L.A. OFFICIALS MAY CHALLENGE KERN BAN ON IMPORTED SLUDGE.Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. officials said Wednesday they are considering a lawsuit to challenge Kern voters' decision to keep L.A. from trucking its sewage sludge to the other county. The Kern ban came even as L.A. officials launched an experimental project to inject sludge beneath the ground in San Pedro. Kern voters easily passed Measure E late Tuesday to prohibit the use of highly treated human waste, or biosolids biosolids Sewage sludge, the residues remaining from the treatment of sewage. For use as a fertilizer in agricultural applications, biosolids must first be stabilized through processing, such as digestion or the addition of lime, to reduce concentrations of heavy metals and , as fertilizer in unincorporated areas of their county. The initiative, which takes effect within six months, was aimed at blocking Los Angeles from trucking 750 tons of biosolids per day to the city-owned Green Acres Farm in Kern. The city now could be forced to spend up to $21 million per year to truck its sludge to Arizona. But Los Angeles officials said they are considering their options and a lawsuit is likely. ``There's a pretty clear understanding that legal action will ensue,'' said Councilwoman Jan Perry Jan Perry (circa. 1954 —) currently represents the 9th district of the Los Angeles City Council. External links
Preceded by Rita Walters Los Angeles City Councilwoman , who heads the City Council's Energy and Environment Committee. City attorneys are still evaluating the case and will advise the City Council in the coming weeks, Perry said. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is moving forward with an experiment to reduce the city's dependence on the Kern farm by injecting up to 400 tons of sludge into rock a mile beneath Terminal Island in San Pedro. The proposed project has been reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and and is now open for public comment. Under the plan, three wells would be drilled at the Terminal Island Treatment Plant. One well would be used to inject the slurry of sterilized ster·il·ize tr.v. ster·il·ized, ster·il·iz·ing, ster·il·iz·es 1. To make free from live bacteria or other microorganisms. 2. waste into the spongelike sandstone where oil has been extracted. Two other wells would be used to monitor the spread of the biosolids in the rock. ``Over time, the expectation is that the material should break down into its constituent products: methane and carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. ,'' said David Albright, manager of the EPA's groundwater office for the southwest region. The slurry will be injected about one-half mile below the lowest groundwater level, and EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. officials said the project should have no impact on drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. . Bureau of Sanitation Division Manager Omar Moghaddam said the project would begin with 50 tons of biosolids per day and could eventually reach 400 tons. That could cut the cost of the city's biosolid program by more than $2 million a year. Moghaddam also said there would be less pollution from trucking biosolids to Kern County and fewer greenhouse gases from decomposing sludge. But the project has raised concern among some environmentalists. kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 |
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