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July / August 2014

Vol. VIII No. 4

Serving Soil, Mulch, Compost, & Biofuel Professionals www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com

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NEWS

Just when you thought regulations couldn’t get any worse, the EPA is unleashing another major power grab, even assuming the godlike power to redraw state boundaries.

By Michael S. Coffman, Ph.D. hen Lisa Jackson was forced to step down as head of the Environmental Protection Agency in February 2013, there was a collective sigh of relief. She had been caught illegally using “Richard Windsor” as an alternate email address t o t h wa r t ov e r s i g h t o f her correspondence when p l a n n i n g d u b i o u s E PA a c t i o n s. I t wa s r ap i d ly becoming apparent that the EPA was corrupt to the core in all its actions, including the science it used.

John Bardwell

Entering Never-Never Land

he hope of achieving true science and honesty with the next EPA administrator was dashed with the confirmation of Gina McCarthy in July 2013. McCarthy can only be described as even worse than Jackson. Much worse. She believes in using bureaucratic regulations to stop every perceived activity that allegedly causes pollution, especially those activities most often blamed for global warming. In her drive to become “sustainable,” McCarthy wrote in a 2012 letter to Congress, “There is no threshold level of fine particle pollution below which health risk reductions are not achieved by reduced exposure.” In other words, no regulation is too severe if any risk remains. In essence, she is now aggressively implementing the United Nations Agenda. S i n c e M c C a r t hy ’s c o n f i r m a t i o n , Regulations.gov shows that the Obama administration is flooding the nation with more than 1,000 final and over 6,000 introduced regulations during the first quarter of 2014. Many

of these are draconian in nature. One of these cuts the sulfur content of gasoline by 67 percent by 2017. While the EPA issued its usual exaggerated “it’s wonderful” platitudes, knowledgeable analysts advise the new rule will have almost no environmental or health benefit and raise the price of gasoline by up to 10 cents a gallon. It will also cost the oil industry billions of dollars in capital costs. The auto industry likes it, not because it believes the rule is needed, but because the EPA has promised them it will not keep coming back with ever increasing restrictions that drive up industry costs. Some call this extortion. McCarthy’s ideology would necessarily demand that every human activity, from cooking, driving, to cleaning out a closet, be regulated. After all, using her rationale, how do we know if the dust created by cleaning a closet will provide the trigger that leads to death? Ridiculous? It doesn’t matter that toxicological studies that actually evaluate the impact of fine particles on cardiopulmonary function show that current levels of fine particulates are harmless. In McCarthy’s logic, as long as there is a chance, then it is fair game as impetus for new regulation. This same principle provides the foundation of Agenda 21 and is called the Precautionary Principle in “UNeze.” The Precautionary Principle prevents any human action that could, no matter how small the risk, cause environmental damage. It doesn’t take rocket science to realize that if the U.N.’s nihilistic Precautionary Principle were fully Continued on page 3

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The United EPA of America Continued from page 1

implemented, earth’s residents would soon be living in caves. Perhaps this is illustrated best by the flood of regulations soon to be issued by the EPA, requiring carbon capture and storage sequestration (CCS) for new coal-fired power plants. CCS injects CO2 into the rock strata of the earth. Experts in the industry adamantly proclaim that the technology is not yet commercially available for capture and storage of CO2. Consequently, this rule effectively bans all new coal-fired plants from ever being built. McCarthy denies this, saying that carbon capture and sequestration “is a technology that is feasible, and it’s available today. It’s been demonstrated to be effective. We know that it’s been demonstrated, and it’s being actually constructed on real facilities today.” McCarthy may be correct technologically; four operational pilot CCS power plants are being built. While feasible, they are a long way from being economically viable. Texas Energy Project, one of the four pilot plants, has been stranded because the buyer of its electricity has backed out. The electricity cost is uneconomically higher than gas-fired generated electricity. It’s like space flight. We’ve traveled to the moon, but commercial travel is still decades away. The same is true for coal-fired CCS as well. Another of the four pilot projects is Southern Company’s Kemper County facility in Mississippi. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) told Janet McCabe, the EPA’s top air-pollution regulator, “You don’t live in the real world.” That project has faced cost overruns, and Scalise’s “real world” comment to McCabe was made as he argued that the Kemper facility is not a nationally replicable model. The Heritage Foundation released a major study on the impact of the proposed EPA coal regulations on March 4. It found that “by the end of 2023, nearly 600,000 jobs will be lost, a family of four’s income will drop by $1,200 per year, and aggregate gross domestic product decreases by $2.23 trillion over the entire period of the analysis.” Although some may accuse the Heritage Foundation of overstating the impact, it nonetheless is based on the federal government’s National Energy Model System and shockingly demonstrates the magnitude of how much the EPA skews financial, social and environmental impacts to justify its actions. Like most progressives, McCarthy’s ideology ignores real science and focuses on what she “feels” to be the truth. If her current actions are any indication, her feelings are finely tuned to sense any and all real or perceived risks. Are any of us safe? Even rural residents living miles from their nearest neighbors are now feeling the heavy boot of the EPA. The “say no to everything” agency just banned the production and sale of 80 percent of America’s wood-burning stoves. Two percent of U.S. homes (2.4 million) totally heat with wood, especially those living in the

rural countryside. Another 10 percent use wood as supplemental heat. Most woodstoves cannot meet the EPA’s new 12 microgram per cubic meter of air standard. The only use for these stoves now is scrap metal. Families who used to depend on them for heat now have to spend several thousand dollars to install a propane or oil heater. There was no reason to impose the new woodstove regulations other than pressure from environmental groups and an unending lust by the EPA to expand its regulatory authority. This is another example of the “sue and settle” racket whereby environmental groups sue the EPA for some trumped up failure to regulate whereupon the EPA settles out of court for a few million dollars and a host of new regulations. The victimized industry then has to conform to the strangling regulations or go out of business. The consumer has to pay for the increased costs of the product and for increased taxes needed for the EPA to pay off the eco-group in the settlement. It’s not insignificant. According to the General Accounting Office, Earthjustice received almost $5 million in EPA settlements to its lawsuits between 1995 and 2010. That income then goes into funding more lawsuits.

