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San Bernardino County, Calif., Agrees to Sludge-Facility Report

Posted on: Thursday, 14 July 2005, 18:00 CDT

Jul. 13--SAN BERNARDINO - Roughly 30 people traveled all the way from the desert east of Barstow to decry what a sludge plant proposed for their community.

"My first-graders can tell you it stinks, and it attracts flies," Joke Reeder told the county Board of Supervisors during its regular meeting Tuesday.

The board unanimously agreed to have a full environmental impact report done on the proposal.

A company called Nursery Products LLC wants to move its sludge-processing operation from Adelanto to a 79-acre site just north of Interstate 40 near the desert community of Newberry Springs.

Sludge is the solid material left behind after the sewage-treatment process. The formal name for the material is biosolids, and is heavily regulated to limit contaminants and disease-causing microbes.

Further treatment, as proposed by the company, can make the material usable as agricultural fertilizer.

The city of Adelanto is suing the company for suspected violations at its operation there.

Adelanto's director of code enforcement, Kevin Murphy, said the city has worked for about two years on the suspected problems with Nursery Products.

The Nov. 14, 2003, notice of violation states, "The project ... generates offensive odors, vectors (predominantly flies) and wind-borne dust and debris on surrounding properties and in the public right of way.'

The residents who testified during Tuesday's lengthy hearing all commented on how clean their community is compared to urban areas, and worried the project would ruin their lifestyles.

"I feel it has the potential to be another Hinkley," said Francis Farrington, referring to another small San Bernardino County town that suffered major groundwater pollution made famous by the movie "Erin Brockovich."

Residents supported a full environmental impact report, which they hope will answer some of their questions about health effects, traffic, air quality and other issues.

The project had gone to the Planning Commission in June with a much less stringent environmental review. After an outcry from the public and concern by some commission members, the project developer and county planning officials decided a full review was the best way to proceed.

The developer will pay for the report, but the county will select the consultant to do the report.

The company hopes the report will calm the fears people have about the project.

"People don't understand the process and get scared," said Jeff Meberg, managing partner of Nursery Products.

He denied there are any continuing problems with flies, odors or dust at the Adelanto site. Originally, grass was accepted there for composting and he readily admitted grass stinks.

That's why grass has not been accepted there for more than a year, he said.

Convincing residents the project is acceptable will be a tough road.

Some also worry the project could contaminate the underground water supply.

"The groundwater is really close" to the surface, said Katherine Shier. "I don't want a poop farm either."

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Copyright (c) 2005, San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: San Bernardino County Sun

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