California’s Central Valley is tired of taking Los Angeles’ shit

[marmar]

from Grist:



California’s Central Valley is tired of taking Los Angeles’ shit
By Philip Bump


From the Los Angeles Times:

Los Angeles’ land in Kern County features a red barn and a sign: “Green Acres Farm.” The city’s website proudly describes the corn, alfalfa and oats that are grown there.

Hey, sounds nice! Except:

The city of Los Angeles … has been sending up more than 20 truckloads a day of “wet cake” from the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant near LAX. …

Most experts say recycled products such as sludge and compost are safe if handled properly. But Kern County officials filed court declarations from scientists who are skeptical. Portland State University engineer Gwynn Johnson, for instance, said research shows that biosolids contain metals, antibiotics and flame retardants, and that more study is needed to determine the implications for “human health and the environment.”

Residents tend to focus on the “ick” factor.

Ronald Hurlbert, who owned property near one sludge operation that at one point received waste from Orange County, said the odor was “virtually unbearable (like a well-used bathroom at LAX),” according to a sworn declaration filed in court by Kern County officials.

At issue: Los Angeles’ endless supply of solid waste. Not, you know, garbage. Waste. Much of which is shipped north from the city every day into California’s agricultural heartland, the Central Valley — where it is increasingly unwelcome. This is the downside to recycling: Sometimes, no one wants to do (or live near) the dirty work.

One of the most bitter battles in California is over sludge, the batter-like material left over after treatment plants finish cleaning and draining what is flushed down the toilet or washed down the sink.

“Batter-like.” Let that one marinate in your brain for a while. Until the ’80s, the poo-batter was dumped in the ocean — until someone figured out that dumping lightly processed feces into the sea was a form of pollution. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/news/californias-central-valley-is-tired-of-taking-los-angeles-shit/

[Auggie]

1. So send it to the California Republican Headquarters

[mysuzuki2]

2. That's where it comes from!

[pipoman]

3. Interesting..now off to bake some brownies..

[kestrel91316]

4. I suppose they would like our feces to be dumped into the ocean once again, where

there is ZERO benefit to anyone or anything, as opposed to using it as the valuable fertilizer it is.......

[BlueMan Votes]

5. carnivore poo isn't always the best fertilizer. at least for food crops.

I have a lot of first-hand experience with that kind of sludge- i worked on expansion/renovation projects at 3 different sewage treatment plants.

[kestrel91316]

7. Well sewage sludge isn't "carnivore poo". It's mixed waste, including

that of millions of OMNIVORES.

And as a microbiologist and veterinarian I have to say that, once it's been through a digester at a waste treatment plant and then for production of natural gas for electricity, it is extremely high quality fertilizer.

What's your alternative? Dumping it into the ocean. I'll be waiting for your clever solution.

[BlueMan Votes]

10. there are also heavy metals in the sludge- and i'd like to keep those out of the food chain.

but i'm sure that it would make for very nice and colorful flowers if they want to spread it on those.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. The people of the valley are tired of taking LA's shit in many ways

LA should find a local repository.

IIRC, Kern County passed an initiative against this kind of dumping, but it was rejected by the courts.

I don't need to go into what the LADWP did to the Owens Valley and that they continue to fight the least mitigation move.


Cities need to not export their waste and toxins.

[kestrel91316]

8. Ok. Do tell us where it should be used or dumped locally.

I'll be waiting for your intelligent, well-informed response.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

9. Two approaches...what they should have done, what they could do today.

What they should have done was allocate resources within their immediate area for both trash and water and limited growth to what was sustainable. That was not the mind set of the time nor that of the LADWP today. Instead we have build up and sprawl well in excess of what the local area can sustain.

Today they should "farming" the sludge as much as they can in LA County rather than transporting several hundred miles. There are open areas in LA county where it could be done. If is such good fertilizer etc, use some of it in the park system. More acres there than many realize. However, it is easier and avoids the ecological accountability by moving it out of the area and blocking the ability of remote areas to say no.

As for LADWP, they really need to burn in hell for an extended period. Highly paid, independent agency, and for all intents and purposes rogue. They fight just about every mayor and destroyed the environment in the upper Owens Valley. They contest even the most basic dust control measures. At this point some environmentalists are hoping the next time the San Andreas lets loose and destroys the water flow, by the time LADWP is able to repair it, there will be new facts on the ground and a new chance to fight it. LADWP has always been concerned about monkey wrenching and given today's paranoia would paint it as terrorism while what they destroyed is rejuvenated.

I assume you have considered that given the major shaker that is coming, most of the people in LA country are in extreme risk.