Ignoring the Constitution

t gets worse. On May 1, 2013, nominee McCarthy told attendees of the Green Education Celebration at the University of Massachusetts: “I will tell you that I didn’t go to Continued on page 4

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The United EPA of America Continued from page 3

Washington to sit around and wait for congressional action. Never done that before, and don’t plan to in the future.” That’s not mere arrogance; that is the statement of intent to defy the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. The EPA is not allowed by the Constitution to make law and neither is President Obama, but that minor problem doesn’t seem to bother either the EPA or the president. Both ignore the fact that only Congress can make law. McCarthy apparently believes that the lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of EPA regulations are a badge of honor. She claimed during the Green Education Celebration that the EPA has a legal mandate to regulate—and it will do so with or without Congress: “Since we passed the CO2 regulations, 15 entities have decided they want to sue us about it, so it must be pretty cool.... You know, carbon dioxide and all these greenhouse gases actually do pose a danger to public health...under the Clean Air Act and, lo and behold, we’re required under law to regulate it. That is, indeed, what we are going to do whether Congress moves forward or whether it doesn’t.” McCarthy treats CO2 as if it is a toxic poison. She has apparently forgotten her high school science where she should have learned she would live for maybe two minutes (probably less) if earth didn’t have carbon dioxide. At any rate, she and millions of other alarmists have forgotten that green plants must have carbon dioxide to live—it’s their food! Without carbon dioxide there would be no plants. Without plants, very little oxygen would be produced. Without oxygen, we would all be dead, along with almost every other living thing. The more carbon dioxide, the faster plants grow. The faster plants grow, the more human food that is produced. Food production has increased by an estimated 15 to 20 percent from increased carbon dioxide alone! Of course, this little fact is inconvenient to its political agenda so it’s ignored. McCarthy’s “regulate everything” disconnect from reality justifies any action by the EPA to stop any perceived pollution or damage to the environment, no matter who is hurt or how high the cost. McCarthy has granted herself the authority to do it, the Constitution be damned. She is so convinced of her righteous position that she demanded, “Can we stop talking about environmental regulations killing jobs, please?” when addressing Harvard Law School on July 31 last year. “We need to embrace cutting-edge technology as a way to spark business innovation.” Like many bureaucrats, McCarthy seems to live in an alternate universe. Dozens of independent analyses, like the Heritage example earlier, clearly show that EPA regulations kill jobs and cost billions of dollars. Progressives in the current administration repeatedly ignore hard facts that don’t support their version of reality. McCarthy is no exception. “The Disconnect” (an article published in RANGE magazine, Fall 2013) details the stunning failure of the 10-year European green energy disaster that is bankrupting the European Union. Such in-your-face hard evidence that green energy does not work has not dissuaded Obama in the slightest. He has declared from on high that it will work in the United States because junk science ordains that it will. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) summed up the concern of thousands of analysts and concerned citizens about the junk science and nontransparency of the EPA during McCarthy’s April 11 nomination hearings. “I am concerned that the central functions of the agency have been obfuscated by ideology, frustrated by a severe lack of transparency, undermined by science the agency keeps hidden, and implemented without regard for economic consequences.” He went on to detail the agency’s history of stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests and its refusal to provide hard scientific data to Congress while cherry-picking data to fit its needs. As bad as all this is, the EPA has jumped into the realm previously reserved for the gods. In December 2013, it decreed the city of Riverton, Wyo., was no longer in the state of Wyoming and the United States, but part of the Wind River Reservation. The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes had requested “state status” under the Clean Air Act to get more grant money and sovereignty in monitoring air quality. The EPA unilaterally and unconstitutionally voided a 1905 agreement between Congress and the sovereign state of Wyoming that established the reservation’s boundaries. By its action, one million acres of Wyoming, 4

Soil & Mulch Producer News

July / August 2014

including Riverton, were transferred to the reservation. Rewriting the law and moving state boundaries without the state’s knowledge apparently is nothing more than a good day’s work for the EPA. Such a bizarre action, however, puts a fine point on how lawless the EPA—indeed the entire Obama administration—has become. Wyoming will fight the move, of course. But why should it have to spend taxpayer money to fight such an outrageous, illegal and insane action? The growing power of the EPA and the federal government in general is not an academic issue with no consequences. It has had a profoundly negative impact on the U.S. economy. According to the Fraser Institute and CATO’s Economic Freedom of the World, combined economic ranking of the United States in the world, from 1980 to 2000, was second or third place, behind Hong Kong and Singapore. It plunged to 19th in 2011—mostly due to federal spending, debt, loss of a stable legal system and property rights, and skyrocketing regulations. The legal-system-andprivate-property-rights ranking plummeted from number one in 1980 to 38th in 2011, while the rank for the fewest impacting regulations went from fourth place to 17th place. Big government (progressivism) and especially the EPA are destroying the economic foundation of the United States. At the rate McCarthy is spewing out regulations, she is shifting this destruction into high gear.

Hope

he EPA might finally be checkmated on its extraconstitutional rule making. States and industries have filed suit against the agency claiming in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA that the EPA has assumed powers to regulate carbon dioxide not granted by the 1973 Clean Air Act. In 2007, the Supreme Court found in Massachusetts v. EPA that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are pollutants that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act. That worked for motor vehicles, but would produce absurd results if applied to stationary businesses like bakeries and offices. So the EPA simply, unilaterally and arbitrarily rewrote the Clean Air Act to revise the emission minimum for CO2 from 240 tons to 25,000 tons. That’s 100 times more than the law allowed. However, the higher emission limits still include all coal-fired generating power plants and other large industrial facilities. This arbitrary limit, created out of thin air, allows the EPA to eventually shut down all coal-fired plants—something it has been salivating over for many years. Craig Rucker of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow warns: “If the court sides with EPA, there will be virtually no limitations on how far Executive Branch agencies can go in twisting science, laws and our Constitution to advance their agendas—while ignoring facts, genuine science, and the impacts of regulations on our lives, livelihoods and liberties.” Arguments for both sides were presented on Feb. 24, 2014. Justice Anthony Kennedy, usually the swing vote on these cases, seemed skeptical of the EPA’s power grab, telling Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., during oral arguments, “I couldn’t find a single precedent that supports [EPA’s] position.” While hopeful, the history of the court’s decisions is littered with the bones of predictions made by parsing these kinds of statements. If the court wants to undertake the case, it should decide sometime this summer. The EPA has become a rogue agency that acts as if it is not accountable to anything or anyone. In an Aug. 6, 1993, internal working document, the EPA bluntly stated that it, along with other agencies, should “fulfill its existing international obligations [e.g., Convention on Biological Diversity, Agenda 21]...and to amend national policies to achieve international objectives.” The agency (and others) has been faithful to that mission since then. Under Obama and McCarthy, the pace of implementation is full speed ahead. Increasingly, critics of the EPA conclude that it can no longer be “fixed.” The lust for increasing control over everything and everyone has become embedded in its DNA. The EPA must be abolished or totally replaced with fresh blood having vastly reduced authority. Second, the new entity must be divided into two bodies—one for rule making and the other for enforcement—both with very strong congressional oversight.

