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Environmental News
Contact:Rowena L. Michaels
(913) 551-7003
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 1998
EPA RECOGNIZES THE IOWA WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ASSOCIATION FOR EXCELLENCE
The Iowa Water Pollution Control Association Biosolids Committee is a recipient of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 annual Beneficial Use of Biosolids Award. EPA Region 7 Water, Wetlands and Pesticide Division Director Gale Hutton will present the award at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, September 22, 1998. The award ceremony will be held at the University Park Holiday Inn, 1800 50th Street, West Des Moines.
The awards program generally recognizes municipal wastewater treatment Plants in the region's four states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
EPA Region 7 Administrator Dennis Grams said, "EPA and the state environmental agencies have instituted various initiatives to remind treatment facility operators that good, sound operation and maintenance practices protect our nation's lakes and streams from pollution."
"Part of the operational process of a treatment facility deals with a system's ability to find beneficial ways to use sewage sludge (biosolids) - solid organic waste removed from wastewater. This awards program usually recognizes communities that have shown a commitment to treating sludge as a valuable natural resource instead of a problem."
"This is the first time that Region 7 has recognized a non-profit organization for this type of an award," Grams added. "Because of their efforts, the use of biosolids as a fertilizer has become a widely accepted practice in Iowa."
The Iowa Water Pollution Control Association (IWPCA) Biosolids Committee has been instrumental in shaping public opinion towards the use of biosolids as fertilizer on crop lands in Iowa. The committee has promoted numerous programs to inform the public and the agricultural community about the benefits of biosolids as fertilizer. They have created brochures, reference guides and an educational video to promote the use of biosolids.
The committee also works with communities to promote the use of biosolids as a commodity instead of a waste. They have formed alliances with organizations like the Farm Bureau, Future Farmers of America, Iowa State Extension Service and others to educate, promote and encourage the use of biosolids.
The committee has been active in monitoring changing regulations, local ordinances and providing input to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Legislature, and local regulatory agencies. The committee was extensively involved with rewriting Iowa regulations to conform to the new 503 Regulations, and assisted mainly through an annual conference on educating the biosolids community and the public about the regulations.
The committee's corner stone event is the annual Biosolids Conference that brings together all those involved in the biosolids land application program. The conference offers education seminars for farmers and landowners, waste treatment plant operators and generators, the applicators, and consultants and researchers. The conference addresses changing regulations and allows for dialogue with regulators.
The Iowa Water Pollution Control Association Biosolids Committee is now entered in EPA's national awards competition. Winners of that competition will be announced during the October 3-7, 1998, Water Environment Federation (WEF) Conference in Orlando, Florida.
