The Maryland Department of the Environment probably will approve applications by Synagro Mid-Atlantic Inc. to apply treated sewage sludge on three farms near Taneytown, despite concerns from neighbors.
Nazeeh Freij, head of the department's sewage sludge section, conducted an informational meeting at the request of the Carroll County commissioners that drew about two dozen people Tuesday night to the Taneytown Elementary School library.
"We rarely deny an application" just because of complaints, Freij said. His office can increase requirements such as buffer zones, he said, but "it is the right of the industry, the right of the farmer."
The state has approved the use of sludge as fertilizer on 1,921 acres in Carroll under 17 agricultural land permits, Freij said. The three farms on the new sludge-utilization applications by Synagro are at 1880 Myerly Lane and 2115 Burrier Lane in Keymar, by the Frederick County border, and at 2716 Bear Run Road, southeast of Taneytown.
After a slide show by Freij outlining the wastewater treatment process "to turn raw sewage into a clean usable sludge," several residents raised concerns about odor, truck traffic, water protection and health hazards.
Albert L. Liebno Sr., who lives adjacent to one of the farms, wanted to know why he wasn't notified directly. Liebno, a resident of the 2300 block of Bear Run Road for more than 50 years, recalled having "been through this before, 19 or 20 years ago," when there was a disputed and eventually abandoned attempt to build a pit to hold tons of sludge in the area.
"You can smell it" without being notified, quipped Wayne Broadhurst of the 1700 block of Myerly Lane, who shares a driveway with one of the proposed sites.
Floodplain concern
"The first I know trucks are rolling in our common driveway," said Andy Hood of the 1700 block of Burrier Lane. He also wondered about the Monocacy River and why the state would allow sewage in a floodplain. Freij said no adverse effects have been reported.
"What happened to Save the Bay?" asked Broadhurst, who said there is a drain pipe leading into a creek at one site.
Charline Fowler of the 2600 block of Bear Run Road said her health problems could be aggravated by sludge that "is in a pile."
"We don't allow stockpiling," said Freij, an environmental engineer who has been in his position for eight years. The mudlike sludge must be spread on the fields the evening it is delivered, he said, promising that the state or county would respond to any complaint.
