By John Matel Next year, we will thin 110 acres of loblolly pine planted in 2003. This is a little bit early, but it looks like they will be ready before the usual time. I have been trying to figure out what made trees on this land grow better. What conditions were present and/or what […]
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) reported the results of its study on biosolids and industrial residuals on October 10. JLARC, in its report, said the following: that land application of biosolids poses a low risk to human health and water quality under current state regulations. that under very specific conditions and only […]
Virginia Tech biosolids research was recently featured in the magazine Crops & Soils for Certified Crop Advisor continuing education credits. The data in the story reviews the second year of a two-year biosolids wheat study conducted in the Virginia Coastal Plain. The research identified soil types to which biosolids could safely be applied at full […]
The land application of biosolids is currently permitted in more than 70 counties in Virginia. Much of this recycling occurs on very rural and private farms. The recycling and beneficial use of biosolids on Richard Clemmer’s farm in Rockbridge County, however, occurs within sight of one of the busiest roads on the East Coast of […]
October 2, 2017 (Richmond, VA) This past winter the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) required most biosolids management programs to submit their annual biosolids reports electronically. Annual biosolids reports are required by 40 CFR Part 503 and must be completed by February 19, 2017, with data from the prior year. The 2016 data collected this […]
Essex County has some of the most fertile soils in Virginia. It is located in the historic Middle Peninsula, bordered by the York River to its south and the Rappahannock River to its north. It is solidly rural, and much of the economic activity is centered on farming and forestry. Ray Thomas’ family is a […]
In December 2016 a Virginia Circuit Court upheld the regulations that control the application of biosolids on Virginia’s farms and determined they protect the environment and public health. A month earlier, in November, in the City of Los Angeles v. Kern County, a California Superior Court judge ruled in its statement of decision that biosolids do […]
Water reclamation facilities across the country periodically assess their existing biosolids management program. When the Western Virginia Water Authority (WVWA) began evaluating its program recently it, like many others, focused on diversifying its program, but it also set an important objective to create an additional revenue stream. WVWA serves the city of Roanoke, and the […]
The Board of Directors of the Virginia Biosolids Council established a Code of Good Practice in 2009. The Code establishes a set of guiding principles for the production and beneficial land application of biosolids in Virginia for its members. In October 2015, the Board of Directors amended the Code and established a process to measure […]
The Richmond Circuit Court on December 14 upheld the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Biosolids Regulations against the Potomac/Shenandoah Riverkeeper’s legal challenge. The Court found there was substantial evidence to support the State Water Control Board’s decision to approve the amendments. The Board was aided by the report of the Expert Panel, which found that […]