More than 11 public meetings have been held in townships across the region, discussing the proposals to use sewage sludge to clean up contaminated mine land.

Biosolids aren't just cheaper than other forms of fertilizer - the Philadelphia Water Department would actually pay to have them hauled away. Treated sewage waste could be put in a landfill, but many say it's more useful to apply the material to farmland or abandoned mine lands.

Diane Garvey is a consultant for Waste Management Processors, Inc., the company which would be transporting and administering the materials on site. She says the scientific evidence supporting the use of biosolids is overwhelming.

"As of 1993," she says, "there was $10 million of research done, 22 thousand technical papers have been written on the subject of biosolids recycling. There's a wealth of information, and nothing is more beneficial to mine land."

Garvey says the organic matter in sludge creates a better growing environment than even traditional fertilizer, resulting in lush vegetation.

But not everyone is convinced by that evidence. High school biology teacher Roseann Weinrich is president of the Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association. Weinrich says biosolids may grow green grass, but there isn't enough research addressing the health risks of sludge.

"What I'm worried about is our groundwater," says Weinrich. "Because sewage sludge contains many toxins including PCBs, dioxins, parasitic worms. This is stuff that's really kind of unpleasant, and I don't want it in my water."

But according to Garvey, there's not much risk of those contaminants in the sludge affecting those living in the area.

"When it is land applied, it's done so in a manner where the residents will not be coming in contact with it," says Garvey. "It's being used on private property, it's not on public lands. We have to restrict public access for thirty days."

Garvey adds water quality near the site would be monitored regularly. But according to Jerry Knowles, a Schuylkill County Commissioner, those in support of the plan have not sufficiently addressed local concerns. "I don't know why anybody would want to move forward with a project like that when there is such strong opposition within the community," says Knowles. "The local governments in large numbers have gone on record as opposing this project."

Knowles says the decision whether to permit the mine reclamation project will be made by the state Department of Environmental Protection. There is no way for the county to intercede, but local governments are looking at ways to make it more difficult to apply biosolids in the area by imposing tipping fees and other restrictions.