March 1, 2005

The Department of Environmental Quality announced today that a settlement has been reached with the village of Onsted and the Onsted Wastewater Treatment Plant for violations of Part 31, Water Resources Protection, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, and the Part 24 Rules, Land Application of Biosolids, promulgated under Part 31, by failing to process its sewage sludge for the required duration and temperature in order to convert the sewage sludge to biosolids, and by applying the sewage sludge to land. In addition to paying $24, 500 in civil fines and reimbursing the DEQ $2,722 in costs, the settlement requires the village to modify its Residual Management Plan to dewater, belt press, and dispose of the waste in an appropriate landfill.

The village has also agreed to enter into a contractual relationship with a licensed liquid industrial waste hauler to provide a backup disposal method when the village meets its waste storage capacity.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised March 1, 2005 by Pat Watson