Texans given 'compact' info on soil and water

By MANDY JOHN | Central Texas Edition

January 23, 2003 -- The Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) recently started holding workshops around Texas stating the benefits of using compost. The workshops intend to educate people on how to save money and get better results from using compost on their land.

"People use pesticides and they don't read the labels," stated Brian Noble, with the small business and environmental assistance division of the TCEQ . "Usually, they overdo it and, when it rains, these pesticides run off the lawns and into the streams and waterways. This is what is called non-point source pollution, also known as runoff pollution."

Noble explained that the Senate Bill 1, also called the water bill, addresses the issue of where cities will get water and the regulations for it.

He said one of the things included in the regulations is the total maximum daily load. "This includes storm water. You can't control the storms, but you can control the water getting into the waterways. We only have so much water to use, and we use approximately 70 to 75 percent of the water we have.

"There is a close relationship between soil and water. Today, we have more concrete and asphalt on the land so less water soaks into the ground, causing more runoff. Compost is a friendlier solution to a lot of these problems with runoff. One of the benefits of compost is that it builds soil so more water is absorbed.

"Five percent of what is in healthy soil is microorganisms. This means that soil creates a food chain. There are all different levels in the food cycle. We don't want to destroy any level of this chain."

He explained that pesticides are used all over the land, including where people live and work. The main accidents that happen with pesticides is misapplication, misuse of the product, and the fact that the person applying it doesn't know the preexisting conditions. This, in turn, creates pesticide poisoning, which could cause people future health problems.

"Compost is a great alternative to this," concluded Noble.

"The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) wants to use compost on the land because in the past there have been bad results with poor quality topsoil," said Scott McCoy, also with the small business and environmental assistance division of the TCEQ. "By amending this, and using compost, we can avoid both short term and long term erosion.

"Compost helps re-establish vegetation. It returns organic matter to the soil, which helps add water to the soil. It also adds moisture to seedbeds, and changes the structure of both soil and sand."

He said there are regulations as to what is acceptable feedstock for compost. "We didn't want someone else's trash. We consider leave and yard trimmings, food scraps, and manure acceptable compost."

McCoy made it clear that compost was not raw sewage sludge or raw manure.

"What we are shooting for is a pasteurized, pathogen free, organic material to use.

"The TCEQ partnered with the TxDOT to create specifications for addressing compost. When we originally wrote the specifications, we wanted one for compost that would cover everything. Later, we wrote another specification for compost and mulch filter berm. For more information on the specifications, go to www.dot.state.tx.us/compost."

He also addressed the compost incentive program.

"There are 180,000 head of cattle in Erath County and approximately 100 pounds of wet manure are produced in one day. What the TCEQ and the TxDOT are doing is we are taking that material from one hauler truck and making compost from it. Then we will place it in another hauler truck to take to the application site.

"As an incentive, the TCEQ is offering a rebate of $5 per cubic yard for public entities that buy compost from the North Bosque River watershed, near Waco. We started this in Sept. 2000 and by Aug. 2002, 266,151 cubic yards of compost has been used," he concluded.

These workshops will take place around Texas until Mar. 6. For more information on the workshops, go to www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/exec/oppr/compost/workshops.html.