3/2/2008 9:40:00 PM Sierra Club asks cities to stop dumping near water
Courtesy/Sierra Club,Tom Slaback
Chemistry professor Tom Pettit of Prescott stands in the Upper Verde River while measuring its flow for the Sierra Club, with the help of Bob and Joanne Grossman of Prescott.
Tests of Verde River show signs of pollution
Sierra Club members have been monitoring the Upper Verde River's water quality and quantity for more than a year, and they have recorded increases in nitrogen and phosphate at the upper site just below Stillman Lake.
They also have detected a common detergent compound with the name nonylphenol at the headwaters, a chemical that Europe bans, said Tom Slaback, president of the local Sierra Club chapter.
"As an endocrine disruptor, it is known to cause sex change in fish and hormonal changes in other organisms," Slaback wrote to the Upper Verde River Watershed Protection Coalition.
"Pathogens (bacteria, viruses and parasites) in Class B sludge are enough of a concern but it is now recognized that a wide range of harmful pollutants are present in sewage sludge and effluent," Slaback wrote. "This is because treatment does not remove them."
He cited an EPA Office of Inspector General conclusion that a lack of data and oversight means the EPA cannot assure the public that current sludge land application processes protect human health and the environment.
"Current sludge regulations address only a handful of contaminants and we have little information on thousands of chemicals that go down the drain," said Ellen Harrison, director of the Cornell Waste Management Institute. Slaback also cited her in his report.
PRESCOTT - The Sierra Club is pushing local municipalities to review their contracts with a company that the state accuses of improper practices while spreading municipal wastewater treatment plant sludge near local waterways.
Tom Slaback, president of the local Yavapai Chapter of the Sierra Club, asked the Upper Verde River Watershed Protection Coalition this past month to take the lead on resolving issues related to the company bearing the name Southwest Land Reclamation LLC of Paulden. The coalition's members include Prescott and Prescott Valley, which contract with the company.
Slaback said he tried to meet recently with Prescott officials in person, but to no avail. He wants the Prescott City Council to discuss the issue at a public meeting.
The coalition's technical advisers concluded the issue is outside the scope of the coalition's mission, so the coalition could consider whether to add water quality protection to its mission.
The coalition declined Wednesday to add water quality to its mission. Members said they want to continue to focus on water quantity.
"If we allow the Verde River to be flowing as a sewer, it's the same result as if we have no water at all," Slaback replied.
Several members did say that water quality is an important issue. However, they said their hands are full with water quantity issues.
"I was totally surprised by the (Slaback) presentation last month," Prescott Valley Vice Mayor Mike Flannery said. "We're going to try to work with them and try to improve what they're doing currently. I do want to say thank you for bringing that forward."
Company complaints:
Paulden neighbors have complained about the company's sludge-dumping practices for years.
The company spreads Prescott and Prescott Valley sludge on the Big Chino Wash floodplain about a half-mile above Sullivan Lake, which is within a mile of the Verde River headwaters. It also spreads the sludge along Ash Creek on the Orme Ranch, and on two cornfields along the Verde River in the Camp Verde area.
The Sierra Club wants Prescott and Prescott Valley to stop using these sites near waterways.
The company already received a "notice of violation" from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in October for its operation along Ash Creek.
Then this past month, it received a notification that it has "potential deficiencies" at its Big Chino site, an action that could lead to another notice of violation.
The Ash Creek notice states the company is violating six state codes including: It did not register the site with the state agency, it is applying biosolids to a low-pH site, it failed to provide three types of documentation to Orme Ranch, and it did not churn the sludge into the soil within six hours of its application.
At the Big Chino site on the Larsen property, the January inspection states that the company failed to wash the sludge off the delivery truck before leaving the site, and cattle were grazing in the sludge field.
"So you want your steaks well done," Slaback cracked.
Slaback said the Big Chino site is his main concern since it is so close to the river's headwaters, and at least two times this month he has observed receding floodwaters on the site.
Several attempts to locate a phone number for Southwest Land Reclamation were unsuccessful.
Contact the reporter at jdodder@prescottaz.com
Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, March 07, 2008
Article comment by:
Doris Cellarius
Dear Editor:
I believe that at the very least the City of Prescott should step up to the mark and require its contractor to not apply its sludge to sites that during rainstorms, will pollute our waters and the Verde River. The picture shows floodwater water flowing right off sludge applied land into Big Chino Wash.
EPA regulations say the generator of sewage sludge, the City, is responsible for making sure applications are done properly.
Or Yavapai County could take action. State law authorizes a county to protect its waters:
49-255.03. Sewage sludge program; rules and requirements
49-112. County regulation; standards
A. When authorized by law, a county may adopt a rule, ordinance or other regulation that is more stringent than or in addition to a provision of this title or rule adopted by the director or any board or commission authorized to adopt rules pursuant to this title if all of the following conditions are
met:
1. The rule, ordinance or other regulation is necessary to address a peculiar local condition.
2. There is credible evidence that the rule, ordinance or other regulation is either:
(a) Necessary to prevent a significant threat to public health or the environment that results from a peculiar local condition and is technically and economically feasible.
For us "city folks" sewage sludge may appear to "go away", but it impacts the environment, our water, and the people who live where it is put on the land. Lets ask local government to do the right thing.
Doris Cellarius
621 Park Ave.
Prescott
Posted: Monday, March 03, 2008
Article comment by:
Nuff Said
Welcome to "Sana Prescott"
Posted: Monday, March 03, 2008
Article comment by:
Paul Dunn
Perhaps the Sierra Club should also request that illegal immigrants crossing into Arizona along its southern border stop using sites near waterways to dump their trash.
Posted: Monday, March 03, 2008
Article comment by:
Harry
So for the past month or so (at least), the cities have been aware of their contribution to the poisoning of the Verde and nearby lands, and they've done nothing to stop it. Lovely....
