East Montpelier, Vermont

The U. S. banned the ocean dumping of sewage sludge after repeated disposal created vast underwater dead seas. With air pollution concerns rightly limiting incineration, and landfill space dwindling, municipalities now strongly support and lobby for the composting of sewage sludge and then land application. But with the heavy metals, dioxin, radioactive waste, industrial solvents and more in the waste stream, the land application of composed toxic sewage sludge raises serious environmental and health concerns.

In 1996 the City of Montpelier, VT chose to site a municipal sewage sludge composting facility in East Montpelier. Construction was expected to proceed uncontested and the facility was given the initial and necessary permits from the town of East Montpelier. Outreach efforts began immediately when residents learned about the sludge composting plant and Citizens for Clean Compost (CCC) was formed. Research regarding the health and environmental risks of hosting a regional sludge composting facility within the small and rural town of East Montpelier began in earnest.

Members of CCC worked on the sludge issue in multi-faceted ways, including holding informational forums in the surrounding communities, leafletting, petitioning for a town vote to oppose construction of the plant (which won overwhelmingly in a non-binding vote, 19% for and 81% against the facility), letters to the editor and op-eds, networking with other organizations which aided in the formation of a statewide group dedicated to sludge issues, the Clean Land Campaign (CLC), lobbying in pollution prevention efforts, researching alternative waste systems, and hiring legal representation to oppose the State of Vermont's Act 250 permit and water discharge permit for the proposed sludge facility.

In the fall of 1999 CCC was contacted by the City of Montpelier and asked to engage in mediation to discuss how the two opposing sides might come to an agreement around the sludge plant. CCC members engaged in many internal discussions among members and their attorney, Rob Halpert of Montpelier, with proposals and counter-proposals being tossed around for weeks.

Eventually CCC members agreed to withdraw their Act 250 appeal, allowing the plant to be constructed, but with numerous environmental and health safeguards added to the plant permit, including: a lined facility with closure devices to aid in preventing potentially hazardous materials contained in the compost from being airborne, that landfill leachate be banned from the facility within three years of receiving its permit, that a lobbying effort be made by the City and CCC members to a local solid waste district for free household hazardous waste collections in the region, that property taxes be paid by the City to the Town, and that a written warning be given to each person retrieving composted sludge from the plant to keep the product away from children and animals and a recommendation that it not be used on gardens. Lastly, that CCC receive copies of all test results for the sludge produced at the plant and for the finished compost, along with all construction and operational plans for groundwater monitoring.

Ginny Callan, CCC's coordinator, said, "CCC sees the City's concessions as a major victory for a group working in the confines of a small community. The City has taken a giant step forward from where they began when they first proposed this facility."