Sewage sludge to stay in Lafayette

LAFAYETTE - In a meeting that lasted an hour, the Lafayette Parish School Board approved a request Wednesday from the Lafayette Consolidated Government to use more than 200 acres of undeveloped school system property for the disposal of Lafayette sewage sludge.

The city-owned Lafayette Utilities System has been looking for a new disposal site to end an ongoing dispute with St. Landry Parish residents and officials over sludge dumping at a site near Opelousas.

By approving the vote, the School Board will allow LUS the authority to spread treated human sewage sludge and lime sludge on 272 acres of school district land located north of Duson.

Superintendent James Easton said the land has been used as a site for sludge in the past without any complaints. The agricultural land is leased to farmers by the school system.

"The farmer certainly was in compliance and had no concerns about it," Easton said.

School Board member Mike Hefner said

the sludge is "more environmentally friendly"

than using chemical fertilizers.

"I don't think there were any environmental concerns," Hefner said. "LUS complied with state and federal regulations."

The sludge is spread across a pasture and helps the grass grow, Hefner said.

"It is good for the grass and the cows," he said.

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