Abstract |
The Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) has received a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prepare a 20-year Sludge Management Plan for the treatment and disposal of sludge generated at a new regional sewage treatment plant. The regional plant is under construction and will begin operation in 1984. It will serve both the Eugene and Springfield, Oregon, metropolitan areas. MWMC proposed an interim plan, Phase I, that would provide five years of sludge handling capability on the treatment plant site because startup of the new plant depended upon immediate handling facilities for increased sludge volumes. EPA issued a Finding of No Significant Impact on Phase I of the plan in June, 1983. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement evaluates Phase II of the MWMC Sludge Management Plan. MWMC's preferred alternative for Phase II is to move the sludge handling facilities off site. Treatment and storage lagoons would store sludge in winter; sludge would be applied to farmlands in summer. This document evaluates four alternatives and three sites, including MWMC's preferred alternative. It identifies and evaluates potential impacts of the alternatives to geology, soils, public health, surface and groundwater quality, land use, vegetation and crops, terrestrial wildlife and aquatic life. Recommended mitigation measures are also discussed. |