Some Kern cities just say no to trucked-in sludge

Some Kern cities just say no to trucked-in sludge
By CHRISTINA SOSA, Californian staff writer
e-mail: csosa@bakersfield.com

Posted: Tuesday March 15th, 2005, 10:55 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday March 15th, 2005, 11:31 PM

Several Kern County cities thought about saying "not in our back yard" to sludge on Tuesday evening.
Wasco, Taft, Shafter and California City all had agenda items considering supporting a bill by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, that would ban the import of biosolids across county lines.

Shafter and Wasco voted unanimously to back the bill. Decisions from Taft and California City councils were not available as of press time.

"The inter-county transportation of sludge is just ludicrous," said Taft Mayor Cliff Thompson. "We want to show him (Florez) that we appreciate the work he is doing."

Florez introduced Senate Bill 926 in February in an effort to halt the nearly half-million tons of treated human waste that roll over the Grapevine into Kern County each year.

Florez said the individual cities' support of the bill sends a strong message to the county Board of Supervisors to pull back the welcome mat on Southern California's sewage.

"Kern County is being targeted," Florez said. "California City might be next. Wasco, Shafter, we've already seen what they've done with dairies."

The Wasco council considered supporting the bill because Wasco residents don't want to live near manure-producing dairies, and they don't want to live near sludge either, said council member Daniel Espitia.

"Our concerns are water quality again, and the quality of life," Espitia said. "Why here again? Why to the valley?"

Espitia said that though a new biosolid dumping ground is planned to go in near Taft, not Wasco, every city in Kern County needs to be worried about the sludge.

"We do have to stand together and show solidarity on this issue," Espitia said.

Taft's concerns are immediate, because a processing plant has already been approved to be built about 7 miles outside the small city.

Synagro Technologies Inc. was granted a permit to build a biosolids plant more than two years ago. The plant will be taking in about 500 tons a day of human sewage from Southern California starting early next year.

But not if Thompson can help it. He said that if the Senate bill doesn't pass, Taft officials will try to go after Synagro's conditional-use permit from the county Board of Supervisors.

http://www.bakersfield.com/local/story/5363021p-5383121c.html