Answers to questions about... Biosolids What are biosolids? Where are the biosolids applied? What are the benefits to land application of biosolids? Why would farmers use biosolids? Do biosolids have a bad smell? Are biosolids that are land applied comprised of everything you flush down the toilet and everything industry puts down the drain? What is the impact of biosolids land application to the consumer? What is the difference between biosolids and sewage sludge? Are biosolids safe? Where can I find out more about the regulations? Why do we have biosolids? How are biosolids generated and processed? Why are biosolids recycled? How do biosolids help the soil and crops? Is biosolids recycling profitable for farmers? What are biosolids? Biosolids are nutrient-rich organic matter resulting from the treatment of wastewater. When treated and processed, this by-product can be recycled and applied like a fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth. What is the difference between biosolids and sewage sludge? Sewage sludge is made up of solids separated from the waste stream after primary and secondary treatment. Biosolids are sewage sludge that has been carefully treated, often biologically, to a higher quality, significantly reducing the number of pathogens, producing an environmentally safe product that can be recycled into the environment. Where are the biosolids applied? Farmers and gardeners have been recycling biosolids for ages. Biosolids help grow crops, fertilize gardends and parks and reclaim mining sites. Recycling of biosolids on land has increased over the past 20 years. Over 50 percent of all biosolids in the U.S. are managed through recycling. Land application of biosolids takes place in all 50 states. Currently, EWA biosolids are recycled on farm fields in Yuma County, Arizona. What are the benefits to land application of biosolids? Land application of biosolids is beneficial to farmers, municipalities, and the community. Biosolids recycling and reuse add nutrients and positive soil characteristics to agricultural land, which increases crop proction. Recycling biosolids saves local and state governments significant amounts of money through lower management costs and keeping biosolids out of landfills and placing them where they can be beneficially used helps preserve valuable landfill space. Why would farmers use biosolids? Biosolids provide farmers with $60 to $160 per acre worth of fertilizer, including many essential nutrients that the farmer may not normally replenish in the soil. Biosolids contain valuable organic matter that improves health, quality and structure of the soil. Do biosolids have a bad smell? Biosolids may have their own distinctive odor depending on the type of treatment it has been through. Some biosolids may have only a slight musty, ammonia odor. Others have a stronger odor that may be offensive to some people. Compounds that contain sulfur and ammonia, which are both plant nutrients, cause most odors. Are biosolids that are land applied comprised of everything you flush down the toilet and everything industry puts down the drain? This question implies that the biosolids that are being recycled to land are raw, untreated, and full of toxic materials. This is not the case. Biosolids that are land applied are carefully treated and used in accordance with Part 503 rule and have their quality further assured by required industrial pretreatment. What is the impact of biosolids land application to the consumer? Because land application is considerably less costly than the next available biosolids management option, the savings are passed on to consumers through reduced taxes and lower sewer and water bills. These benefits are also passed on to farmers by providing them with an economical and beneficial fertilizing material. Are biosolids safe? Decades of studies have demonstrated that biosolids can be safely used on non-human consumed crops. The National Academy of Sciences has reviewed current practices, public health concerns and regulator standards, and has concluded that "the use of these materials in the production of crops for human consumption when practiced in accordance with existing federal guidelines and regulations, presents negligible risk to the consumer, to crop production and to the environment." In addition, an epidemiological study of the health of farm families using biosolids showed that the use of biosolids was safe. Where can I find out more about the regulations? The biosolids rule is described in the EPA publication, A Plain English Guide to the EPA Part 503 Biosolids Rule. This guide states and interprets the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 503 rule for the general reader. This guide is also available in hard copy. In addition to the Plain English Guide, EPA has prepare A Guide to the Biosolids Risk Assessments for the EPA Part 503 Rule which shows the many steps followed to develop the scientifically defensible, safe set of rules (also available from EPA in hard copy.) The cited references provide valuable information about the Part 503 land application requirements. However, if the information in the references is different form the requirements in the Part 503 rule, the Part 503 rule requirements apply. Why do we have biosolids? Thirty years ago, thousands of American cities dumped their raw sewage directly into the nation's rivers, lakes, and bays. Today's wastewater treatment technology separates the water from the solids during treatment, allowing discharged water to be safer and solids to be recycled back into the nutrient cycle. How are biosolids generated and processed? The treatment of biosolids begins before the wastewater reaches the EWA wastewater treatment plant. Upstream of the treatment faciltiy, the EWA enforces pre-treatment regulations that require industrial facilities to treat their wastewater and remove pollutants before it is discharged into the sewer. Once the wastewater reaches the plant, the wastewater goes through physical, chemical and biological treatment processes, which clean the wastewater and remove solids. The solids are further processed to reduce disease-causing organisms. Treated solids are then processed to reduce the water content and then are considered biosolids. Why are biosolid recycled? Recycling keeps this material out of rapidly disappearing landfills. Biosolids recycling is the best means of returning to the soil, nutrients and organic matter that were originally removed in agricultural products and consumed by the public. Land application of biosolids is recycling a resource, just like recycling newspapers or bottles. If the right safeguards are taken, biosolids recycling can be environmentally sound and even beneficial to certain soils. How do biosolids help the soil and crops? Biosolids enrich the soil with essential nutrients and organic matter. Plants need a complex mixture of nutrients, soil, air, and water to grow well. Biosolids contain a full range of essential plant nutrients that release slowley, as the plants need them during the growing season. The organic matter acts as a sponge for water, nutrients, and air where soil organisms can prosper and plant roots can better develop. This "sponge" also reduces the possibility of leaching nutrients to the groundwater. The result is improved crop production, less water runoff, less soil erosion, and more water conservation. Is biosolids recycling profitable for farmers? Encina's contractors haul, apply and incorporate biosolids into appropriate fields at not cost to the farmer. The biosolids provide the farmer with an opportunity to improve the profitability of his or her farm through greater crop yields., better crop quality, reduced chemical use, and increased water retention. If proper safeguards are followed, biosolids recycling on farmland can be a safe, reliable, and cost-effective method for managing biosolids and increasing field productivitiy.