DOVER — The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has approved Levy Court’s application to spread waste on a Frederica-area farm.
Kent County applied in October 2014 for a permit to distribute across a county-owned field Class B biosolids, a type of organic material created from treating sewage. Class B biosolids contain “detectible” levels of pathogens, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and require a permit to be spread in Delaware.
The county sought land it could place the waste on in the event of a breakdown at its Frederica wastewater plant preventing it from treating sewage. Although some people living by the farm where the biosolids will be spread expressed concerns, county officials said they have only applied Class B material three times in the past decade and view that only as an unlikely last resort.
DNREC held multiple public hearings on the matter and ultimately authorized the request.
Secretary David Small wrote in his May 31 approval the county agreed to add more groundwater monitoring and buffer space at the site.
“The permit approved by this order will provide the department with extensive ongoing regulatory oversight and protection for the environment and public health,” he wrote.