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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. David Kessler |
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Kessler: Wednesday hearing on sludge to include Berks testimony
HARRISBURG, Dec. 14 – State Rep. David Kessler, D-Berks, a member of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, recently visited Cornell University and the Milton Sewer Authority to look into alternatives to applying sewage sludge to land or putting it in landfills. As a result, he has coordinated a committee hearing on the issue, which will be held this week.
Committee Chairman Camille "Bud" George, D-Clearfield, scheduled the hearing for 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16 in Room G-50, Irvis Office Building at the state Capitol Complex. Media coverage is invited.
Tentatively scheduled to testify at the hearing are:
● Dr. Murray McBride, director, Cornell Waste Management Institute;
● Paul A. Herb, treatment plant superintendent, Exeter Township, Berks County;
● Andy McElmurray, who applied biosolids to his Georgia dairy farm;
● George M. Myers, superintendent, Milton Regional Sewer Authority;
● E. Charles Wunz, P.E., executive vice president, Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc., a civil engineering firm serving the mid-Atlantic region.
Kessler, who also serves as vice chairman of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, has been concerned about sludge being spread on farms in some areas of his district. In November 2007, Kessler and Rep. Dante Santoni, D-Berks, announced the state's award of a $1 million grant for Exeter Township to help establish a $7.5 million regional biosolids drying facility.
The facility's intended purpose is to produce and sell Class A biosolids, which contain no detectable levels of pathogens, and provide alternative fuel pellets to replace coal in the production of cement at a nearby plant. Nearly 30 municipalities in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties have expressed interest in using the facility. The township plans to use landfill gas to power the dryer.
"The ash from burning the pellets can be incorporated into concrete. All of this would result in better uses than spreading potentially questionable sludge on farmland or putting it in landfills. The Georgia farmer who will testify lost his entire herd of cattle after having sludge spread on his land for an extended period of time," Kessler said.
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