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2 <br />Agriculture, Orange County, Alamance and Chatham counties, Synagro (industry) and a <br />representative of a local riverkeepers group. County staff has participated in these <br />discussions and believes that this approach may meet the "forum" needs identified in <br />October, as long as the program holistically covers the multitude of issues that have been <br />raised locally over the past several years. <br />The current plan is for atwo-day Biosolids Educational Summit. A draft of the planned <br />program is provided as an attachment. The summit would be held April 27-28 at the <br />McKimmon Center in Raleigh. The program would be organized into four sessions: general <br />overview topics, the science of land application, current and future issues and concerns, and <br />an optional site visit /tour of facilities. The draft agenda includes presentations on the <br />following topics: <br />- History of the Clean Water Act <br />- Biosolids 101 (Setting the stage) <br />- Current regulations (federal, state, local) <br />- Site criteria and permitting <br />- Biosolids Land Application 101 <br />- Issues (actual and perceived): nutrients, heavy metals, pathogens, air quality, <br />organics, public health concerns <br />- The future; where we are going <br />- Communication with and for the public <br />- Alternatives to land application (pros and cons) <br />- How to find what lands have been used for land application <br />- Economics of land application <br />- New regulations <br />- Are there new, more, different regulations and research needed? <br />- Tour of NRWWTP and/or biosolids application field(s) <br />Presenters will be from North Carolina and from out of state, including experts from the US <br />Environmental Protection Agency, NCDENR, UNC School of Public Health, and university <br />researchers from Michigan and Arizona. Sue Dayton of the Blue Ridge Environmental <br />Defense League (BREDL) and Terry Buckner (Orange County resident and moderator of the <br />Sludge Listserve) are also scheduled on the draft program. Orange County biosolids data <br />will also be used as an example of how the location of land application sites can be tracked <br />by GIS. Question and answer sessions would be held after each section of the program. <br />Staff proposes that interested County residents be invited to participate in this regional <br />forum. In the event there are remaining or lingering local issues and questions, afollow-up <br />session in Orange County could be scheduled to discuss these matters at a more local level. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no cost to Orange County to participate in the planned forum <br />beyond individual registration fees (which are to be determined by NCSU, but expected to be <br />nominal). <br />RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report, review <br />the proposed forum plans, and provide feedback for the Health Director and ERCD Director <br />to share with the organizers of the planned NCSU educational summit. <br />