Penn Township makes waste a resource for farmers
BY GINGER SECRIST MYERS
Staff Correspondent
HANOVEK “The bottom line
here is that sludge helps crops to
grow. As a part of our program we
want to help the farmers be more
productive and also protect their
farms tor generations to come.”'
This is David Hess’ summary of
Penn Township’s waste water
residuals disposal program. Hess,
director of Waste Disposal for
Penn Township,- says he feels that
sludge application to fields can
provide real economic savings.
Penn Township, which includes
much of the area surrounding
Hanover, has invested over a
quarter of a million dollars in its
sludge disposal equipment and
employs five full-time persons to
run it in order to provide a free
service to participating farmers.
Even though the costs of the
program are covered by sewer
rates, township residents have not
objected since spreading or in
jecting the sludge into farmland is
still the most economical form of
disposal, reports Hess. “The
' Township is smcerely concerned
this resource he used safely
and to the profit of the most
people,” he explains.
Sludge is a by-produce of waste
water-sewage treatment. It is the
solid-particles or return sludge
that collects 'in the stabilizing
tanks which will ultimately be used
by farmers. The sludge produced
_ by the Penn Township plant'has
excellent N-P-K levels, according
to Hess, though slightly lower
levels qt potassium than nught be
desired. ,
Hess states, " Research at Penn
State has shown that sludges from
treatment plants throughout the
Commonwealth contain varying
amount ot nutrients and trace
metals. Our sludge is so low in
trace metal content that at an
application rale ot 1.3 dry tons per
acre per year, we could spread
sludge on a held tor 1,049 years
betore we would exceed DER
limitations.”
Sludge can be applied two ways,
either by surtace spreading or by
subsurface injection. Once a
tarmer receives a permit to spread
the sludge, it can be applied year
round and is limited only by the
weather conditions. There is no
cost to the tarmer tor the ap
plication.
Subsurface application is ac
complished by using a special high
flotation, tour wheel drive sludge
injector called the "Big A.” Hess
states that injection of the sludge is
desirable since odor problems are
eliminated, more ot the nutrients
in the sludge are made available to
the soil, and soil percolation rates
are increased by the breaking up of
the hardpan. But points out that
injecting is not always possible
since the sludge is (ranstered to the
“Big A” from a B,O(K>-gallon tanker
and terrain can limit accessibility.
Before any application can begm
on the farm, the tarmer must
obtain a permit trom DER, ex
plains Hess. The Penn Town
ship office handles all the paper
work and any expense that might
be involved in obtaining the per
mit. According to Hess, it can take
as long as six months tor a permit
to come through.
Also, before any application
begins, Penn Township takes soil
samples to determine application
rates; makes a topographical
drawing ot the farm, outlining and
numbering the fields marked tor
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The injection of sludge is the desired method sludge is injected by this special high flotation
of application. The process chisel plows as it four-wheel drive sludge injector called the “Big
applies the sludge so that discing is all that is A". High flotation equipment allows for less
necessary to prepare the seed bed. Here compaction of the soil.
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, February 27,1982—D9
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