&ER&
                                 United States
                                 Environmental Protection
                                 Agency
                                 Municipal Environmental Research
                                 Laboratory
                                 Cincinnati OH 45268
                                 Research and Development
                                 EPA-600/S2-82-019  May 1982
Project Summary


                                 Spreading Lagooned  Sewage
                                 Sludge  on Farmland:
                                 A  Case  History
                                 C. Michael Robson and Lee E. Sommers
                                   This report describes a case history
                                 on the use of anaerobically digested
                                 (stabilized) sewage sludge on agricul-
                                 tural  land.  Although this  project
                                 involved a single application of sludge
                                 to soils, it revealed much about equip-
                                 ment, procedures,  and  regulatory
                                 agency requirements.
                                   The case history describes the dis-
                                 posal of  approximately 420,000 m3
                                 (111  million  gal) of stabilized sludge
                                 and other materials that  had been
                                 stored in holding lagoons at the Bel-
                                 mont, Indiana,  Wastewater  Treat-
                                 ment Plant,  which is  owned  and
                                 operated by the Department of Public
                                 Works of the Consolidated City of
                                 Indianapolis,  Indiana. The stabilized
                                 sludge and  other  materials were
                                 removed to enable the construction of
                                 new wastewater treatment facilities
                                 on portions of the Belmont site pre-
                                 viously  occupied by the  sludge
                                 lagoons.  The major portion  of the
                                 sludge (265.000 m3) was disposed of
                                 by application to privately owned cro-
                                 pland in adjacent  Boone County,
                                 Indiana.
                                   Cadmium (Cd) and polychlorinated
                                 biphenyl (PCB) contents of the sludge
                                 were the major constraints in deter-
                                 mining the sludge application rates to
                                 the cropland. Frequent analyses of the
                                 sludge solids were needed to identify
                                 the  appropriate rates. Landowners
                                 consigned about 5,000 ha (13,000
                                 acres) for a single sludge application,
                                 after  which corn and soybeans were
                                 grown. An effective public relations
                                 program minimized public resistance
                                 and secured the cooperation of area
                                 residents.
                                   Analyses revealed no measurable
                                 increases in the Cd and PCB contents
                                 of the grain after the single sludge
                                 application. Techniques were devel-
                                 oped for removing, transporting, and
                                 applying lagooned sludges and for
                                 administering and monitoring such a
                                 program.
                                   This Project Summary was devel-
                                 oped by EPA's Municipal 'Environ-
                                 mental  Research  Laboratory,
                                 Cincinnati, OH. to announce key find-
                                 ings of the research project that is
                                 fully documented in a separate report
                                 of the same title (see Project Report
                                 ordering information at back).

                                 Introduction
                                   Disposal of sludge produced during
                                 municipal wastewater  treatment is a
                                 severe problem. To select a disposal
                                 method, an agency must  consider
                                 numerous factors, including costs, pro-
                                 tection of the public health, pollution of
                                 air, water, and land, public acceptance,
                                 and resource conservation and recov-
                                 ery. Land application of stabilized sew-
                                 age sludge has become a viable sludge
                                 disposal option. Benefits of this method
                                 result from the use of sludge as a low-
                                 analysis fertilizer and soil conditioner.
                                   When the city of Indianapolis,  Indi-
                                 ana,  was required  to  construct
                                 advanced wastewater treatment facili-
                                 ties at the existing Belmont Wastewater
                                 Treatment Plant, they determined that

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the most cost effective site for these
new treatment facilities  was the  10
sludge lagoons containing 420,000 m3
(111 million gal) of digested sewage
sludge for up to 50 years. Of  the
420,000  m3 of sludge originally con-
templated for disposal by land spread-
ing, 265,000 m3 was actually spread on
land and the remainder disposed of in a
landfill. The site  preparation contract
was awarded to a contractor who chose
to dispose  of the lagooned sludge by
applying it to privately owned agricultu-
ral cropland in adjacent Boone County,
Indiana.

