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29 <br />EXHIBIT B <br />Bio-Solids Disposal <br />Orange County is among the top five North Carolina counties in terms of acreage <br />on which wastewater treatment bio-solids is applied. The County receives bio- <br />solids from wastewater treatment plants operated by Hillsborough and Orange <br />Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) in the County, from Mebane and Burlington <br />in Alamance County and from the City of Durham in Durham County. Some of <br />this application occurs in critical watersheds. <br />The process of land applying liquefied bio-solids is regulated by the NC Division <br />of Water Quality under US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) <br />regulations, policies and guidelines under a primacy agreement with the USEPA. <br />Bio-solids are generally applied to agricultural land (primarily land used for active <br />livestock grazing or growing of forage crops) at "agronomic" rates. Agronomic <br />rates in this case indicate that the bio-solids are applied such that its <br />nitrogen/phosphorous content is consistent with the rate of application of <br />standard fertilizers. Unlike commercial fertilizers, however, bio-solids containing <br />industrial wastes typical of municipal wastewater treatment systems usually <br />contain a number of potentially harmful heavy metals (cadmium, chromium, <br />arsenic, lead, mercury), synthetic and volatile organic compounds (SOC's and <br />VOC's) as well as some level of active pathogenic organisms typical of human <br />waste residues. <br />The land application of bio-solids to agricultural lands is exempt - as both a <br />"discharge" wastewater treatment activity and an agricultural activity -from <br />approval, regulation, enforcement or effective oversight by County land, <br />environmental protection or health regulation. Yet potential effects to the health <br />of nearby residents that are associated with aerosol or surface and ground water <br />contamination are woefully un- or under-studied by the EPA or the Center for <br />Disease Control. Residents of Orange County that live nearby to bio-solids <br />application sites are fearful of risks to their health and have at least anecdotally <br />reported a higher incidence of health and nuisance problems to the Board of <br />County Commissioners. <br />