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By Kevin Allen
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
Rappahannock County residents and officials are not the only Virginians working to regulate sewage sludge in the commonwealth. Sludge has been front and center in the General Assembly this year as well.
Eight sludge-related bills have already been introduced in the Senate and House of Delegates this year. Half of those never made it out of committee, but four are still alive.
Sludge, also known as biosolids, is composed mostly of human waste that is treated to reduce the prevalence of disease-causing bacteria. It is sometimes used by farmers as a low-cost fertilizer.
The advantage of using sludge to enrich fields is that it saves farmers from having to buy more expensive commercially produced fertilizer and it prevents localities from having to pay to bury the product in landfills.
However, many residents in Rappahannock and other parts of Virginia are concerned sludge may pose long-term dangers to human health and the environment.
Del. Kathy Byron, RLynchburg, is sponsoring a bill that would consolidate the regulatory program for the land application of sludge under the authority of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Currently, the responsibility for sludge regulation is split between the DEQ and the Department of Health. The
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