Soil

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EPA—The God Over Water In its lust to become the god among men, the EPA is rewriting the Clean Water Act to technically give itself jurisdiction over every drop of water in America—and every citizen.

By Michael S. Coffman, Ph.D.

occurred even though its jurisdiction was still restricted by the CWA. he magnitude of impacts created by the EPA’s new clean-air The EPA and Corps are justifying their jurisdiction expansion on regulations pale in comparison to its quantum leap in its the basis of “Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream seizing of total power using the Clean Water Act (CWA). Waters.” That is the name of an EPA report which allegedly provides In tandem with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the science to justify this enormous landgrab. What good is it if the EPA administrator Gina McCarthy is launching what can only be EPA only has authority over navigable waters described as a diabolical expansion of its the streams and seeps draining into them are regulatory authority that would technically put “EPA administrator ifalready polluted? Although noble sounding, every American under its direct authority. All Gina McCarthy is states already have laws that effectively regulate without any congressional action. this kind of pollution. So why is it necessary The original intent of the CWA was to launching what can for the EPA to expand its jurisdiction, if not to control discharge into the “navigable waters of the United States.” The EPA’s jurisdiction only be described as a expand its control over state sovereignty? to the environmental law firm of ended if the water couldn’t float a boat or was diabolical expansion of Van According Ness-Feldman, “The [Connectivity] Draft not directly connected to a river that flowed into its regulatory authority Study reaches three initial conclusions, all of an ocean. imply that the agencies’ proposed rule The Supreme Court muddied the term that would technically which will expand the scope of CWA jurisdiction.” The “navigable” in Rapanos v. United States (2006). The EPA had assumed jurisdiction of John put every American Draft Study concludes: (1) “[s]treams, regardless of their size or how frequently they flow, are Rapanos’ disconnected or isolated wetlands in the under its direct connected to and have important effects on Upper Peninsula of Michigan, not far from Lake downstream waters”; (2) “wetlands and open Michigan. Rapanos claimed that since there was authority.” waters in floodplains of streams and rivers and no connection to navigable water, the EPA and in riparian areas are integrated with streams and rivers”; and (3) “there Corps had no jurisdiction. The case went to the Supreme Court, which is insufficient information to determine the role isolated wetlands and ruled that only waters with a “significant nexus” to “navigable waters” open waters play in the connectivity of downstream waters.” are covered by the Clean Water Act. But what does “significant” mean? The “insufficient information” only means the EPA has not The EPA wants it to mean anything it wants. yet decided whether to expand its jurisdiction or to “take a more Specifically, the purpose of the CWA in Section 101 is to “restore nuanced case-by-case approach to regulation.” Not much solace to and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the property owners. The “no risk” precautionary principle used by EPA’s nation’s waters.” The EPA reveals in the Federal Register that it wants administrator Gina McCarthy does not bode well for any American. its new regulations to redefine “navigable waters of the United States” Not to worry says the EPA, there is a good side. The report to include tributaries, regardless of size and continuity of flow, and all specifically “does not propose changes to existing regulatory exemptions lakes, ponds and wetlands, including “ephemeral” (disconnected) waters. and exclusions, including those that apply to the agricultural sector that Other bodies of water or wet areas like isolated wetlands or temporary ensure the continuing production of food, fiber and fuel to the benefit standing water (this technically could include mud puddles) would be of all Americans.” The CWA calls these exclusions “nonpoint” sources, examined on a case-by-case basis. which are not under the jurisdiction of the EPA—yet. The agency has Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) warns: “The EPA’s draft water rule is a pushed hard since the law was passed to get nonpoint sources like massive power grab of private property across the United States. This agriculture, forestry, lawns and similar activities also included in the could be the largest expansion of EPA regulatory authority ever. If the CWA and under EPA jurisdiction. draft rule is approved [by the EPA], it would allow the EPA to regulate It’s already happening. The EPA threatened Lois Alt, a West virtually every body of water in the United States, including private Virginia chicken farmer, with a $37,500 fine every time it rained. The and public lakes, ponds and streams.” Although the EPA adamantly EPA used the CWA as its authority because storm water near Alt’s denies this, every action it has taken since the 1990s suggests that this farm “could” come into contact with the high nitrogen in the chickens’ massive extension of authority is exactly what the agency intends to do. waste, which would threaten the downstream water supply. Alt sued Water is one of the key factors for life on earth, not only for the the EPA saying she was exempt from the CWA under the nonpoint crops necessary to feed people, but for the people themselves. Humans exemption. She won. can live for about three days without water. Whoever controls the water Not satisfied with the outcome, the EPA is appealing the case in an controls life itself. attempt to overcome the nonpoint exemption by stealth. Fortunately, Alt The EPA’s previous administration of the CWA is littered with the is getting help from the American Farm Bureau because it “has obvious bones of people and businesses that ran afoul of its ruthless power. In importance to thousands of livestock and poultry farmers nationwide.” Sackett v. EPA (2012), the court issued a very rare unanimous ruling If eventually successful, the EPA would evolve from being the high against the EPA in which every justice admonished the agency for its priest of America to a godlike beast of biblical proportions with absolute overreach. The EPA had arbitrarily declared the Sacketts’ building lot power over everyone and everything. The United Nations Agenda 21 a wetlands and threatened a fine of up to $75,000 per day if they didn’t would be fully entrenched in the United States. No agency or branch return the lot to pristine condition, even though it was surrounded by of government should ever have that kind of power. houses. The Sacketts weren’t even given a right of appeal. The EPA’s attack

Dr. Michael Coffman is president of Environmental Perspectives Incorporated and CEO of Sovereignty International. He is an expert in property rights and geopolitical issues. He has authored numerous books and videos and can be reached at 207-945-9878. Learn more at AmericaPlundered.com.

