Sludge Petition Press Release, December 31, 2003: EPA Refuses to Protect the Food Supply from Hazardous Sewage Sludge

Article in the News Leader, Springfield, Missouri, EPA won't ban use of treated waste despite health concerns
By Greg Wright, Gannett News Service, January 1, 2004

On April 3, 2002, the EPA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) officially released a report on EPA's sewage sludge rule (OIG sludge report). The OIG identified over ten major problem areas under the current rule and warned that "EPA cannot assure the public that current land application practices [of sewage sludge] are protective of human health and the environment."

Articles about sludge, in the ReSource Institute library.

ReSource editorials on sludge
What is in a Name
Ockham's Razor
Something Stinks in the EPA
Toxic Sludge and Fertilizer Conference Press Release
Stopping Sludge
Radioactive Sludge in Denver
Can You Clean-Up Sludge? A Correspondence
Organic Food and Sewage Sludge
Laundering Toxic Waste

The National Sludge Alliance calls on Congress to halt the land disposal of sewage sludge, an October 15, 2001 Press Release from the National Sludge Alliance, a coalition of grassroots organizations opposed to spreading sludge on land.

Toxic Avengers: EPA is pushing hazardous sludge as a fertilizer and the locals are fighting back, In These Times, by Laura Orlando, February 1999.

Sustainable Sanitation: A Global Health Challenge, Dollars and Sense, by Laura Orlando, May 2001.

A Terrible Waste Gets a Good Look, a story about the death of Tony Behun. Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette, June 11, 2000, by Tom Gibb.

EPA's Secret Role in Toxic Sludge, by Sheila R. Cherry, Insight Magazine, July 24, 2000

Information on sewage sludge from the Cornell Waste Management Institute, including the document, "A Case for Caution: Recommendations for the Land Application of Sewage Sludge," 2001 Sludge Application recommendations, scientific papers by Cornell faculty, and 82 questions and answers on sludge.

Rachel's Environmental Health Weekly: A new US Waste Policy Emerges, numbers 560 and 561; Excrement Happens, numbers 644 and 645; and Drugs in the Water, number 614; by Peter Montague.

On March 20, 2000, the USEPA Office of the Inspector General, in an Audit Report, found that "EPA cannot assure the public that current land application practices are protective of human health and the environment." This is a pdf file.

Congressional Hearings, March 22, 2000, "EPA's Sludge Rule: Closed Minds or Open Debate?" "The hearing will explore allegations that EPA scientists who disagree with EPA's science associated with the sludge rule were ignored or, worse, subjected to harassment. Even more disturbing are documented reports of intimidation directed at private citizens who express concerns about EPA sludge policies and the science behind those policies."

The Real Dirt on Sewage Sludge, by Wendy Priesnitz, Natural Life, November 1997.

The Sludge Hits the Fan
Chapter 8 from Toxic Sludge Is Good For You
John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton
Common Courage Press,1995.

PR Watch. Let Them Eat Sludge, by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton

C U R E (Citizens United for Responsible Environmentalism, Inc.) is a national, non-profit, education and research organization based in California that works on sludge and composting issues. The Hawaii Chapter of CURE has a web page with sludge links and information about their effots to stop sludge spreading on Maui.

Sewage Sludge homepage of the Pennsylvania Environmental Network

CQS's Health Alert: The Sludge Story

Information about the use of sludge in agriculture, in English and Swedish.

Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund

Sludge on Your Supper Table, Natural Life, August 23, 1999.

On The Ground: The Spreading of Toxic Sludge in Vermont. A 57 page report on Vermont sludge spreading, with references and recommendations, by Vermont PIRG.

Redefining Sludge: Activists search for answers about sludge and its impact on our food supply. The Workbook. A publication of the Southwest Research and Information Center. Summer 1998. P.O. Box 4524, 105 Stanford SE, Alburquerque, NM 87106. Tel 505 346-1455. Email: THEWORKBOOK@igc.org.

Press Release: 25 Environmental Groups Ask Harvard President Not to Allow Poisoning of the Medical School Quad Lawn, May 3, 2000.

