://www.epa.gov/npdes/combined-sewer-overflows-csos
I'm sympathetic to the problem but county preserved land has no "waiver" about biosolids. The state law says that farmland preservation can't restrict any legal farming practices...and for better or worse, sludge is still legal. This administration added a little check box on the application for but it's a totally powerless gesture.
Anonymous 9:23:
Bethlehem upgraded the CSO Outfall a few years ago so it no longer dumps into the Saucon Creek, but directly into the Lehigh River. This move limited the amount of untreated sewer going into the river since it allows the plant to handle more water from rain storms before the plant get overwhelmed.
Bernie, this is true. It happens. It's in the City's 537 Plan from 13 or so years ago, which was recently updated.
Here is a link about the relocation: https://colliersengineering.com/projects/bethlehem-combined-sewer-outfall-replacement/
The "NAZPLAN" (Nazareth Area Plan: Unified in Planning Purpose and Vision) is published by the LVPC. (see www.nazplan.org) In that plan, page 4 specifically, it states:
"The Nazareth Area municipalities provide a variety of community facilities and services to meet the health, safety, welfare and educational needs of the region’s residents... The region offers many park and outdoor recreation sites, including small municipal parks, Jacobsburg State Park and numerous trails, providing opportunities for a healthier lifestyle and improved well-being of its residents. Municipalities will need to ensure access to all residents for the enjoyment of these facilities."
So if municipalities should provide quality of life for its residents through its parks and outdoor recreation, how can it do that if other municipality entities are willing to dump their human waste by-product on the properties surrounding these quality of life investments? What kind of plan is NAZPLAN if Bethlehem or Allentown can come in and dump its sewage next to the Nazareth Borough Park and say "suck it up Nazareth". There's a reason Sewer Plants are located downwind and outside of towns. The smell is atrocious!
What a beautiful way to sell the Nazareth area for growth. Dump its waste in a neighboring township, and next to a taxpayer funded community park and recreation facility. Kudos Nazareth Borough leadership.
And further in the NAZPLAN (page 10):
"Policy 2.4: Educate and collaborate across public, private and governmental
entities on the effects of land use decision-making on resiliency and quality of life."
If this statement is in the NAZPLAN, just how much do they really believe in it if they are willing to dump on a neighboring community and its park system? How much did they pay for this NAZPLAN, if they don't really plan to follow any of it?
Stand up for what is right Nazareth and Nazareth leadership! Protect the quality of life for all, including your neighbors in Plainfield Township!
Now 2 others have confirmed BWWTP is dumping right into the review. Go be a journalist.
Sounds like the nazareth folks have bastardized the preserved farmland program. As usual, what starts out as a program for the benefit of a community gets taken advantage of by those who just don't care. Our tax dollars across the county always seem to be used for the wrong purpose. We always lose.
if Nazareth needed the Seiple farm property for necessary business, then why are they allowed to sell it? Why is it no longer necessary? Just because it's worth a ton more money? That stinks for the Seiple's. And what stops them from doing it to anyone else's land? Smells fishy, which means it probably is.
They should team up with the Lower Saucon supervisors to create a plan using an expanded landfill for the sludge, and call it a farm.
Problem solved.
Ed Boscola is a tour guide?
Interesting read of this paper based on some of the farmland preservation comments.
Sounds kinda bleak for our future. Sounds even more bleak for farmland preservation.
https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1870&context=pelr
Wow. Digesters do not eliminate solids from a wastewater treatment plant. . . . Make a note of the new experts that have done extensive research on the internet. Digester produce methane via a biological process that will never produce enough energy to run the plant. Sure, it can offset the operation cost but not completely satisfy the demand.
P.S. Bethlehem already uses anerobic digestion to meet state and federal requirements for land application.
While I admire Ms. Christman's passion, she needs to be careful when speaking as an authority on an issue she may not fully understand.
http://phoenixville.org/DocumentCenter/View/2995/April-5-2022-PXVNEO-Improves-Borough-Ecology
Anerobic digesters or Hydrothermal Carbonization. If you don't want to risk PFAS and PFOS, Hydrothermal Carbonization is the proper choice. If you just want to dump the sludge and save money while risking the land to over-pollution, then keep listening to companies like Synagro. Let's see the PFAS and PFOS testing of this sewage sludge that these municipal authorities are dumping on our farmland.
Well that would be great if Hydrothermal Carbonization actually destroyed those compounds. Unfortunately, this technology doesn’t come close to the temperatures needed to destroy fluorine carbon compounds. I know what Dan Spracklin is trying to sell and emphasis is on sell. The process may alter the form but does not destroy. You know what else alters PFOA/PFAS? Conventional wastewater treatment plants. Might want to stay in your lane before you pass yourself off as an expert, Linda.
OK, so you don't like HC either? So there is no technology that eliminates PFAS or PFOS? Great, we agree on something.
So can we also agree that no other industry is given a green light by 'lack of regulation' that allows dumping PFAS and PFOS and hundreds of other chemicals on land, let alone tax-payer funded preserved farmland?
Show me one other industry that is allowed to dump these chemicals on land, unregulated and I'll shut up. Mixing sewage waste with municipal waste is a problem. You know it, we all know it. The proper place for chemical dumping is NOT on our farmland to enter our groundwater and our food chains. I don't care how much money is funding this practice. It is not right and we all know it.
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