Reprinted from award-winning quarterly RANGE magazine, Summer 2014 issue, with permission. Call 1-800-RANGE-4-U to subscribe ($20 for 5 issues, regularly $19.95 for 4). Or call for a sample copy. Some of RANGE’s major features can be found at www.rangemagazine.com. July / August 2014 Soil & Mulch Producer News

Soil

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Washington Bio-tech Company Raises $5 Million for Food Scrap Converter

edmond, WA—IndustryLeadersMagazine.com reports that WISErg Corporation has secured financing for further developing its Harvester™ food-to-fertilizer conversion technology and expanding its marketing reach. The Harvester units are being deployed at regional and national grocery outlets in the Puget Sound area of Washington, including Whole Foods Market, Town & Country Markets, PCC Natural Markets, and Red Apple Markets. A company news release reports active discussions with other regional and national grocery chains. The company is also targeting farmers and consumers, particularly those in California. The Harvester is a fully sealed, odor-free unit that can process all food scraps, including meat, seafood, deli and produce. According to WISErg’s website descriptions, the unit processes the scraps using a patent-pending oxidative conversion process, which extracts nutrients before they become waste. Those nutrients are then used to create a locally based, natural agricultural fertilizer that can be sold in bulk to commercial farmers and be packaged for retail consumer sales. The Harvester unit comes with computing capability to capture data about the sources of food scraps and environmental conditions. Businesses such as grocers can analyze the data to make informed inventory management decisions. The new funding — which brings the total amount of capital raised by WISErg to $7.75 million — will be used for further developing the Harvester technology and WISErg’s fertilizer production process, as well as expanding marketing operations. The company currently is developing alliances with haulers in California.

Scientists Learn How Deer Overpopulation Impacts Forests

thaca, NY—Deer have discerning taste buds, something which spells trouble for forests when deer proliferate, according to a Cornell University study. Cornell researchers have discovered that a burgeoning deer population can stall the natural forest growth because deer like to eat native woody plants. When this happens, the non-native species tend to flourish, dropping seeds in the soil which can virtually choke out the native species or lead to imbalance. Ultimately, this impacts the soil composition and, in turn, the types of plant systems that will thrive. Scientists warn that the future of the forest is forever altered when deer populations become too large. The study, “Deer Browsing Delays Succession by Altering Aboveground Vegetation and Belowground Seed Banks,” was published online March 7, 2014 in PLoS ONE. “Deer are slowing down forest succession or natural establishment. In fact, the deer are preventing forests from establishing,” says Anurag Agrawal, Cornell professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, a coauthor on the paper. As forests normally mature, their grasses give way to herbs and shrubs, and then new trees eventually take root. Expanding deer populations in the Northeast, however, stall forest development and promote the growth of thorny thickets of buckthorn, viburnum and multiflora rose bushes. If deer leave the forests alone, such trees as cottonwood, locust and sumac can sprout and grow unimpeded. Deer select forests for their trees but in doing so disrupt forest system growth trajectories, concludes the study. The multiyear study, conducted in Ithaca – where the deer density is about 39 animals per square kilometer, about 10 times greater than it was before European settlement in the late 1700s.

Food Waste Collection in Seattle Ramps Up with PacifiClean Contract

University of New Hampshire Launches High-Tech Composting Facility

eattle, WA—PacifiClean Environmental has been approved to operate a compost facility and to transport and process between 55 and 60 percent of Seattle’s waste, according to DailyRecordNews.com and the Associated Press. Earlier this year, Spokane-based PacificClean began transporting curbside food scraps and yard waste that were previously taken in by Cedar Grove Composting, Inc. The companies have worked out an agreement for Cedar Grove’s facility to continue accepting the organic waste until PacifiClean’s compost facility in Grant County is ready, most likely at the beginning of 2015. PacifiClean won Seattle’s $4 million-a-year hauling and composting contract last year to handle the biggest share of the area’s compostable waste. However, the company ran into snags for building compost facilities when citizens in two communities voiced opposition. PacifiClean also markets end products such as soil amendments, mulch, and renewable compressed natural gas (CNG). The six-year contract aligns PacifiClean with Seattle’s recycling goals. The agreement may be extended for two successive two-year periods. According to the company’s website, “The City of Seattle has a current recycling rate of about 54% and a long-range 70% goal by 2025.” Another composting company, Lenz Enterprises Inc., will collect about 40 percent of the city’s yard and food waste. PacifiClean’s 38-acre Kittitas County Integrated Organics Processing Facility located near Cle Elum, Washington has been developed as a state-of-the-art operation. The company purchased more than 190 acres to support the process and provide a buffer. Organic materials will come from the Puget Sound Region, and small and large communities in Kittitas, Yakima, and surrounding counties. 6

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urham, NH—The Joshua Nelson Energy Recovery Compost Facility at University of New Hampshire is not only producing high-quality compost and electricity, it is yielding valuable research data, according to a Foster.com article. Since the system was installed, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES) scientists have conducted a number of research projects on composting, including best practices for aeration, compost recipes, fertilizer applications, irrigation methods, whether or not to cover the compost, loading methodology, composting in winter, and heat production. The facility employs cutting-edge technology developed by its namesake, Joshua Nelson, a sustainable agriculture pioneer who, along with his former colleagues at Agrilab Technologies, developed the system. UNH is the only university in the nation using the cutting-edge energy recovery composting system that combines fans and a heat exchanger. This “active aeration” method pulls hot vapor from the bottom of the compost pile, transfers it, and ultimately, turns it into hot water. The heated water can be pumped to reservoirs to be used for wash water, provide preheated water for a boiler, or in hydronic heating systems. At the Organic Dairy Research Farm, it is used to pre-heat the water used to clean and sterilize the tank and tubing in the milk room, which is a significant energy requirement for dairies. The active aeration composting method also prevents the offensive odors normally associated with commercial operations. The Isobar® heat transfer technology used in the UNH system was patented by Acrolab, Ltd. of Windsor, Ontario. Acrolab worked with Nelson and Brian Jerose, who together founded Agrilab Technologies to bring the technology to the United States.

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Study Shows That MSW is a Viable Option for Waste-to-Energy

new study conducted by the Earth Engineering Center (EEC) of Columbia University has found that if all of the municipal solid waste (MSW) that is currently put into landfills each year in the United States were diverted to waste-to-energy (WTE) power plants, they could generate enough electricity to power nearly 14 million homes annually, or 12 percent of the U.S. total. According to the study, this shift also could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 123 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year, an amount comparable to taking more than 23 million cars off our roads. The new study, “2014 Energy and Economic Value of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), including and Non-recycled Plastics (NRP), Currently Landfilled in the Fifty States,” found that the recovery of resources from waste, and hence, diverted from landfill, in the United States increased between 2008 and 2011. The recycling of materials from MSW improved by 18.5 million tons, and the tonnage of materials processed by WTE facilities grew by 3.8 million tons during this period. “Modern technologies that convert waste into energy present a good opportunity to significantly reduce our reliance on landfills, lower our carbon footprint, and provide renewable energy to businesses and communities,” said Nickolas Themelis, director of the Earth Engineering Center at Columbia University. “Currently, many developed nations are further along in embracing and expanding their use of energy recovery technologies as a vital part of their sustainable resource management systems. This presents an important opportunity for city planners and policy makers in the United States.” Sponsored by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the study is based on data obtained in Columbia University’s 2014 Survey of Waste Management in the U.S., which looked at waste management statistics during 2011, and from MSW characterization studies in several states.

