Carla Clark | For The Republic Thomas Kreke, IDEM solid waste section chief and hearing officer, at left, speaks during a public hearing to allow a biosolids storage facility in Bartholomew County held by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) at the Sports Center Building at CERAland Park, Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
State environmental regulators have approved a request for a permit to create a sewage sludge-holding facility in Bartholomew County despite acknowledging that they received “many comments” asking to deny or delay the application.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued a permit to Evan Daily of Biocycle LLC to accept biosolids and industrial waste products at their storage structure in southeast of Columbus for blending and applying biosolids and industrial waste products to agricultural land in Bartholomew County and the surrounding area, according to a copy of a notice of decision dated July 16.
In its notice of decision, IDEM said it had reviewed Biocycle’s application and determined that it met requirements under state law and that it only has the authority to deny permit requests “when the application fails to meet the requirements of the regulation, and the applicant fails to submit additional information when requested.”
“Many comments were submitted asking IDEM to deny the permit because they objected to the structure and land application of biosolids and/or industrial waste products near their property,” IDEM states in the notice. “… (Indiana law) requires IDEM to review a permit application, and if that application complies with the applicable regulations in which the proposed activity is governed by, IDEM must approve/issue a permit within a specific time period. …IDEM can only deny an application when the application fails to meet the requirements of the regulation, and the applicant fails to submit additional information when requested.”
IDEM said it determined that Biocycle “has not demonstrated an unwillingness or inability to comply with” state law or provide information that regulators have requested.
IDEM also said that it could not deny the application based on concerns about the unpleasant smell that facility could generate or the possibility that the biosolids contain long-lasting and highly toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other illnesses because those concerns do not fall “within the regulatory scope” under state law.
The substances, called PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a cluster of industrial chemicals associated with a variety of serious health conditions and have been used in products ranging from cookware to carpets and firefighting foams and consumer products since the 1940s, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Research suggests exposure to certain levels of PFAS can lead to reproductive effects in humans, developmental delays, increased risks for certain cancers, elevated cholesterol levels and weaken the immune system, according to the EPA.
The chemicals are sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally in the environment — or do so slowly — and can remain in a person’s blood indefinitely. U.S. manufacturers have voluntarily phased out compounds such as PFAS, though there still are a limited number of ongoing uses for them.
“IDEM is aware of the concerns with PFAS,” IDEM states in the notice. “However, there are no federal or state limits set for biosolids and land application. EPA is currently conducting a risk assessment for PFAS found in biosolids and the potential impact on soils and crops where biosolids are land applied. The results of this study are expected to be published by the end of 2024. Once the EPA publishes their final decision, IDEM will follow EPA’s requirements. …In April of 2024, EPA issued the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard for PFAS compounds. This regulation became effective on June 25, 2024, and will require water treatment plants to meet specific requirements by 2029. There are currently no limits or restrictions on the use or disposal of biosolids based on PFAS and therefore IDEM cannot deny a permit application for this reason.”
One comment that IDEM received referenced Maine’s decision to ban the land application of biosolids due to concerns over PFAS, but IDEM said it could not act because “the Indiana Legislature, along with many other states, have not taken that position.”
The decision to grant the permit comes after the proposed biosolids facility was met with fierce opposition from local residents, including CERAland Park and Otter Creek Golf Course. Some of the concerns include potential runoff from the facility could reach their properties and a nearby creek, as well as the unpleasant odor from the operation and concerns over whether the sludge could get into the aquifer that supplies water to Columbus.
In April, around 110 people attended a public hearing at CERAland Park on the proposed facility as regulators consider the request, with nobody speaking in favor of it. The vast majority of the 80 written comments received prior to the hearing were also negative.
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 will 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.
Wastewater treatment techniques stabilize and disinfect the biosolids, which contain nutrients necessary for plant growth, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, copper, zinc, calcium, magnesium and iron, according to regulators.
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.
Columbus City Utilities, for its part, has said the application of sewage sludge on farmland poses a low risk for human health and city’s water supply provided that “everybody follows the protocols they’re supposed to.”
IDEM has said that it “encourages the beneficial reuse of biosolids … in a manner that protects human health and the environment.” Anyone who applies biosolids to farmland “must comply with federal and state land application laws and rules and obtain a permit,” according to IDEM.
