GRU to end sludge dumping near Archer

The Alachua County Commission approved an agreement Feb. 22 with Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) that will put an end to the application of biosolids at the Whistling Pines property in five years.

Located on the outskirts of Archer, the farm has been a point of contention for surrounding residents who object to the spreading of wastewater sludge.  Some concerned residents fear chemicals, medications, metals and other contaminates in the sludge have accumulated over the life of the operation and will have lasting effects on water supplies well beyond the next five years.

The City of Gainesville, which operates GRU, and the county have disputed in the past over the terms under which the city can use the land. This agreement allows the county and Gainesville to avoid potentially expensive and lengthy litigation to solve the disputes over the terms and conditions for land application of biosolids at the site.

Biosolids are a product of the wastewater treatment process and can be recycled as soil for growing crops. Since 1981, the City of Gainesville has been applying biosolids to the farm, located in the southwest portion of the county and surrounded by the City of Archer and Levy County.

David Richardson, from GRU, said that the city was going to start looking for an immediate alternative for when the five years expire. “We do believe that five years provides adequate time to do that,” he said.  The most likely future for the sludge is in some sort of a biofuel use according to GRU representatives.

The agreement set a 75- foot wide setback along the property within which the land application of biosolids will be forbidden. It also included several legal terms to avoid the city and the county suing each other over existing or past disagreement regarding the property.

The existing operation is regulated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The operation at the site is legal and until now had an indefinite end date as long as the city applied for and received a special exception from the county.

One resident of the nearby area thought that some of the terms of the agreements weren’t strict enough. A couple of residents also worried that once the operation ceases in the area, the county would stop testing the nearby wells for harmful substances that could have leaked through the soil during the many years of the biosolids application.

Anthony Dennis, with the Alachua County Health Department, said the wells have been surveyed in the past and residents who have any concerns should contact the health department.

The City of Gainesville approved the agreement Feb. 17.  With the Alachua County’s unanimous approval, the agreement calls for the end of the application of biosolids at the site in 2016.