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July / August 2014 Soil & Mulch Producer News

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Mulch Producer NEWS

Rhode Island Passes Food Waste Recycling Bill

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rovidence, RI—Food waste composting now will be mandatory for Rhode Island companies and institutions that generate two or more tons of such waste per week, or 104 tons per year, reports ProvidenceJournal.com. The new state law affects colleges, restaurants, commercial food wholesaler and distributors, industrial food manufacturers and processors, supermarkets, resorts, conference centers, banquet halls, religious institutions, military installations, prisons, corporations, hospitals and casinos. The requirement does not apply to the institutions until a food waste handler opens for business within 15 miles of their location. The law also does not apply to residential waste. The state’s goal is to significantly reduce organic landfill waste by 2016, which now goes to the state’s Central Landfill. Only one largescale food-scrap composting operation exists currently in Rhode Island, but Sen. Catherine Cool Rumsey believes it will encourage more entrepreneurs. “This legislation is an invitation to entrepreneurs who will know that locating in Rhode Island will guarantee a market for their services,” she said in a statement. The law allows institutions to compost onsite, have the food waste hauled away for agricultural purposes, such as animal feed, or to send it to a compost facility or waste-toenergy plant. NEO Energy of New Hampshire has expressed an interest in building a 500-kilowatt anaerobic food digester in Rhode Island that will capture methane from the food waste to generate electricity. As state legislatures and citizen groups consider diverting food waste from landfills, they run up against a frequent problem – little infrastructure to support their plans, reports a WSJ.com article. More facilities and systems must first be in place – particularly those that can convert the food waste into fertilizer or electricity, the article concludes.

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Mulch & Soil Council News, Current Issues & Events Raw Material Supply

ne of the greatest threats to future stability of mulch and soil markets is the loss of raw materials caused by unfair competition with governmentsubsidized, biomass energy plants. Foreign government subsidies are driving an explosive pellet mill growth surge in the U.S., particularly in the southern forest markets. New plant construction for foreign exports of wood pellets are proposed throughout the southern region. While the prospects of stopping foreign government subsidies are remote, the Mulch & Soil Council is actively working to discourage the use of U.S. Federal and State tax-funded subsidies for wood pellet plant construction and operations. Subsidies unfairly shift the existing free market for wood fiber raw materials and destroy existing product production and employment in America. The Council conducted a survey of producers in the southeast to estimate the economic value mulch and soil producers contribute to state economies. We also investigated existing jobs that would be lost in the event pellet mills forced mulch plant closings due to lack of raw materials. Our first effort to educate state officials on key issues for the wood fiber market was a visit to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, the NC State Forestry Department and the NC State Economic Development Office. The results of our efforts in North Carolina will be discussed at the Council annual meeting in San Antonio, TX, in October. Our next effort targets Georgia and South Carolina in a state-by-state campaign to assure a fair and undistorted market for wood fiber users.

Regulatory Inspections

t the start of this season, numerous state weights and measures departments engaged in unusually high numbers of inspections of packaged mulch materials. In many cases, the effort is in response to a request from the National Conference on Weights & Measures (NCWM) following an industry complaint regarding unfair trade practices. With the exception of few particular and very public failures, industry is reporting a mixed bag of results. However, one new issue surfaced indicating that some states are not conducting the same test as others. Almost all states subscribe the uniform test procedures set forth in Handbook 133 of the National Institutes of Science and Technology (NIST), but some states are using modified procedures based upon a state or individual inspector’s interpretation of general terms, such as: compacted, continuous flow; moisture content and container size. The Mulch & Soil Council has raised a number of questions regarding current procedures with NIST, who recommends that any areas industry feels need to be changed or clarified, must go through the approval process

of performance for greenhouse gas emissions have been making headlines. How the EPA’s two primary tools for regulating GHG emissions from stationary sources will effect biomass depends on the U.S. Supreme Court, language in the final rules and, most importantly, how the EPA accounts for biogenic CO2 emissions. If the heart of the issue is the presumption that biomass energy is more environmentally friendly, why are biomass facilities exempt from proving that assumption, and why have they not been required to test emissions to the same standards as other energy-producing industries? The obvious explanation for the biomass industry’s desperate effort to maintain an exemption from emissions tests is simply that they don’t believe they can pass the standards.

of the National Conference on Weights & Measures (NCWM) before adoption by NIST for HB 133. A special committee of the Council has been created to draft changes and clarifications for HB 133 to close troublesome loopholes in the current procedures. A report of the committee’s progress will be presented in San Antonio in October.

Is Wood the New Coal?

growing body of science indicates energy generation from woody biomass is even less environmentally friendly than energy production using coal. According to the website Law360, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s tailoring rule and standards

43rd MSC Annual Meeting The Hyatt Regency– San Antonio, TX October 14-16, 2014 (Preliminary Program Schedule)*

Committee Works ◊ Weights & Measures HB 133 Committee Meeting ◊ Standards Committee Meeting / Wood Blending Procedures ◊ Certification Committee Meeting

Program Presentations How MSDS-to-SDS Rule Changes Impact You

Global harmonization is bringing new regulations for product safety reporting that takes effect July 1, 2015. Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) must be converted to new Safety Data Sheets (SDS) with new rules and requirements. Learn what you will have to do for mulch and soil products and how to convert information before the regulatory deadline. Presenter: Charles Leonard, ASLAN Group, Baton Rouge, LA

Weights & Measure Challenges for 2014 & 2015 Coordinated state enforcement shined a light on significant issues regarding state weights and measures enforcement practices and procedures. This session will review the enforcement actions for 2014, new issues that must be addressed and what to expect for 2015.

Threat Assessment of the Pellet Mill Boom

The boom in new and proposed biomass energy facilities, especially pellet mills exporting to overseas, is creating new market realities for wood fiber materials. This session will look at the projected growth in biomass consumption of forest resources, key issues surrounding that demand and what mulch & soil producers must do to assure future raw materials supplies to remain in business.

Recommended Mulch Blending Procedures

New regulatory interest in mulch blending claims and practices requires industry to take a hard look at blended products and recommended practices to assure claimed objectives. This session will report the findings of MSC research on mulch blending and recommended practices to achieve product claims.

Forest Inventory & Utilzation Update

With increased demand for wood fiber for multiple industries, it is time to take a look at current forest utilization data and project future inventories and harvest supplies for the next several years. Will there be ample materials to meet demand or will declining supplies and booming competition drive prices beyond practical limits?

