Public Education Needed on Science, Benefits of Biosolids Recycling; WEF Comments on EPA Response to NRC Biosolids (Sewage Sludge) Report

4/16/2003

From: Lori Burkhammer of the Water Environment Federation, 703-684-2400

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 16 -- The Water Environment Federation (WEF) has issued an editorial authored by WEF Executive Director Bill Bertera entitled, "Biosolids Recycling...A Safe Practice and Sound Science in the Public Interest." The piece was prompted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed strategy, filed in the Federal Register on April 9, to respond to the recommendations in the National Research Council's National Academy of Sciences July 2002 report, "Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices."

The NAS report concluded, "there is no documented scientific evidence to indicate that the Part 503 sewage sludge regulation has failed to protect human health." However, according to Bertera, this same report was "couched in terms that could, by dint of its ambiguity and lack of clarity, raise scientifically unwarranted doubts about the land application of biosolids. The EPA has now definitively responded to the NRC report and reiterated the scientific conclusions of the NRC committee, that the land application of biosolids, based on what we know scientifically, remains a viable and beneficial management option."

The science of biosolids and land application has continued to evolve over the past ten years since the regulation was issued and the Federation supports EPA's commitment of further inquiry into the process to avoid any uncertainty that could result in confusion among local communities. While WEF is confident that current evidence points toward positive benefits of biosolids recycling, the primary goal of the Federation and the water quality community is to protect public health and ensure good environmental stewardship.

WEF, a not-for-profit technical and educational organization, supports EPA's commitment to further inquiry, "not out of concern that there is evidence that such an inquiry is needed, but because there are areas in which our knowledge needs enhancing and because the public is better served by more comprehensive information," concluded Bertera.

To view the editorial in its entirety, visit http://www.wef.org/PublicInfo/editorial03.jhtml. To obtain the editorial for publication, please contact Lori Burkhammer at lburkhammer@wef.org or 703-684-2400 ext. 7020. To learn more about the activities of the Water Environment Federation, please visit http://www.wef.org.

------ Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes water quality professionals from 79 Member Associations in 32 countries.