To the Editor:

Many months ago, I received a call from a very concerned Franklin County neighbor. Farmers there were spreading composted sewage sludge from a Chateaugay facility on agricultural fields in his area.

Other friends from Franklin County recently witnessed a tanker truck with Connecticut plates pulling into that same facility. They had just received a notice in their Maine hunting license renewal, warning hunters not to consume venison from some areas where “treated’ sludge was spread. Testing had found chemicals in unsafe levels in a sample of deer meat.

Now I see that the Development Authority of the North Country is considering a “large scale biosolids composting facility for St. Lawrence County. I sincerely hope that “consideration’ will include investigation into the consequences of concentrating chemicals of all kinds present in municipal wastewater.

The would occur not only in the initial processing, but as it bioaccumulates over months and years in soils and is incorporated into our food chain.

This has already become a problem in other areas and should be the First consideration before possible value to local farms and convenience to municipal sewage treatment facilities.

Please think about the chemicals and substances you add to the wastewater system. Multiply that by the number of residences and businesses, number of towns served, concentration in treatment, frequency of application on fields, and bioaccumulation in feedstocks.

An old Scottish saying goes “Many a middle machts a muckle.” Lots of little bits can add up to a lot.

Luke Dailey
Parishville