ANTONOVICH CALLS FOR MEETING ON SLUDGE PERMITS : A.V. RESIDENTS CLAIM FERTILIZER WILL THREATEN GROUNDWATER, HEALTH.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

Supervisor Michael Antonovich called Tuesday for a special meeting of state water quality officials to discuss the use of sewer sludge as a fertilizer for Antelope Valley farms.

Treated Los Angeles sewer sludge has already been used or is being used on at least three of the valley's farms, and nine more have been given permission to do so, water officials said.

``Residents who live near the farms, where sludge from the Hyperion Treatment Plant is being used as a fertilizer, believe that it is a direct threat to their health and safety and to the water supply,'' Antonovich said.

Officials of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board - Lahontan Region said Tuesday they had not received Antonovich's request, but believe it can be accommodated.

The board is scheduled to meet Nov. 7-8 in Lancaster. The agenda has not yet been set, but will probably include a discussion of the sewer sludge issue, said Bob Dodds, assistant executive officer to the board.

``We know it is a hot topic right now,'' Dodds said.

Antonovich's request is coming at a time when a Maryland company, BioGro Division of Wheelabrator Clean Water Systems Inc., is appealing a July 23 decision by county officials to deny a permit for a 67-acre sludge composting plant.

The firm has used sludge as fertilizer for alfalfa in Maryland for several years.

Environmentalists this year helped torpedo a proposal to use sewage sludge on crops grown on Los Angeles Department of Airports land in Palmdale, but say they just discovered the other permits had been issued for farms elsewhere.

Antonovich said he shared the concerns of residents worried about the sludge's potential for pollution, and wants county supervisors to request that the California Regional Water Quality Board explain its procedure for issuing permits and address Antelope Valley residents' environmental concerns.

Water board engineer Hisam Baqai said that all nine of the recently approved permits allow use of the sludge for 90 days or less.

Proponents contend the sludge does not carry diseases or dangerous contaminants, and has proved helpful in improving soil and retaining water for crops. They also say using sludge is a natural way to return waste to the soil and keep it from polluting water supplies.

``When biosolids are applied under good agronomic practices, there is practically no potential for contamination of groundwater from heavy metals, organic compounds or nutrients in the biosolids,'' Alan B. Rubin, a senior scientist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, states in a letter regarding the airport land proposal.

But critics say the EPA is among the supporters of sludge as a fertilizer only because the agency is under pressure to find some way to dispose of the mountainous residue left at sewage treatment plants.

They accuse the agency of colluding with companies with a financial stake in sludge disposal, and say sludge can cause illness when it is blown onto neighboring property or seeps into the groundwater. If obtained from treatment plants that serve industrial areas, opponents say, the sludge may contain toxic chemicals such as the carcinogen dioxin.