Transportation Logistics

How far and how soon will the shortage of drivers, increased hours of service regulations and ever rising costs for fuels and services in the trucking industry drive shippers to look at alternative transportation options. What are the decision points you need to consider? Is operating your own fleet a viable choice for the future? *Subject to change.

Featured Speakers A Futurist’s Economic View: Where Are We Headed? Dr. Lowell Catlett is a Futurist and Regents Professor in Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business and Extension Economics and the Dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University. An amazing speaker, Dr. Catlett has a unique viewpoint on the American consumer and markets that will turn your perception of today’s economy in directions you never considered. Deeply thought provoking and wildly entertaining, Lowell is a futurist you will understand and take to heart when considering options for your personal or corporate future. If after this presentation you can honestly say you have not quoted Lowell at least twice a year for the next 2 years, we will refund your registration fee – YES, HE IS THAT GOOD!

The Crow Report David Crow is the Council’s man on Capitol Hill who will share his insider’s view of what is happening with legislative and regulatory issues that will impact your business. David will also present our annual update on government regulations, Congress and the 2014 mid-term elections. David has been right about the past 3 elections; so, come hear what 2015 has in store for our nation and its impact on you and your business. – YES, HE IS THAT GOOD, TOO! Mulch & Soil Council 7809 FM 179 Shallowater, TX 79363 T: 806.832.1810 Info@mulchandsoilcouncil.org www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org

July / August 2014 Soil & Mulch Producer News 13

Soil

Mulch Producer NEWS

Texas Biomass Plant to Reopen

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ufkin, TX—Aspen Power, a directfire wood biomass plant in East Texas, will resume operations after a two-year shutdown, reports FierceEnergy.com. The plant, which is owned by NRG Energy Services LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NRG Energy Inc., was shut down in the fall of 2012 after being online for only a year. Plant operations are overseen by InventivEnergy, a clean energy consulting and asset management firm. “The Aspen Power facility was shut down in the fall of 2012 due to market economics. Since then, our projections show an attractive opportunity for the plant to resume operations and provide competitively-priced clean energy to the Texas market,” said John R. Keller, CEO and founder of InventivEnergy. The Aspen power plant has the capacity to deliver approximately 50 MW to the grid and uses locally sourced clean wood-waste biomass as its fuel supply, utilizing a stoker type boiler with particulate emissions abatement and selective catalytic reduction for NOx control. The plant can consume about 525,000 tons of logging debris and municipal wood waste per year. It was the first major wood biomass power plant in the state.

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St. Louis Composting E3 Washington Producer of Toxic Acquires Green Mulch Identified Recognizes Cedar Erosion Control ogan, ID—Dying plants tipped off a Grove Composting gardener here that the mulch she used Specialist, ECO eattle, WA—Seattle-based Cedar Grove was toxic, according to an article on Composting has been recognized for its IdahoPress.com. Constructors innovative educational programs and The mulch, which came from the city-

alley Park, MO—St. Louis Composting, Inc., one of the region’s largest producers of STA-certified compost, mulch products and soil blends, has acquired ECO Constructors, a leading provider of sustainable storm water erosion control solutions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2002 by Rob Carrothers, and with facilities in Lake St. Louis, Mo. and Foristell, Mo., ECO Constructors helps private and public entities engaged in land development establish regulation-compliant Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP). It offers the full spectrum of low-impact erosion management products and services including living walls, specialty seeding, living channels and swales and creek bank installation. ECO, which has four employees and projects 2014 revenues of more than $1 million, has relocated operations to St. Louis Composting’s headquarters in Valley Park, Mo. The company will continue to operate under the ECO Constructors name according to Patrick Geraty, president of St. Louis Composting.

scholarships by the non-profit, E3 Washington, reports NorthCountyOutlook.com. Each year, E3 presents its “Green Apple” awards to business and school partnerships that work together on sustainability goals. E3 is a non-profit organization that focuses on education, environment and economy components of sustainability. To qualify, the programs must take place in real-world situations and achieve tangible goals. Participants include public schools, colleges and universities, businesses, agencies, first nation tribes and community-based organizations. Cedar Grove was honored for two separate efforts: “Seeds for Scholars,” a college scholarship and internship program, and Organics Recycling Summits. The scholarship program awards students with demonstrated interest in green issues and solutions. The Organics Recycling Summits are designed to increase community awareness and knowledge. In 2013, Cedar Grove began working with teachers and administrators to assess environmental education needs and to develop curriculum to “train the trainers” on organics recycling.

operated Logan Green Waste Facility, was found to be without sufficient aeration to release ammonia. Even a slight level of toxicity and affect tender, young plants, such as lettuce and cilantro, she learned. The resident was told by an employee of the Green Waste Facility that the landscaper had probably left the mulch covered in a trailer for too long, and that the compost pile had not been turned enough at the facility. The Logan Landfill added the Green Waste Facility to help divert yard waste. In 2013, the compost facility received 14,000 tons of green waste from the community. The facility processes green waste into products sold to the public, including compost, wood chips, mulch and firewood. The facility manager emphasized the importance of making sure mulch does not smell overpowering before placing it on their gardens. He said one tip off of toxic mulch is a pungent or sour odor, in which case spreading the mulch on an area away from plants before applying it would be a good idea.

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July / August 2014 Soil & Mulch Producer News 17

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Compost Facility Ordered to Prevent Storm Water Runoff or Shut Down

onoma, CA—If Sonoma’s successful composting program cannot remedy a storm water runoff problem before October, the operation may have to shut down, PressDemocrat.com reports. The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has imposed fines on the composting operation, which is located at the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency’s central landfill. The Board says the facility must build a 29-million-gallon retention pond at the compost facility’s 25-acre site to prevent fouling a creek nearby. The county waste agency says the deadline is too soon to allow it to pull permits and design and build the pond. Agency officials have asked the Board to modify the size of the pond and for relief from the penalties. The compost facility’s two existing ponds together can store a total of 1.2 million gallons of water. The waste agency is studying design and cost of the pond, in addition to alternatives for managing storm water on the site. In 2005, the central landfill was closed and the county had to haul grass clippings and tree branches to other Bay Area compost facilities. “Unless everything falls into just the right place, there is a real possibility that we could be shut down,” said Pam Davis, general manager of Sonoma Compost.