Procedures
  The project consisted of the following
major tasks: (1) obtaining approval from
regulatory agencies; (2) obtaining coop-
eration of landowners and farmers; (3)
removing, transporting,  and applying
the lagooned  sludge to  soil; and  (4)
monitoring the impact on crops.
   Undefined state and Federal regula-
tions hampered initiation of the project.
To determine  appropriate   rates  for
sludge application on cropland, exten-
sive analyses  were conducted  of the
sludge stored in  the   lagoons.   As
expected, the sludge solids content was
extremely variable, ranging  from U1%
near the surface to "30% at a 5-m depth.
The Cd and PCB contents of the sludge
were major constraints in determining
sludge application rates to cropland.
The Cd concentrations ranged from 122
to 241 mg/kg (with an average of 179).
Sludge application rates  were initially
based on  1.1 kg  Cd/ha  and later
increased to 2.1 kg/ha. The maximum
amounts of lead  (Pb), zinc (Zn), nickel
(Ni), and  copper (Cu) applied-were  less
than 26,48, 22, and 2.6 kg/ha, respec-
tively.  Corn and soybeans  were the
crops grown after a single soil applica-
tion of the sludge.
   The subcontractor responsible for the
sludge application developed an effec-
tive public  relations program involving
demonstration plots, radio  and  news-
paper  advertising, and written  mate-
rials.  Landowners  consigned  about
5,000 ha  (13,000  acres)  for sludge
application. The  subcontractor  col-
lected the  soil samples,  provided soil
and sludge analysis data, and  applied
limestone when the soil pH was below
6.5.
   The sewage sludge was resuspended
in  each  lagoon, pumped  into semi-
trailer tankers,  trucked  to   Boone
County, and either applied immediately
or placed in temporary storage lagoons.
A variety of equipment was used to sur-
face apply or inject the sludge into soil.
Adverse  weather  conditions reduced
the time available for sludge application
and thereby delayed project completion
by several years.

Discussion

Sludge Disposal Procedures
  A high rate of sludge handling was
achieved  by using  procedures and
equipment  developed  in similar bulk
material handling industries. A cable-
controlled,   pontoon-mounted  device
was used to homogenize and move the
sludge in the lagoons to a pump station
for transfer  to a truck loading station.
Four large semi-trailer tankers could be
loaded in 5 min at the bulk-fuel-oil type
loading facility.
  Each tanker truck transported 29.5
m3 of sludge over 80 km (50 miles) to an
adjacent  county where it was again
transferred to a field-spreading vehicle
or to an interim sludge-holding lagoon.
A variety of spreading equipment was
used over the 4-year sludge speading
period. The contractor  initially used
low-speed,  agricultural-type  equip-
ment. This equipment was unable to
maintain high rates of sludge applica-
tion  on a round-the-clock basis. The
heavier,  faster,  construction-grade
spreading units used in the last 2 years
of the project demonstrated the availa-
bility of equipment for large-scale land
application of sludge projects. Summar-
ized specifications for this type of equip-
ment are included in the report.

Public Relations
  Even though  a   technically  sound
sludge application program  might  be
designed,  public opposition could pre-
vent the program from being initiated.
The contractor  therefore realized that
an  effective public relations program
was essential to insure acceptance of
sludge utilization in the county where
sludge was to be spread. Two sectors of
the public were addressed by the public
relations program:  The farmers who
were to receive the sludge, and their
neighbors.  The farmers needed to be
convinced of the economic benefit of
using sludge, which in their experience
was an unknown soil amendment when
compared with conventional fertilizers.
The neighbors of the farmers were sen-
sitive  about the  dumping  of urban
wastes in rural communities, and their
concerns  included  odors, pathogens,
and groundwater pollution.
  The contractor addressed the public
relations  problem  with  a  broad
approach that included: (a) establishing
good media relations, (b) holding group
meetings, (c) carrying out test plot dem-
onstrations, (d) having a motion picture
of the project prepared for loca I viewing,
and (e) gaining the active Support of
agronomy experts.

Retention of a Consulting
Agronomist
  The city identified a need for a person
with special  expertise in the  field of
sludge disposal on agricultural land. In
addition to providing technical assist-
ance,  this consultant  provided  addi-
tional project credibility with both  the
general public and the regulatory agen-
cies. At the request of the city, the con-
sulting  agronomist  prepared  an
evaluation of the  agronomic implica-
tions of the land application of sludge
for this project. He concluded that  the
project was well designed and incorpo-
rated the latest concepts for land appli-
cation  of sludge. The  consulting
agronomist supported the Indiana State
Board of Health (ISBH) requirements for
continuous monitoring of the sludge
removal and spreading operations. He
continued to be associated with the pro-
ject  in a  consulting  role  and was
involved  in designing  a  program  for
sampling  and analyzing the corn and
soybean crops raised on sludge-treated
fields.

