WORKSHOP SET ON SEWAGE USE AT AREA FARMS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

State water officials have tentatively set dates to discuss an appeal lodged by opponents of the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer on Antelope Valley farms.

The appeal is expected to be considered by the state Water Resources Control Board in Sacramento at a workshop in January, but opponents would rather have a formal hearing be held on the appeal.

``At a workshop, you can say whatever you want. It's not a hearing or on record. It has no validity in court,'' activist Jane Williams said. ``In a hearing, you can present testimony and new evidence into the record that will stand up in court.''

Under a general order a year ago from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Lahontan Region, nine permits were issued to Redlands-based Pima Gro and the BioGro Division of Wheelabrator Clean Water Systems Inc., a Maryland company, allowing them to apply sludge at seven farms, officials said.

The two companies applied for permits to spread sludge at two farms jointly, officials said.

Sludge opponents appealed the general permit a year ago to the state water board, asking for a full environmental assessment.

Ted Cobb, a state water board senior staff counsel, said discussing appeals at workshops and taking action on them at a later board meeting is the process that the board follows.

``The regulations are clear on how we proceed,'' Cobb said. He also said workshops are considered to be part of the official record.

At the workshop, the state water board will hear comments from the public regarding the appeal, but no evidence or testimony under oath will be taken, Cobb said.

Cobb said he has written a recommendation to the board on what action to take on the appeal but declined to release it.

Cobb said he has asked that the appeal be heard at a workshop on Jan. 8 or Jan. 9, but the official board agenda has not come out yet. No action will be taken at the workshop.

The board may ask the staff to change the recommendation or, if members agree with it, bring it back for a vote at a board meeting two weeks later, Cobb said. Testimony is allowed at that meeting only if changes were ordered, Cobb said.

At a hearing Nov. 7 in Lancaster, regional water-quality officials ordered Pima Gro to stop spreading sewage sludge at local farms after angry residents said the practice posed a threat to public health and the environment.

The regional water board voted 7-0 to issue a cease-and-desist order to Pima Gro because of permit violations observed when the company spread sewage sludge Oct. 28 at the Derrick Ranch at 90th Street East and Avenue H. The order applied to five Antelope Valley farms.

Pima Gro violated its permit by spreading sludge during heavy winds that blew the material off the farm, officials said. The company also failed to till the sludge into the soil within 12 hours after it was applied and failed to secure the field from the public.

In support of the opponents of using sludge, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to send a letter to the state water board asking it to set hearings on the appeal immediately. The letter will be sent Monday.

Supervisor Michael Antonovich said in a written statement issued Wednesday that the one-year delay in hearing the appeal has been unfair to Antelope Valley residents.

``Had the state board acted expeditiously, it is very likely that the Pima Gro debacle could have been avoided,'' Antonovich said in the statement.

In response to the violations and the surrounding controversy, Pima Gro officials told water board members that they will no longer apply sludge at the Antelope Valley farms for which they have permits.

The use of sewage sludge has drawn ire. Critics have said the material can contain toxic chemicals such as dioxin. Proponents argue that the material is safe and that it helps improve soil and retain water for crops.