Biosolids waste storage site in north Alabama

Alabama’s environmental regulators have tightened state rules for using food processing waste or sewage sludge as fertilizer in response to numerous complaints about the practice generated across Alabama over the past two years and reported on extensively by AL.com.

The Alabama Environmental Management Commission -- the appointed body that oversees the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and can enact state-level environmental regulations -- voted unanimously to approve the new, tougher rules at its June meeting.

The rules now include additional requirements for how food processing waste is spread on fields and stored in lagoons, as well as clarifications that the rules apply to reclaimed mine lands as well as agricultural fields.

“In the past two years we have conducted numerous inspections, we’ve responded to numerous complaints, we’ve visited facilities and we have learned a lot,” ADEM Land Division Chief Stephen Cobb said when presenting the new rules to the Commission.

In 2020, residents complained of foul odors and pest problems after an out-of state company sprayed poultry waste at an old coal mine in Jefferson County, north of Birmingham. Then in 2021 and 2022, residents in Morgan County, north of Cullman were beset by foul odors from food processing waste storage lagoons installed at an old dairy farm.

In both cases, ADEM issued cease and desist orders to the operating company, Denali Water Solutions, after reports in AL.com about the complaints.

Julie Lay, a former poultry worker who has organized opposition to sludge dumping in Alabama since 2019, said the rule changes were a positive step but that they don’t go far enough to protect Alabama residents or the environment.

“I feel like these regulations are a tiny step in the right direction,” Lay said via email. “However, the new regulations do not go far enough to protect Alabama’s soil, water, and air.”

Waste sludge, or biosolids, have become a tricky issue in Alabama, especially in cases where massive amounts of the sludge are being spread or stored.

Using sewage sludge or food processing wastes as fertilizer is nothing new in Alabama or elsewhere, but in the last few years a handful of companies have begun doing it on a gargantuan scale, importing in some cases thousands of tons of sludge material for disposal or dispersal in Alabama.

Sewage sludge, the solid material that’s leftover after wastewater treatment plants from municipal sewers or industrial treatment plants treat what gets flushed down the drains, does have organic matter and can be used as fertilizer. It’s cheaper than sending the sludge to a landfill and in theory can decrease the need for other kinds of fertilizer.

However, in practice, the number of complaints has increased dramatically in recent years, and some who live next to fields where the sludge is spread believe that the waste is simply dumped to avoid landfill fees, that it’s not actually used for fertilizer.

The ADEM rules specifically prohibit dumping unless there is an agricultural benefit, but enforcing those rules and encouraging the “beneficial use” of biosolids has been an ongoing process.

“This set of regulations is the result of that two years of implementation, to upgrade the regulations in the areas that we’ve seen needed upgrading,” Cobb said. “It’s part of a continuing process that we will continue to evaluate the rules as we go forward and make needed adjustments as necessary to keep the regulations where they need to be.”

The rules also include new record-keeping and reporting requirements for companies that make a business out of spreading waste on fields or mines in Alabama.

ADEM External Affairs Chief Lynn Battle said the updated rules will take effect on August 15.

Lay began speaking out against the practice when poultry processing waste was spread on a neighbor’s property near her home in Guntersville. After becoming increasingly concerned about the potential negative impacts to people and the environment from the poultry waste sludge, she helped found a group called Alabama Waste Sludge Awareness to draw attention to the issue.

She said she would specifically like to see requirements to test waste sludge for PFAS -- manmade chemicals associated with health problems including cancers -- before it is spread in places that could impact livestock.

Lay cited recent incidents where cattle from Michigan were found to contain high levels of those chemicals, as well as deer from Maine, prompting officials in those states to issue warnings not to eat those animals. She also has concerns about how elected officials and state agencies are responding to the emerging issue.

“My biggest concern right now is how quiet our elected officials are on this subject and how ALFA, Alabama Department of Agriculture are being silent on this issue,” Lay said. “We the people must speak up to protect the future of Alabama’s soil, water and air.”

Watch full video of the Commission meeting where the new rules were approved:

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