Orange County Sanitation District

Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) "operates the third largest wastewater agency west of the Mississippi River." OCSD collects, treats, and disposes of or reclaims "the wastewater generated by 2.5 million people living and working in central and northwestern Orange County."

Promotion of Sewage Sludge as Fertilizer on Food Crops
OCSD avidly promotes the use of sewage sludge (renamed as "biosolids") as fertilizer for food crops. On its site, it said:


 * "This centuries-old practice safely returns vital nutrients to the earth where they can begin their cycle again. Safety is rooted in modern treatment technologies, decades of demonstration, restrictive regulations, extremely low contaminant levels, and rigorous ongoing research.


 * "Farming with biosolids reduces the cost of fertilizers for farmers by about $150 per acre, while replacing or supplementing non-renewable chemical fertilizers. This is even more critical as the rising price of oil drives up the cost of chemical fertilizers for farmers.


 * "Biosolids builds healthy soils with organic matter (which helps soil act like a sponge to conserve water), macro and micro-nutrients, and beneficial microbes. The results are dramatic increases in crop yields as seen in these pictures.


 * "Besides all the benefits to the farmers, plants, and soils, recycling biosolids keeps them from taking up valuable landfill space, and keeps ratepayers sewer fees low since farming is a proven, low-cost technology.


 * "Orange County uses our biosolids on non-food crops like hay and cotton. Biosolids that are composted (further treatment) may be used on food crops as they have met the highest level of treatment for safety."

While it is true that humans have used human waste as fertilizer for centuries, it is not accurate to compare that to sewage sludge which, even after treatment to meet federal regulations, contains thousands of chemical and biological contaminants. OCSD's characterization of regulations as "restrictive" is not truthful, given the small number of chemicals and pathogens regulated in Class A or Class B biosolids compared to the large number of contaminants found in the EPA's own tests, the Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey.

Management
OCSD's management is as follows:


 * General Manager: James Ruth
 * Assistant General Manager: Robert (Bob) Ghirelli
 * Assistant General Manager & Director of Engineering: Jim Herberg
 * Director of Finance and Administrative Services: Lorenzo Tyner
 * Director of Facilities Support Services: Nick Arhontes
 * Director of Operations and Maintenance: Ed Torres
 * Director of Human Resources: Jeff Reed
 * Legal Counsel (Woodruff, Spradlin and Smart): Bradley R. Hogin

Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is "governed by a 25-member board of directors. The directors are comprised of elected representatives for each of the sewer agencies or cities within OCSD’s 471 square mile service area."


 * Chair: Larry Crandall (representing Fountain Valley)
 * Vice Chair: Troy Edgar (representing Los Alamitos)
 * Anaheim: Harry Sidhu
 * Brea: Roy Moore
 * Buena Park: Fred Smith
 * Cypress: Prakash Narain
 * Fullerton: Sharon Quirk-Silva
 * Garden Grove: Bill Dalton
 * Huntington Beach: Joe Carchio
 * Irvine: Jeffrey Lalloway
 * La Habra: Tom Beamish
 * La Palma: Mark Waldman
 * Newport Beach: Steven Rosansky
 * Orange: Jon Dumitru
 * Placentia: Constance Underhill
 * Santa Ana: Sal Tinajero
 * Seal Beach: Michael Levitt
 * Stanton: David Shawver
 * Tustin: John Nielsen
 * Villa Park: Brad Reese
 * Yorba Linda: John Anderson
 * Costa Mesa Sanitary District: James M. Ferryman
 * Midway City Sanitary District: Joy L. Neugebauer
 * Irvine Ranch Water District: John Withers
 * Member of the Board of Supervisors: Janet Nguyen

Contact Information

 * Orange County Sanitation District
 * Administration Offices
 * 10844 Ellis Avenue
 * Fountain Valley, CA 92708
 * Ph: (714) 962-2411
 * Email: ForInformation@ocsd.com
 * Web: http://www.ocsd.com

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Biosolids
 * Sewage sludge
 * Food Rights Network