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A
blue ribbon committee of farmers, residents and experts was named
April 3, 2001, to develop solutions to complaints about the agricultural
use of biosolids -- sludge.
The Supervisors decided to send the prickly issue to a committee
after spending half their Tuesday meeting on March 20 listening to both sides
argue for and against the continued use of biosolids as a farm fertilizer.
Triggering the discussion was a recommendation from Supervisor
Bob Buster to ban biosolids use on county-owned land -- presumably targeted
at the Johnson Ranch property acquired as habitat but currently leased to a
grower who has used biosolids to fertilize his crops. Buster's recommendation
also proposed larger buffers around residential and other land uses.
Aiding farmers in the March 20 hearing was a parade of university
researchers, government officials and citizens testifying about the usefulness of
the product, the necessity of disposing of it, and the level of safety of its use.
All acknowledged that smell is a problem.
Opponents attacked biosolids for the potential risk. One opponent
suggested that biosolids could spread HIV, the cause of AIDS, and could be the
transmitter of the agricultural pest Pierce's disease, disregarding earlier expert
testimony that any pathogens remaining in biosolids are no longer present within
24 to 48 hours of land application.
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