Scientists Gather Data for Predicting Drought

incinnati, OH—Using satellite-based information gathering technology and predictive modeling, University of Cincinnati researchers have been able to identify patterns to help forecast and manage drought. University of Cincinnati geographers, Qiusheng Wu and Hongxing Liu used an Event-based Spatial-Temporal Data Model (ESTDM) to detect, track and monitor US conditions over a fouryear span from 2011 into 2014. ESTDM organizes data into objects, sequences, processes and events, revealing patterns that can be presented graphically. The data they entered into the model was collected from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite which uses remote sensing and can penetrate the earth’s surface to a depth of 5 cm. The study timeframe includes two major US droughts – in Texas and California. “Recent studies have shown that many historical drought events in the U.S. are closely related to La Niña, a phenomenon known for its periodic cooling of sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean. So in addition to measuring soil moisture for drought monitoring, it is also important to measure ocean salinity,” explains Wu. “Soil moisture is defined as the ratio between volume of water and volume of soil holding the water, which is expressed in percentages, so high soil moisture indicates wet while low soil moisture indicates dry. “By studying the soil moisture data from the satellite, we can see where the droughts begin and end, and what might indicate patterns of how it can spread over one large area. The pattern might be used to predict the drought in another location, so that those areas could take precautions to avoid the impact of an oncoming drought,” says Wu. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – known as the leading international organization for the assessment of climate change – predicted in 2012 that future droughts would intensify in some seasons and in many regions worldwide due to reduced precipitation and/or increased evapotranspiration. “Drought ranks among the most costly of all natural disasters. It has wide-ranging impacts on many sectors of society, affecting agriculture, economics, ecosystems services, energy, human health, recreation and water resources. By predicting the timing, severity and movement of drought events, we can provide fundamental information for planning and management in developing a response plan,” says Wu. Future research will involve data gathered from a satellite that NASA is launching toward the end of the year, the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite. Wu says the accuracy, resolution and global coverage of SMAP soil moisture and freeze/thaw measurements would be invaluable across many science and applications disciplines including hydrology, climate and carbon cycle, and the meteorological, environmental and ecology applications communities.

Join the Mulch & Soil Council TODAY ... YOUR best opportunity to protect YOUR business! For more information, call 806-832-1810 or visit www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org

Mulch Producer NEWS

Scientists Study Composting Remains of Animals with Wasting Disease

ttawa, Ontario—Canadian scientists have found a safe way to dispose of animals that have died from “Mad Cow” disease, according to an article on Chemical Engineering News’ ASC.org. The ravages of “Mad Cow” disease, the fatal neurodegenerative disorder which attracted media attention in the 1980s led to new agricultural regulations. In the UK, Europe and North America, regulators acted quickly to keep food products made from the sick animals out of the food supply. In the meantime, scientists isolated the cause of the disease – misfolded proteins, or prions – which were in the meats consumed by some people who then contracted the disease. Incineration has been the disposal method of choice in North America and Europe for the remains of animals affected with various forms of the disease. Meanwhile, safer and more efficient ways of deactivating the prions are being studied in Canada and the US. Tim A. McAllister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and his colleagues looked at research on biodegration properties of compost, particularly the behavior of microbial enzymes. McAllister and his team tested the effect of the enzymes on misfolded prions responsible for three different neurodegenerative diseases: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), scrapie in sheep and goats, and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk. Their research consisted of lab and field experiments. Assay tests revealed that the laboratory composting inactivated 90% of the infectious prions for BSE, 99% of those for scrapie, and 99.9% of those for chronic wasting disease. For the field tests, results were similar. One in five hamsters injected with prions from the field compost heap contracted scrapie, representing a 99.999% reduction in prion infectivity compared with a control treatment. McAllister points out that the normal exposure route—an animal eating contaminated material—transmits the disease much less effectively than introducing prions directly into the brain, as the team did in this study. The greater efficiency of degradation in the field compost could be due to the higher temperature and microbial activity in those piles compared to that in the lab drums, McAllister says. Joel A. Pedersen, an environmental chemist who studies prion disposal at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, says the results are an important step in assessing composting as a solution for prion disposal. Although the approach is economically attractive, he says more study is needed to understand the composting conditions necessary to adequately inactivate the proteins.

July / August 2014 Soil & Mulch Producer News 19

Soil

Mulch Producer NEWS

Product/Equipment Profiles Patz Introduces New Movable Plow-Off Belt Conveyors/Feeders

Buffalo Turbine, LLC Introduces Newly Designed Monsoon Diesel

atz Corporation recently announced the addition of their 2405 and 2410 Movable Plow-Off Belt Conveyors/Feeders to their existing material handling product line. These conveyors/ feeders are equipped with a movable plow and premium belting options that include a low stretch and cold temperature belt. The 24” wide conveyors/feeders allow for transport of larger volumes of material. Customizable with lengths from 4 feet to 400 feet, both the 2405 and 2410 Movable Plow-Off Belt Conveyors/Feeders offer automation and distribution of a variety of materials including dry poultry manure/ litter and compost materials. When used in conjunction with their optional control box and proximity sensors, one-way or two-way plows precisely direct materials to a maximum of ten separate lots. Optional v-plows offer better dispersion of material for efficient usage of overall layout and footprint. A variety of optional equipment make the 2405 and 2410 Movable Plow-Off Belt Conveyors/Feeders Patz’s most versatile belt conveyors/ feeders yet!

o fur ther reduce a contractor’s associated cost with environmental regulation compliance and increase productivity, Buffalo Turbine recently introduced an all-new, self-contained, Monsoon Diesel to their line of Monsoon dust control misting systems. Powering the Buffalo Turbine Monsoon Diesel is a Tier 4 compliant 26.5HP Kohler 3-cylinder diesel engine. Built for industrial and commercial use, the diesel engine features liquid cooling, dual air cleaners and both heat and oil safety shut offs. The Buffalo Turbine Monsoon Diesel features a compact, easily maneuverable three-wheel off-highway trailer and common ¾” connection which can adapt to most standard municipal water supply for fast job site set up. Once operational the standard wireless remote will control both nozzle and throttle function. Also available is a 270 degree oscillation feature that can be turned on/off at the machine. This allows the nozzle to rotate up to 270 degrees on a vertical plane. Dual six gallon fuel tanks extend run time to 8 hours or more.

