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HARRISBURG -- A court is expected to rule this week on whether a central Pennsylvania township has the right to prohibit the use of human sewage as fertilizer on agricultural land, a practice that some critics believe can be harmful -- even lethal -- to people. But the Commonwealth Court decision likely will not answer questions about whether the processed sewage is safe or if it is properly screened and tested before being spread on fields where crops are grown and animals graze not far from homes.
The state Attorney General's Office challenged the East Brunswick Township ordinance after receiving a complaint from J.C. Hill Tree Farms. Enacted in December 2006, the ordinance bans corporations from spreading sludge that results after wastewater is treated by municipal systems.
Residents wanted the ordinance out of concern for their health -- two Pennsylvania families each blame the death of one of their children on contact with sludge in farm fields, and other people around the country have blamed a range of illnesses on the sludge. Besides East Brunswick, about 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia, towns and counties in several other states have fought to keep out the sludge, which the industry calls "biosolids."
Full Story: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion
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