Results from WERF summit figure prominently in U.S. EPA action plan

The EPA's final action plan in response to the NRC report on biosolids incorporates input received from the Biosolids Research Summit sponsored by WERF in July 2003.

Jan. 16, 2004

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Jan. 16, 2004 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's final action plan in response to the National Research Council (NRC) report on biosolids incorporates broad stakeholder input received from the Biosolids Research Summit sponsored by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) in July 2003.

As outlined in the Dec. 31 Federal Register, U.S. EPA plans to complete or begin 14 research projects within the next two to three years, "with the goal of strengthening the sewage sludge use and disposal program." U.S. EPA says that it will participate in and use, as appropriate, outside research. Several of the projects will involve WERF, either through completed, ongoing, or planned research, according to the Federal Register notice.

Two of the U.S. EPA projects--"Methods Development, Optimization, and Validation for Microbial Pollutants in Sewage Sludge" and "Assess the Quality and Utility of Data, Tools, and Methodologies to Conduct Microbial Risk Assessments on Pathogens"--refer to work U.S. EPA is conducting with WERF on microbial risk assessment.

That work encompasses the two-part WERF project "A Dynamic Model to Assess Microbial Health Risks Associated with Beneficial Uses of Biosolids" (completed; stock no. 98REM1 and ongoing; 98-REM-1a). Ultimately, this work will develop and implement representative risk assessments for exposure to microbial pathogens associated with exposure to biosolids.

Two other U.S. EPA projects will involve workshops to be coordinated with WERF. The first, "Participate in an Incident Tracking Workshop," responds to the highest ranked project to come out of the Biosolids Research Summit--a rapid response system to investigate reported health effects from land application of biosolids. The second, "Conduct Exposure Measurement Workshop," will aim to identify exposure-related research priorities.

In response to NRC recommendations, U.S. EPA will also include a variety of stakeholders in the research process--as indicated by one project, "Improve Stakeholder Involvement and Risk Communication." U.S. EPA says that it will use WERF research on public partnering to identify ways to expand the use of information-sharing in various research projects.

Specifically, U.S. EPA refers to one WERF project, "Biosolids: Understanding Public Perception and Participation" (ongoing; project no. 00-PUM-5). This project provides guidance on incorporating stakeholder priorities by sharing lessons learned.

The final report from this study should be available by the end of 2004. U.S. EPA's announcement was published in the Federal Register (Volume 68, Number 250) Dec. 31, 2003. For more, go to http://www.werf.org/Press/News_Events.cfm#actionplan.

Participants of the July 2003 Biosolids Research Summit identified research needed to address concerns regarding land application of Class A and/or Class B treated sewage sludge/biosolids. A report from the summit will be available by March 2004 on the WERF website (www.werf.org). A list serve has been set up that will provide regular updates on WERF's progress on the outcomes of the summit (http://www.werf.org/community/list_services.cfm).