THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 25, 1995 TAG: 9511250242
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DeGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
In an attempt to encourage people to reuse water from sewage treatment plants, environmental officials hope to change the laws governing where that water can be sprayed.
Members of the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission have suggested that the state allow treated wastewater to be sprayed on residential lawns, golf courses, cemeteries, parks, school grounds and highway medians.
They have proposed increasing the acceptable level of fecal coliform in that water from 5 parts per 100 mililiters to 200 parts per 100 mililiters.
And they want to allow treated wastewater to be sprayed within 10 feet of shellfish-growing waters and swimming pools - instead of requiring the existing 100-foot buffer.
``They're trying to find ways to use this wastewater for beneficial purposes,'' Don Reuter of the North Carolina Division of Environmental Management said Wednesday. ``They're trying to find alternatives to dispose of this water instead of just continuing to discharge it into our rivers and waterways.''
Members of the nonprofit North Carolina Coastal Federation said they strongly endorse the concept of finding beneficial uses of treated human sewage to keep it from being dumped into coastal waters. But they said they are ``utterly dismayed'' by the proposed water reuse rules. Instead of benefiting the public, they predicted, the relaxed regulations would endanger the environment.
``If adopted,'' the Coastal Federation wrote in a two-page release, ``these rules will cause more pollution of coastal waters and give water reuse a bad name.
``They would allow this wastewater - which even though treated still contains bacteria, viruses and nutrients - to be sprayed as close as 10 feet from surface waters, including shellfish waters and swimming pools. The rules would allow wastewater to be sprayed where children are playing on lawns and in parks.
``As written,'' the Coastal Federation said, ``these rules promote golf courses and dense housing developments at the expense of our coastal waterways.''
The Division of Environmental Management is accepting public comments on the suggested rule changes until Nov. 30. The 17-member Environmental Management Commission probably won't vote on them until January. Then, the state's rules review committee would have to approve the new regulations before they become laws.
The proposed effective date of the new rules is May 1.
``During their discussions on these issues, the commission could decide to regulate times the wastewater could be sprayed in certain areas or adopt other measures that would address the issue of it contacting with people,'' Reuter said. ``We have received some comments from people who are concerned with when and where the water would be sprayed.''
According to the proposed rule revisions published by the state, reclaimed wastewater also could be used in decorative ponds or fountains, for dust control, to clean streets, to fill urinals and toilets and in fire-protection sprinkler systems in buildings, apartments, condominiums, hotels and motels.
Reclaimed wastewater may not be used for irrigating food crops, filling swimming pools or hot tubs or as a potable water supply, the rules say.
``At a minimum, spray irrigation of wastewater should not be allowed in watersheds that drain directly to shellfishing waters,'' wrote the Coastal Federation. ``Instead of planning ahead and facing up to the high costs associated with growth and development, the state is trying to get by cheaply by proposing rules that reduce environmental standards for treating and disposing of sewage.
``We will all pay for this short-sighted approach with more pollution in our coastal waters and increased dangers to our public health.''
Reuter said he did not know why the Environmental Management Commission wants to increase the acceptable fecal coliform level in treated wastewater that can be applied directly to land.
``Increased treatment to keep reducing those levels comes at a cost,'' he said. ``They're just trying to make the reuse of wastewater a more economically feasible option.''
KEYWORDS: WASTEWATER RECYCLING by CNB