ORDINANCE
NO. 812
AN
ORDINANCE ADDING CHAPTER 8.129 TO THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY CODE:
PROHIBITION
OF LAND APPLICATION OF CLASS B SEWAGE SLUDGE
Section 1: FINDINGS
The Board of Supervisors hereby makes
the following findings of fact:
1. On March 20, 2000, the Office of the U.S. Inspector General
prepared an Audit Report entitled WATER, Biosolids Management and
Enforcement. The Objectives of the
Report "were to determine whether (1) EPA oversight of biosolids land
application can be made more effective, and whether (2) the Government
Performance and Results Act goal for biosolids is appropriate and readily
reportable. The report concluded that
at the present time the EPA cannot assure the public that current land
application practices established in regulations issued by the EPA appearing in
40 CFR 503.1 et seq. are protective of human health and the environment.
2. One of the senior scientists in the EPA was Dr. David
Lewis. Dr. Lewis publicly questioned
the EPA's commitment to "good science", after the EPA formulated its
regulations in 40 CFR 503.1 et seq. governing the land application of sewage
sludge. Dr. Lewis' criticisms of the
Department led to disciplinary actions which, when challenged under
whistleblower protection laws, resulted in the following testimony.
a. Dr. Rosemarie Russo, Director of the Ecosystems Research
Division of EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory, testified that the EPA
failed to conduct research in six areas, including pathogens, i.e. areas that
were vitally important to determining the public health risk associated with
land application of sludge. She stated
that, due to this failure, the sludge rules in 40 CFR 503.1 et seq. were not "scientifically defensible."
b. Dr. James Smith, a Senior Environmental Engineer for the EPA
and a pathogen expert, conceded in his deposition testimony that the 503 sludge
rules were never subjected to a vigorous risk assessment based on the harmful
health effects which may arise from bacteria in the sludge. He also admitted that Dr. Lewis' concern
about "undetected pathogens hiding in sludge" raised a
"significant issue."
3. The EPA has now requested a
review of risk assessment of land application of Biosolids to the National
Research Council of the National Academy of Science and Engineering. The National Academy has been tasked by
Congress to advise on scientific matters of national scope.
4. Currently, there are unanswered questions about the safety, environmental
effects, and propriety of land application of sewage sludge, even when the
sludge is applied in accordance with federal, state and local regulations. Sludge contains heavy metals, pathogenic
organisms, chemical pollutants, and synthetic organic compounds, which may pose
an unknown degree of risk to public health and the environment. There currently is a lack of adequate
scientific understanding concerning the risk that land application of sludge
may pose to soils, air, water and to human and plant and animal health. In addition, such application may cause loss
of confidence in agricultural products from Riverside County as well as the
potential loss of use of productive agricultural lands. Therefore, with the degree of uncertainty
that exists in terms of risk, the continuation of the practice of the land
application of sewage sludge may unnecessarily jeopardize the public and the
environment. In order to adequately
protect the public health and the safety and welfare of Riverside County and
its residents, it is the intent of this chapter that the land application of
sewage sludge shall be prohibited in the unincorporated area of Riverside
County.
Section 2: AUTHORITY
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the police power granted to Riverside County by Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution. In addition, 40 CFR 503.5, 33 USCA 1345(e) and California Water Code Section 13274(i) grant authority to local government to impose more stringent requirements on the use, disposal and land application of sewage sludge in order to protect public health and the environment from the adverse effect of such sludge.
Section 3: DEFINITIONS
A. Department means an authorized
representative of the Health Department of the County of Riverside.
B. Applier is any person engaged in
the Land Application of Sludge.
C. Class
B Sewage Sludge is treated solid, semi-solid or liquid residues generated during the
treatment of sewage in a wastewater treatment works that meet 40 CFR Part 503
requirements specified in 503.32(b) for pathogen reduction, 503.33 for vector
attraction reduction, and 503.13, Table 1 for pollutant concentrations. These residues include, but are not limited
to, scum or solids removed in primary, secondary or advanced wastewater
treatment processes and material derived from sewage sludge. Sludge does not include ash generated during
the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage incinerator or grit and screenings
generated during preliminary treatment of sewage. Sludge, as used in this chapter, excludes biosolid products that
are in a bag or container packaged for routine retail sales through regular
retail outlets which are primarily used for residential landscaping.
D. County
means the
County of Riverside, State of California.
E. Land
apply means
the spraying or spreading of sludge onto the land surface, the injection of
sludge below the surface, or the incorporation of sludge into the soil so that
it can either condition the soil or fertilize crops or vegetation grown in the
soil.
F. Person
means any
individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation,
company, limited liability company, estate, trust, receiver, syndicate, city,
county, district, special district, waste water treatment facility, political
subdivision, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
Section 4: LAND APPLICATION OF CLASS B SEWAGE SLUDGE IS PROHIBITIED
Effective November 25, 2001 it shall be unlawful for any person to land apply Class B sewage sludge to any land within the unincorporated areas of Riverside County.
Section 5: PENALTY FOR VIOLATION
Any person violating any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof is punishable by a fine of not more than $1000 or by confinement in the County jail for up to six months or both. Every violation of this chapter shall be construed as a separate offense for each day during which such violation continues and shall be punishable as provided in this section. The court or the County may require the violator to clean up at the violator's expense any illegally applied or deposited sludge material and dispose of all such materials in an approved, environmentally safe and clean manner.
Section 6 :
VIOLATON CONSTITUTES A PUBLIC NUISANCE
In addition, any violation of this chapter is deemed
to be a public nuisance and may be abated or enjoined by the Health Officer or
his or her designee irrespective of any other remedy hereinabove provided.
Section 7: EFFECTIVE DATE
This ordinance shall be effective 30 days after its adoption.