It was a breath of fresh air to learn that Bartholomew County Commissioners are taking a stand against out-of-county sewage sludge being imported into the county.
As The Republic’s Mark Webber reported this week, commissioners instructed county attorney Grant Tucker “to start the process of drafting an ordinance that would prevent out-of-county biosolids” — which include treated human waste — from being spread on agricultural fields within Bartholomew County.
“The commissioners, who said they will provide input into the new ordinance, added the ordinance will also address proper storage,” Webber reported.
When farmers complained in January about a planned biosolids facility, it didn’t pass the smell test that the commissioners they were complaining to suggested at that time that they couldn’t do anything about it.
Since then, commissioners have smelled the, um, coffee, and not a moment too soon. It likely helped that hundreds of people have raised a stink about a plan submitted by Evan Daily of Biocycle LLC to accept dewatered biosolids for blending and use on farmland in Bartholomew and several neighboring counties.
The proposed location of Biocycle’s storage facility, 3788 E. County Road 300S, has nearby Otter Creek Golf Course, CERAland and others fuming. As of March 1, The Republic reported, 875 people had signed a petition against the proposal circulated by Otter Creek and submitted to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), which would have to approve any operating permit.
Meantime, the permitting process at IDEM plods forward, but is still in the public comment phase. In a story published March 2, The Republic’s Andy East reviewed the roughly 80 public comments that had been received about the project at that time and wrote “Nearly all of the comments have been against the proposed facility.”
IDEM has extended the public comment period through April 19 and also plans a 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 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,” East reported.
Better late than never, the commissioners’ action should at the very least put a hold on IDEM’s plans to act on Biocycle’s highly unpopular permit request. The commissioners could have, and should have, acted much sooner in this situation. Responsibility for policies regulating the quality of the county’s environment is absolutely in their jurisdiction.
We believe IDEM should defer in this instance to the commissioners’ advancement of an ordinance that, as a policy statement, aims to restrict biosolids operations in Bartholomew County.
