Municipal Sludge Use In Land Reclamation

Municipal Sludge Use in Land Reclamation is a new state-of-the-science reference that combines data from recent research and case studies in an effort to examine the use of municipal sludge in the reclamation of disturbed land, particularly land disturbed by surface mining. This important resource examines current regulations concerning surface mining and the use of sludge on mined lands. It also provides an overview of current land reclamation projects and presents vital information on the environmental effects of sludge use on vegetation, soil quality, water quality, and animal nutrition and health. Mining professionals, regulatory agencies, scientists, municipal and industrial managers, environmental consultants, foresters, and ecologists will find Municipal Sludge Use in Land Reclamation to be an invaluable reference.

To meet the increasing demand for energy, it is anticipated that coal mining activities will be greatly accelerated. Most of the coal will be recovered by strip mining methods that have increased concerns related to the reclamation of these disturbed lands. New reclamation regulations along with increasing costs of chemical fertilizer have resulted in an upsurge of interest in the use of municipal wastewater and sludge as fertilizer substitutes and soil amendments to facilitate the establishment of vegetation on these drastically disturbed lands. The purpose of the book is to review and discuss the current knowledge related to the feasibility of using municipal wastewater and sludge for revegetation and biomass production on all types of disturbed land. The book has also been designed to serve as the basis for an engineering assessment, which addresses these practices as innovative or alternative wastewater and sludge treatment technologies. The major sections of the book cover such topics as: The Pennsylvania Mine Reclamation Program; The Philadelphia Strip Mine Reclamation Program; Institutional, Legal, Economic, and Public Relations Barriers; Reclamation of Gravel Pits and Iron-Ore Overburden; Forest Applications of Sludge; Reclamation with Chicago Sludge; Vegetation Establishment; Engineering Assessment.

Prepared by the Task Committee on Land Application of Sludge of the Committee on Water Pollution Management of the Environmental Engineering Division of ASCE. This report presents research on the land application of wastewater sludge, especially quantitative and qualitative aspects of soil-sludge interaction. Each year, approximately 6.2 million dry metric tons of wastewater sludge are produced by municipal wastewater treatment facilities in the United States. The annual sludge production is expected to reach 12 million dry metric tons by the year 2000. Sludge use and disposal options include incineration, ocean disposal, marketing of processed sludge, landfilling, and land application. Land application of sludge is achieved by spreading the sludge over the ground surface or incorporating it within the topsoil by injection, disking, or plowing. Sludge is applied to agricultural and forest lands for its nutrient value and to disturbed areas for soil amendment and reclamation purposes. At present, land application is the logical alternative because of its environmental and economic advantages over the other methods. Topics include: mechanisms for the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, the role of trace elements, hydrologic effects of soil-sludge interaction, use of municipal sludge to reclaim mined land, and health effects. The report concludes with recommendations for future research.