RUNNER SEEKS SLUDGE REVIEW; STATE ASKED TO ASSESS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

Trying to find ways to give the Antelope Valley more control over the spreading of sludge, Assemblyman George Runner is asking state toxics officials to review the risks of the material being dispersed by winds.

In a letter sent Thursday to Jesse Huff, director of the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control, Runner asked for a review of the impact of using sludge as a soil application.

``It is our request that existing guidelines for the issuance of permits for composting facilities and sludge-spreading operations be studied to ascertain whether such guidelines consider certain factors prior to approval of the permits,'' Runner wrote. ``For instance, it is our belief that approval of such permits should be contingent upon consideration of operations during high wind conditions as well as operations performed upwind of population centers.''

The request was triggered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' approval in July of a conditional-use permit for a proposed open-air sludge composting plant.

The supervisors voted 3-1 to approve the permit for Maryland-based BioGro, with Michael D. Antonovich dissenting and Gloria Molina absent. Antonovich, whose district includes the plant site on the Antelope Valley's west side, fought unsuccessfully to have the facility enclosed.

BioGro plans to establish a composting operation on 67 acres on a farm south of Avenue A and west of 140th Street West.

Runner said the Antelope Valley cannot expect a fair hearing in a land-use debate because the county is under pressure to find a spot to get rid of that type of waste, and the region only has one vote on the Board of Supervisors.

``We end up with a David vs. Goliath situation,'' he said. ``We need to find support in these matters.''

Runner believes such a review could result in permitting changes that would give the Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District a greater voice in controlling where sludge spreading is allowed and how the operations are conducted.

In a February 1997 report, county health officials said the BioGro sludge composting plant will cause odors but will not pose a risk to the region's groundwater and is unlikely to spread contaminants by wind.

``Operation of a composting facility in the proposed area of the Antelope Valley will not constitute a public health hazard to the community, immediate neighboring premises, or the workers employed at the proposed facility if the facility is operated in compliance with all applicable regulations,'' the report said.

Critics of the project have challenged that report. In his fight to get the project enclosed, Antonovich cited a letter from Suresh Pillai, an environmental microbiologist at Texas A&M University, that said research conducted on a similar composting plant in West Texas shows the risk of microbial infection could be as great as 6.5 people in every 10,000.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that the annual risk of microbial infection should not be greater than one in 10,000 people.

BioGro wants to pile sewage sludge, grass clippings and other types of plant waste in rows 7 feet tall, 18 feet wide and 850 feet long. The composted material would be sold as garden fertilizer.

Backers of the project say it will provide a low-cost way of recycling and would help Los Angeles County meet state-mandated goals of reducing the waste going into landfills.

Critics say the sludge contains industrial chemicals, including cancer-causing substances that can be carried great distances by the wind.

The county Regional Planning Commission had rejected BioGro's project, but BioGro appealed to the county supervisors, who gave it a tentative go-ahead in June 1997.

Planning commissioners wanted BioGro to enclose the compost piles, which is what the project's critics had sought out of concern that strong desert winds would blow sludge particles off the property.

Company officials said enclosing the operation would be too expensive and instead proposed a compromise, including submitting to yearly reviews, putting tarps over material that could be blown away, and suspending loading and unloading when winds are above 25 mph.