TCEQ investigating biosolid application site
Residents and businesses in the northern portions of the city and beyond received an olfactory overload during the early weeks of November, shortly after Fort Worth-based Renda Environmental began using a property just north of the city limits as a Class AB sewage sludge land application site.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, application of sewage sludge or biosolids as a means of fertilization is a common and accepted practice.
Biosolids “are nutrient-rich organic materials produced from wastewater treatment facilities. Biosolids can be recycled and applied as fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth. Effective sewage sludge and biosolids management options help ensure that useful materials are recycled on land and harmful materials are not released to water bodies.”
Shortly after applications began, however, residents both in and around Wills Point began to raise nuisance complaints about the sewage application with the smell reaching virtually every corner of the city depending on the shifting winds.
