E.P.A. to Study Use of Waste From Sewage as Fertilizer

New York Times ^ | January 3, 2004 | JENNIFER 8. LEE

[Mamzelle]

re: First make sure the waste isn't contaminated with heavy metals and industrial chemicals and then use it to fertilize clear cut forests,etc. )))

Well, that's good thinking--use it first on forestry--where the products are lumber/paper/etc rather than direct ag. Considering the new plantings because of the pine bark beetle, and the fact that most of these timber holdings are relatively far away from populated areas--has much appeal.

[libstripper]

Actually, the water is re-used. The sewage treatment plants discharge it into streams and rivers, and downstream municipalities and industries pump it out, use it for drinking and other purposes, treat their sewage, and return it to the rivers and streams.

For esample, Chicago is at the source of the Illinois River, sends its treated sewage into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and the Canal drops all that waste into the Illinois River. The Illinois flows into the Mississippi, and millions of people usse the waters of the Mississippi, including the treated Chicago sewage.

[hoosierham]

Agribusinessmen (not what I or most think of as farmers)who raise huge numbers of cattle or hogs or chickens in small areas, are about as far from being good stewards of the land as you could get. They constantly strive for "efficiency" which is promoted by the gov't and people's demand for cheap food. The old-time handling of solid waste has given way to mechanized systems that use lots of water to move the same amount of feces with little labor. Obviously the soil can accept only so much at one time.

I think the farmers who had deep respect for nature have been squeezed out by a system that doesn't take ALL the costs into consideration.

"Organic" farmers do a much better job of leaving the enviroment in good shape for future generations but few wish to pay the higher prices for their products AND many gov't programs actually work against those who don't use lots of chemicals. The American farmer of the 1950s probably had it as good as anyone because he could support his whole family on a modest well-run 80 acres,well,east of the Mississippi, anyway.

[Revel]

I think you make very good points. To many animals in too small an area. The fields they are dumping on actually contain ponds of waste water. Normal rain fall does not produce these ponds in the same fields. That is how much they are dumping. Thing is that all of the underground water supplys now contain nitrate. And the health department is putting preasure on the well owners. They think that if the wells are drilled deeper then this will clear it up. Of course this could cause a lot of other problems. And the money to do this comes out of the well owners pockets. Durring the summer when the crops are being grown and they are not dumping then the nitrate levels drop back down. But the official word is that they cannot prove that the farmers are the ones causing it. What a bunch of government crap!