Conference Proceedings. Dangers of Sludge: A Citizens Forum on Environmental and Health Concerns from Landspreading of Sewage and Paper Mill Sludges. November 1997. 51 pages. Order here.Sponsored by Citizens for a Future New Hampshire.

Links to information about factory farms and laundering of industrial waste in commercial fertilizers:

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

See, "Fear in the Fields: How Hazardous Wastes Become Fertilizer," Duff Wilson, Seattle Times.

The Why Files: Science Behind the News, Farm Fields: Ideal Resting Place for Toxic Waste? A summary of Duff Wilson's expose of recycling of industrial waste in commercial fertilizers.

Center for Rural Affairs
Corporate Farming.

ETC Group (formerly RAFI)

Center for Food Safety

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Composting, Greywater, Technology, and Design

Greywater: what it is, how to treat it, how to use it
A comprehensive site on greywater by Carl Lindstrom.

Greywater
The Clivus Multrum greywater irrigation system.

Oasis Design
Information on greywater design by Art Ludwig. Buy the books on greywater, they're thorough and informative.

US Green Building Council

The Compost Resource Page
Information on composting

Worm Digest
Everybody's favorite news quarterly on vermicomposting.

The City of Austin's Green Builder Program
A good start for resources on sustainable building and design.

The History of Plumbing
Page titles read: Ancient Plumbing in Babylonia, Crete, Pompeii & Herculaneum; and The History of Plumbing, Roman & English Legacy, Plagues & Epidemics, The Men That Made the Water Closet, and Thomas Crapper.

American Bamboo Society
Everything you want to know about bamboo.

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
Information about energy, transportation, and sustainable design.

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Publications

The New York Times

La Jornada
Mexican daily newspaper, in Spanish. Look for Ivan Restrepo's article on Mexican environmental issues every Monday.

Dollars and Sense
Bimonthly magazine covering economic, environmental, and social welfare issues from a politically progressive perspective.

Editor & Publisher
Online newspapers from around the globe.

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Reference

University of Texas at Austin Library Reference section
If you need a reference link, here's where to start. Strong on international archives.

Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
Great collection of maps.

LANIC
Excellent library on Latin American studies; categorized by country and subject.

The United States Library of Congress

CIA Publications and Handbooks
Good source of information on countries.

Harvard Business School Baker Library
Information on non-profits, corporations, economics, legal and medical issues.

Lonely Planet
Maps, country statistics, health and travel information.

The Texas Observer's Progressive Resources site
Media, organizations, politics, and labor links.

CNN Interactive
Today's news.

Cornell Law School's Legal Information Network
A well organized source for hypertext versions of state, federal, and international law.

New York Public Library; Science, Industry, and Business
Links to U.S. company, trade, business, and government resources.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
EDGAR database: corporate information filed with the U.S. government; including executive compensation, earnings, and ownership.

Hoover's Online
Easy to search, loaded with corporate information.

KLD
KLD is a company that promotes socially responsible investing. News and resources for investors.

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Nonprofit Resources

The Foundation Center
Resources for grantmakers and grantseekers in the United States.

Basic Guide to Non-Profit Financial Management, a good resource with many links from the Free Management Library, an on-line library with information for non-profits and for-profit businesses. Its section on social entrepreneurship is worth a look if you are intersted in the topic. Go the the Library home page.

Nonprofit Times
A news journal targeted primarily on US nonprofit sector

The Chronicle of Philanthropy
A newspaper for grantseekers and grantmakers; published every other week, updated weekly on the web.

United States Government Nonprofit Gateway
Links to government agencies, laws, databases, nonprofit resources, and a search engine that lets you search over 300,000 government web pages.

InterAction
A coalition of more than 150 nonprofits working worldwide. Descriptions of each organization plus information on humanitarian and development related issues.

OneWorld
OneWorld is an "Internet community" of 120 organizations, primarily European non-profits. Newsletter, actions, and member list with links to their addresses and web pages.

Independent Sector
A membership organization that advocates for philanthropy, charities, and volunteerism. Strong on information relating to the impact of the nonprofit sector, US tax policy, and related publications.

Environmental Grantmakers Association
Membership list, resources links, and description of EGA.

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Search Engines

AltaVista

Yahoo

Google

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