SC residents upset about Charlotte sewage

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Some South Carolina residents are upset about sewage from Charlotte.

The Charlotte Observer reported (http://bit.ly/ZMBgbj ) that a University of North Carolina study found evidence that sludge used to fertilize fields can be unhealthy for people up to a mile away.

About 300 people attended a public hearing last month in Richburg, S.C., on the renewal of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility Department's permit to spread sludge on 6,600 acres in Chester, Fairfield, Lancaster and York counties.

Many of those at the hearing complained of nauseating smells and health problems after sludge was spread on nearby fields.

But farmers who get free fertilizer like the plan.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control confirms the Charlotte utility's statement that no formal complaints have been filed in the past five years.

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Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotteobserver.com