State environmental regulators plan to hold a public hearing next month on a request for a permit to create a sewage sludge-producing facility southeast of Columbus.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management will hold the public hearing April 17 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Sports Center Building at CERAland Park, 3989 S. County Road 525E.
The hearing comes as IDEM considers a request from Evan Daily of Biocycle LLC to accept dewatered biosolids for blending and use on farmland in Bartholomew and several neighboring counties. Biosolids are organic materials produced during the treatment of human sewage at wastewater treatment plants.
The purpose of the public hearing is to allow public input regarding the notification to construct and operate a storage structure for biosolids and industrial waste products and Biocycle’s application to apply blended biosolids and/or industrial wastes.
All interested parties will be able to submit written or oral statements for IDEM to consider.
IDEM also has extended the public comment period through April 19 and expects that it will make a decision on the application soon after it receives the hearing transcript.
The hearing also comes after dozens of local residents — including officials with Otter Creek Golf Course and Cera Sports Park and Campground — expressed concerns about the proposed facility. The concerns range from the possible adverse environmental effects of the facility to the impact of the smell that the facility could generate on nearby residences and recreational activities.
IDEM said previously that it would hold a public hearing “due to citizen request.”
The request for the public hearing, submitted by two local residents, alleges that not all landowners next to sites where the biosolids would be applied were “aware (of the proposal) in a timely manner and likely would not have been able to make well-thought-out public comments within the comment period,” which ended in late January.
“It would be helpful to have a public hearing to allow for potential further comments to be recorded to the official public comment record,” according to the request, which was submitted by Paul and Linda Peterson. “People whose voices have not been heard have several legally valid comments which may help IDEM make a more informed decision regarding the permit approval or rejection.”
According to the proposal, the biosolids will be mixed when they arrive and placed in an area sectioned off by interlocking concrete blocks that allow access for sampling before land application. Once the desired amount is reached in the holding area, the blend will be sampled and tested to determine land application rate.
The structure Daily wants to build would have a concrete base with concrete walls on three sides, according to his application. The south side of the building, which will be open for truck access, will have a trench drain across the opening with a runoff holding tank. The application states the holding area for biosolids will be 85-feet-wide by 100-feet-long, with a holding capacity of 46,750 cubic feet.
However, the sewage sludge may emit a distinctive odor depending on the treatment process and methods used. The odorous compounds generated and detected are most often ammonia, amines and reduced sulfur-containing compounds, according to the EPA.
Meteorological conditions such as wind speed and direction, relative humidity, and temperature can impact nuisance odors, according to the agency website. The EPA states the odors do not mean that the biosolids pose harm to human health and the environment.
The application of sewage sludge on farms in Bartholomew County is not new, though it has been a subject of controversy in the past.
The most recent proposal for the sewage sludge-producing facility has drawn significant public interest. Overall, IDEM said around 80 people have submitted comments on the proposed facility so far.
The Republic has obtained copies of all the public comments as of earlier this month. Nearly all of the comments were against the proposed facility.
How to comment
Comments not previously submitted by mail, e-mail, or at the public hearing must be submitted so they are received by April 19. Submit comments to one of the following addresses:
[email protected] (preferred) or
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Office of Land Quality
Solid Waste Permits Section
attn: Brenda Stephanoff
100 North Senate Avenue, IGCN 1154
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2251
The applications and additional information are available online via IDEM’s Virtual File Cabinet (VFC) at: http://vfc.idem.in.gov/. These documents can be found by selecting the “Solid Waste Program ID” in the “Quick Search” field (in the upper right-hand corner of the page) then enter the permit number, 000915.
