I have read the articles on the fish kill in the Shenandoah River and have seen creeks in my own county go on the impaired list because of pollution. We must for the sake of the watersheds all over this nation understand the disastorous effects of sludge applied to the land. A quote from Dr. Lynton S. Land is emeritus professor of geological sciences at the University of Texas in Austin, and now lives in Virginia. "A Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission recently released Report No. 89, "Review of Land Application of Biosolids in Virginia" which was rightly critical of the management of the land application of municipal sewage sludge—biosolids—by the Virginia Department of Health. An Inspector General's Report (2002-S-000004) and a report from the National Academy of Sciences (7-2-02) were similarly critical of the EPA's out-of-date and inadequate management and enforcement policies regarding sewage sludge. The reports concentrate on human health issues and ignore the environmental consequences of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution caused by the land application of sewage sludge. Nobody questions the potential benefits of land-applying animal waste (poultry litter, manure and sewage sludge) to supply nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients, to increase soil quality and to reduce the use, and thereby cost, of chemical fertilizer. But the cost to society of the pollution resulting from using such a very inefficient form of fertilizer must also be clearly understood." Recently those on the Potomac River have made steps in the right direction on this issue. WASHINGTON - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will spend $96 million to build a new processing facility in Northwest that should put an end to the periodic, massive discharge of sludge into the Potomac River. The 68,559-square-foot residuals-processing facility, slated for 7.4 acres off Little Falls Road near the Dalecarlia Reservoir, immediately north of Sibley Memorial Hospital, should allow the Washington Aqueduct to meet a Clean Water Act permit restricting the expulsion of sediment and aluminum sulfate into the river. The project is being undertaken by the Corps of Engineers, the group that manages the aqueduct. "Should we be using our rivers as sewers?" asked Ed Merrifield, executive director of Potomac Riverkeeper. "The answer is no. >From my perspective, it's a good thing that the stuff isn't going back into the river." We need to seriously address the issue of sludge or be held responsible if we do not.