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sludge generated outside the county but said that differentiation is of “doubtful legality.”
(In an opinion given in May 1984, former Virginia Attorney General Gerald L. Baliles held that discriminating between people proposing to apply “resident” versus “nonresident” sludge to county land would be of “doubtful validity” without a set of facts which reasonably could support classifying sludge by its source.)
“If the county has regulations more stringent than the state’s, would you honor those?” asked Supervisor Charles Estes.
The SWCB has issued permits in Caroline County which has an absolute moratorium against land application of sludge, according to Mr. Miller. “So if you look at that, you’d have to say no.”
He agreed that a locality can adopt its own permit system. “But there’s a question as to how strict you all can be . . . That will probably have to be decided in the courts,” he said. “If the county doesn’t want it doesn’t mean we won’t issue a permit,” Mr. Miller added.
“There’s a lot of gray area . . . The test case is waiting in Caroline County,” said Mr. Luke. He noted that Rappahannock can be more restrictive in its permit than the state but must provide reasons for its more stringent regulations.
“The threat of Blue Plains sludge is a very real and present one,” maintained Mr. Frazier, referring to waste from Washington, D.C.’s, sewage treatment plant. “You don’t seem to have control over contract haulers,” he said, asking for the health department’s and SWCB’s fines and penalties for violating sludge application regulations.
“Enforcement ranges from saying ‘Stop doing that!’ to going to the AG’s (attorney general’s) office,” Mr. Miller answered. As an example of a strong response, he cited a case in Essex where a consent order was issued, warning a contract hauler that automatic fines would ensue if sludge was again spread on an unapproved site.
Noting her opposition to land application, Beverly Massie found it “inconceivable” that the health department and SWCB have spent so much time on establishing regulations for land application of sludge without specifying penalties for violation of those regulations.
Asked if there has been an instance of disease transmission or ground water contamination arising in the decades of sludge application
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