Crop Monitoring
  The state regulatory agency required
that samples of corn and soybean grain
be collected and analyzed the first year
after sludge applications. Random sam-
ples of grain were collected by  hand
harvesting in September of each year.
Samples were collected from both  the
sludge-treated  fields and  adjacent
fields  not treated with sludge. Because
the same varieties of corn and soybeans
were not necessarily grown in adjacent
fields,  the comparisons of Cd and PCB
concentrations  in  crops grown  on
sludge-treated and non-sludge-treated
areas (Table 1) may reflect the influence
of both crop variety and sludge applica-
tion. All  crop samples were obtained
during the first cropping season after
sludge application. In 1978, some corn
grain  samples   showed slightly
increased concentrations of Cd. No Cd
or PCB's were present at detectable  lev-
els in any subsequent samples of corn
and soybean grain.

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Table 1.
Concentrations of Cadmium and PCB's in Corn and Soybean Grain
Grown on Sludge-Treated and Untreated Soils in Boone County,
Indiana (ug/kg)
                             PCB in Grain
                                             Cd in Grain
Year
1978
1979
1980
Crop Sludge-Treated
Corn (9f <1
Soybeans (6) <1
Corn (9) <1
Corn (12) <1
Untreated
1
Sludge-Treated
100
60
<50
<50
Untreated
<20
<50
<50
<50
a The numbers in parentheses indicate the total number of samples analyzed.
Conclusions
  This project demonstrates that a met-
ropolitan treatment plant can remove
and apply to croplands a large volume of
liquid stabilized sewage sludge that has
been  stored  in  lagoons. The project
involved transportation of the sludge by
semi-trailer tankers and either surface
or subsurface application  to cropland
with  conventional  equipment. The
sludge was applied on privately owned
land in an adjacent rural county through
a cooperative agreement between the
farmers and contractor.
  The planning and conduct of a land
application project requires expertise in
many technical and sociological disci-
plines. Critical areas identified  during
this project include materials handling
and transport, public relations, sludge
application equipment,  soil and crop
production, soil and groundwater moni-
toring, sludge application and crop pro-
duction  scheduling, experience   in
relating to farmers and their problems,
obtaining  regulatory  approvals, and
establishing the mechanism for flow of
project data and  information.
  Adverse  weather conditions caused
delays in applying sludge to farmland,
and the growth of row crops (corn and
soybeans)  minimized the  number  of
days that sludge could be applied  to
soils.  Coordination of crop production
and sludge utilization programs is diffi-
cult because of uncertainties caused by
adverse weather conditions.
  A public  relations program must be
started very early in a project to obtain
the support of the agricultural commun-
ity. Both the  benefits  and problems
must be presented to all interested par-
ties. The project developed numerous
procedures for monitoring sludge appli-
cation rates and for maintaining a wide
variety  of  records.  The   equipment
initially chosen for applying sludge did
not perform as anticipated. Alternative
equipment was selected later that could
withstand continuous use. All  equip-
                              ment should be evaluated onsite before
                              purchase.
                                A single application of sewage sludge
                              at a rate ranging from 1.12 to 2.1 kg
                              Cd/ha caused no measurable increases
                              in the Cd content of corn and soybean
                              grain. Plant uptake of PCB's was also
                              not detectable.
                                If at  all possible,  off site  storage of
                              sludge  in either temporary or  perma-
                              nent lagoons should be avoided. A far
                              preferable procedure is to  locate stor-
age lagoons near the treatment plant
and  then  transport the  sludge just
before it is to be appl ied to cropland. The
two temporary storage lagoons near the
sludge spreading site resulted in the
only negative  public response to the
land application project.
  This project demonstrates that a large
metropolitan sanitary district can trans-
port and apply sludge to cropland in a
neighboring rural area without wides-
pread public resistance.  To accomplish
this goal, it is  essential to  involve local
agricultural leaders, develop an effec-
tive and honest public  relations pro-
gram,  use aesthetically acceptable
methods for  sludge application, and
develop sludge application procedures
compatible  with  prevailing   farming
practices.
  The full report was submitted in ful-
fillment of Contract No. C2575NASX by
C. Michael Robson under the sponsor-
ship of the U. S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency.
                               C. Michael Robson and Lee E.  Sommers  are  with Purdue University,  West
                                 Lafayette, IN 47907.
                               Gerald Stern is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
                               The complete report, entitled "Spreading Lagooned Sewage Sludge on Farm-
                                 land: A Case History," (Order No. PB 82-181 082; Cost: $12.00. subject to
                                 change! will be available only from:
                                       National Technical Information Service
                                       5285 Port Royal Road
                                       Springfield. VA 22161
                                       Telephone: 703-487-4650
                               The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
                                       Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory
                                       U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                                       Cincinnati. OH 45268
                                                                •ft US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1982 — 559-017/0728

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United States                     Center for Environmental Research
Environmental Protection             Information
Agency                          Cincinnati OH 45268
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