Virginia farmer GLENN WITT of Bedford thinks sludge/biosolid opponents are attacking farmers.
He writes in a letter to the editor: (see letter below)
"When people attack biosolids out of ignorance and emotion, they are attacking farmers. I’m
sure they don’t mean us any harm, but they are doing harm just the same. They need to calm
down, listen the facts about biosolids and have some regard for the people who help put the
food on their table."
It is clear that no one every informed Mr. Witt that exposure to the pollutants in sludge/biosolids
could/will cause death - disease - cancer -and worse, through the air, water and food chain (40
CFR 503.9(t). The National Sludge Alliance fact sheet # 129 http://www.penweb.
org/issues/sludge/129.htm points out. "According to the EPA's Office of Research and
Development (ORD) (1999), if sludge with any of these pathogens in it is applied to land or
placed on a surface disposal site where humans and animals could be exposed, it is probably
being illegally applied." (EPA/625/R/92/013) It also points out that EPA is well aware that
pathogens are long lived in soil and on food crops.
Not only that, but farmers have been leading the effort to stop this act of terrorism on our food
supply and public health. The Washington based organization HELP FOR SEWAGE VICTIMS
was the first to bring this to public attention in 1992, with a paper presented at the New Mexico
Governor's Conference on the Environment. Farmers gathered much of the scientific
documentation for this website. Farmers discovered that run off from sludge sites will destroy
the farmland with chemicals, disease causing organisms, excess calcium as well as excess
nitrogen and phosphorus. Farmers also discovered that when their land is destroyed, EPA and
the State will be the first to blame the farmer for the problems created by sludge/biosolids.
EPA and the States know there is no science to support sludge/biosolids use as a fertilizer. In
fact, where sludge/biosolids is concerned, they have destroyed 150 years of agricultural
research. EPA has admitted that it did not consider any of the cancer causing pollutants in
sludge/biosolids in its risk assessment to cause or induce cancer.
Letters to the editor for Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 25, 2005
Biosolids better than fertilizer for farm lands
I am a second-generation farmer in Bedford County. My father and I manage more than 1,000
acres for the production of beef cattle and timber. We have been applying biosolids on our
pastures and hay fields for 14 years. We believe biosolids are safe when applied correctly.
Some people who don’t earn their living from farming don’t seem to understand that the land
application of biosolids is a safe and effective way to help preserve Virginia’s family farms and the
green space that we all value. Those lush fields of corn, soybeans, hay and stands of timber that
you see on your drive through the country are not state parks. They are businesses that must
make a profit - or at least break even - to survive.
Those farms are the product of the blood, sweat and tears of hundreds of farm families and their
investment of millions of dollars for seed, feed, fertilizer, labor and equipment.
My experience with biosolids is typical. My family lives in the middle of a 30-acre hayfield that has
received biosolids for years. We are healthy and happy, and so are our cattle. According to the
opponents of biosolids, we should all be dead by now.
Our farm is much more productive because of biosolids. We get double the rolls of hay from our
biosolids fields. Biosolids are not just a cheap substitute for chemical fertilizer; they enrich the soil
with organic material and improve resistance to drought.
A few years ago, I spent about $6,000 on a chemical fertilizer application for spring hay season.
Unfortunately, it didn’t rain for weeks, with the result that the chemical nitrogen was useless and my
investment was wasted. In contrast, the natural nitrogen in biosolids doesn’t burn up during dry
spells and it produces lush growth as soon as it does rain.
Decades of scientific research and practical experience support the safety and benefits of
biosolids. The agencies that we trust to protect our health and our environment tell us that biosolids
are safe and are good for the environment including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the
Virginia Department of Health, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Virginia Tech
Extension Service and our own legislators in the Virginia General Assembly.
When people attack biosolids out of ignorance and emotion, they are attacking farmers. I’m sure
they don’t mean us any harm, but they are doing harm just the same. They need to calm down,
listen the facts about biosolids and have some regard for the people who help put the food on their
table.
GLENN WITT
Bedford