Schoharie County Imposes Six-Month Moratorium On Biosolids Use

By Chris English

SCHOHARIE COUNTY — Temporarily banning the use of biosolids turned out to be a no-brainer type of decision for the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors.

The BOS hesitated not a little in voting at its Friday, May 16 meeting to impose a six-month moratorium on biosolids use. During the temporary ban, a lot of study and research will be done on the potential harmful effects of biosolids, which are the organic matter that is left after sewage is treated at public and private plants.

The county's Department of Health will lead the study and research effort while also being the lead enforcement agency on the biosolids moratorium. Schoharie County actually had a moratorium in effect before Friday's action by virtue of an executive order and emergency declaration signed by BOS Chairman Bill Federice of Conesville.

Local Law No. 5 approved Friday puts a six-month moratorium on the "purchase, sell, offer for sale, apply or offer to apply biosolids or compost derived from biosolids from a wastewater treatment facility for the purposes of application to agricultural, residential or commercial lands located within Schoharie County."

It continues: "Any person or entity who/that violates this Local Law shall be subject to a civil payment of a fine not to exceed more than $1,000 per violation/per day."

Among the potential harmful effects of biosolids are that some might contain "forever" chemicals like PFOS and PFOA and also heavy metals. The matter has been under discussion in the county for several weeks after Middleburgh farmer Fred Risse brought the possible negative impacts up at an Agricultural Committee meeting.

Risse attended and spoke at Friday's county BOS meeting and also introduced several out-of-county speakers knowledgeable on the subject.

"We don't want to poison the land," said Douglas LaGrange, Town Supervisor for the Town of New Scotland in Albany County. "There have been lots of studies over the last several years that have shown PFOAs and other stuff."

Tracy Frisch, an environmental activist from Argyle in Washington County, said she has been very involved in the biosolids issue for many years.

"The state seems more concerned with getting rid of sewage sludge (biosolids) than with food safety," she said.

Greene County environmentalist Mary Finneran added that "to put it (biosolids) where our foods are growing is heinous and awful. This is a people issue and we need to make sure our people and animals are safe."

Schoharie County Agriculture Development Specialist Caroline Myran said that biosolids are often sent to landfills for disposal but that New York State's landfills are projected to be full in 14 years. That's one reason why the alternate use of biosolids as a fertilizer and soil amendment came about, she added.

Myran said biosolids used in Schoharie County come in pellet form from Massachusetts, ironic since officials in that state are actively working to regulate and limit their use.

Several at the Friday BOS meeting were critical of New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation for what they felt was its too liberal promotion of the use of biosolids as a fertilizer.

Information on the DEC website states that the state requires checks for PFOS and PFOA before the use of biosolids on soil, and that wastewater treatment facilities are required to test biosolids for PFAS compounds.

"Biosolids can be recycled and utilized as a soil amendment when properly treated and processed," the DEC website noted. "Biosolids treatment and quality standards have been developed to promote the safe use of the material."

County Supervisor Earlin Rosa of Seward noted that "we give the Amish a hard time about digging a hole and putting an outhouse over it, but with this (biosolids) we are poisoning our generation and food sources. We're just killing ourselves."

Supervisor Alicia Terry of Gilboa, Chair of the Agriculture Committee, added that the six-month moratorium will allow the health department to collect and analyze data on the use of biosolids.

In other actions from the May 16 BOS meeting, the Supervisors on the recommendation of county Attorney Mike West pushed back a public hearing on the possible acquisition of land in the Town of Sharon until the July meeting.

The land at 265 Engleville Road is needed for replacement of a bridge across a creek. West explained that just one more signature is needed for the county to be able to acquire the parcel without the need for going through the eminent domain process, and that signature should be secured by the July meeting.