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The sludge debate
Spreading sewage sludge as fertilizer nutures controversy as well as crops.
After quieting for a couple years, the debate is heating up again in Rappahannock, because the county soon must decide how to handle sludge from the Sperryville wastewater treatment plant. The county may have to lift its moratorium on sludge spreading, although some contend that wouldn’t be necessary to accomodate ; local needs.
Trucking sludge to Fauquier, where its use has become commonplace, could be a solution — at least temporarily, while local Officials sort things out, or permanently.
But, if the county decides to accept sludge, it also should follow gFauquier’s lead by establishing a “tipping fee,” paid by haulers who Dring the sewage treatment byproduct to the country for disposal. The revenues allow Fauquier to pay for supervision of the ; application. For, as our neighbors to the east discovered, the state simply is not equipped to adequately monitor sludge spreading. It’s up to the county to safeguard the local envirnoment and health of its citizens.
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