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Soil

Federal Court Orders Wood Scrap Recycler to Clean Up and Shut Down

lkhart, IN—Neighbors have mixed reactions to a federal court decision requiring the shut-down of a wood grinding operation west of the city, according to ElkhartTruth.com. The legal agreement reached in June allows wood recycler, Soil Solutions, to gradually taper its operations and close down in five years. Complaints about dust and odors around the Soil Solutions site have been going on since the facility opened as VIM Recycling in 2000. One hundred and fifty neighbors filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against VIM Recycling in October of 2009. Four years later, the suit was granted class-action status, expanding the number of plaintiffs to more than 1700 people, who drew support from their district state representative. “Making a profit and having a business is all well and good, recycling is all well and good,” Kim Ferraro, the attorney for the neighbors, told media. ”But you can’t do it at the expense of other people’s lives, and that happened in this case far too long.” “We’re excited, very thankful this is finally coming to a close. We’ve been fighting this thing going on 14 years,” a resident told reporters. In addition to emissions, which neighbors blamed for respiratory problems, the facility had its share of mishaps, including a series of explosions, one that led to a massive fire killing one employee. A preliminary decision was handed down by the court earlier this year. The June accord calls for Soil Solutions to cease industrial operations at the location that caused controversy. The accord does not apply to the company’s other operations around Indiana, including more sites in Elkhart County. Stacey Petrovas, vice president of Soil Solutions, told Elkhart Truth that the firm will likely search out a new site for its wood-grinding operation, which produces animal bedding and mulch. Elkhart County is “the obvious choice” for relocation, he said, but a formal decision hasn’t been made. Ed Sullivan, Soil Solutions lawyer, noted the cost of the legal battle was a factor in the client’s agreement to the settlement terms. Soil Solutions will name a liaison to deal with any complaints from neighbors in the next five years. Per the accord, Soil Solutions admitted no wrongdoing. And the lawsuit continues against VIM. The residents and their attorney told media they thought the state and Elkhart County authorities were lax in intervening in the matter early on. “Had they done their job, it never would’ve come to this,” one neighbor said.

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Antibiotics in Manure Change Soil Bacteria, say German Scientists

raunschweig, Germany – A German study has linked agricultural use of manure with changes in soil bacteria that can decrease crop yields and negatively affect humans, according to a Phys.org article. The joint study was conducted by researchers from Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Julius Kühn Institute. The study paper was published in the scientific journal, PLoS ONE. The scientists found that soil fertilized repeatedly with antibioticcontaminated manure showed a decrease in beneficial bacteria that help to maintain good soil quality. This has a long-term impact on crop yields, the paper says. Moreover, experiments showed that the number of microbes living in the soil that are harmful to humans increased. Professor Michael Schloter, head of Research Unit Environmental Genomics at Helmholtz Zentrum München explained what this means for humans: “The increase in human pathogenic microorganisms in the environment has wide-reaching consequences for human health,” says Professor Schloter. “We are in continuous contact with these microorganisms, and the probability of contracting an infection increases accordingly. This applies particularly to diseases of the respiratory system and the lungs, as bacteria are spread through the air and inhaled. Moreover, many of the bacteria are resistant to commonly used antibiotics, which often makes treatment more difficult. We must therefore urgently develop a new mindset as regards the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry.” The focus of the investigation was on sulfadiazine (SDZ), a widely used antibiotic in animal husbandry which enters the soil via manure.

More Trouble after Philly Area Mulch Company Relocates

hiladelphia, PA—A settlement involving the relocation of a large mulching facility in Montgomery County has swept one county official into its wake, reports an article on Philly.com. The facility, owned and operated by Mountain Mulch, was found in court to have violated Douglass Township zoning laws when it began accepting debris from a Hurricane Sandy storm cleanup. The cleanup operation was conducted by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which contacted Mountain Mulch regarding accepting the waste. According to the lawsuit filed in Montgomery County Court, County Supervisor Fred Theil gave Mountain Mulch approval to accept some 250,000 yards of debris between December of 2012 and April of 2013. Neighbors began calling in complaints to the township about the height of the mulch piles, noise and odors, as well as a fire that occurred at the facility. The township is suing Theil to recover close to $37,000 - the cost of the legal fees it paid to reach a settlement in which Mountain Mulch agreed to relocate. The suit alleges that Theil made the decision without consulting other supervisors, zoning board members, and other interested officials. His attorney, Lawrence Sager disputed the allegations and a township official told media Theil simply did not think through his action. The facility is located on a 7.5 area of 53-acre parcel of preserved farmland and received 7.5 acres approved to stockpile mulch. Vince Raffaele, chief operating officer for Mountain Mulch, said that he contacted the township for permission and that Theil and several others - whose names he didn’t recall - gave him the green light. The company wasn’t paid to take the debris.

ADVERTISER NEWS Custom Milling & Consulting, Inc. is granted ISO Certification

leetwood, PA—Custom Milling & Consulting, Inc. a toll milling provider and manufacture of particle size reduction and dispersion equipment has been granted ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System Certification for the manufacture and provision of its complete range of products and services. ISO 9001:2008 is an internationally recognized certification that provides guidelines for the implementation of standard practices to endure products meet regulatory and customer satisfactions. CMC has taken all the necessary steps to make sure that policy, quality, and documentation procedures are all upheld. This quality assurance process was implemented several months ago with certification issued on June 2, 2014. The certification covers “design, development, production, sales, marketing, and servicing of wet milling machinery, including wet mill toll processing. Also, the design, development, manufacture, and sale of colorants for the landscape industry.”

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July / August 2014

Larry Voelker Promoted to VP of Engineering and Product Development at Morbark, Inc.

orbark, Inc., recently announced the promotion of Larry Voelker to Vice President of Engineering and Product Development. Over the past 2½ years, Voelker has served as Director of Engineering responsible for the planning and implementation of all engineering activities and providing the strategic technical leadership in continuous improvement of equipment and process capability. Prior to joining Morbark, Voelker’s extensive experience includes Engineering, Program and Business Manager positions at Moog – QuickSet International; IMM, Inc.; and AAR Mobility Systems.

John Sneeringer is named General Manager of Custom Milling & Consulting, Inc.

ustom Milling & Consulting, Inc., a Pennsylvania based ISO9001-2008 certified custom toll processor and manufacturer of mixing and milling equipment, recently announced that John Sneeringer will be assuming the position of General Manager effective immediately. In his new role, Mr. Sneeringer will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company, including customer service, technical sales, and quality assurance. Mr. Sneeringer studied chemical engineering while attending Penn State University. He brings with him 35 years of experience and a wealth of processing knowledge having worked with a wide range of wet processing applications.

NEW: DZH3000 - 580hp

DZH4000 - 750hp

DZH6000TKT - 1050hp

DZH7000 - 1200hp

www.diamondz.com July / August 2014 Soil & Mulch Producer News 23

www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com

VOL. VIII NO. 4

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JUL /AUG 2014

Inside This Issue The United EPA of America PAGE 1 EPA—The God Over Water PAGE 5 Study Shows That MSW is a Viable Option for Waste-to-Energy PAGE 9 Rhode Island Passes Food Waste Recycling Bill PAGE 10 Scientists Study Composting Remains of Animals with Wasting Disease PAGE 19 Antibiotics in Manure Change Soil Bacteria, Say German Scientists PAGE 22

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