Last spring, a farmer in Centerville Township started applying a kind of fertilizer to his fields: Sewage pumped from septic tanks, often called “septage.” That kicked off a local fight about whether it’s legal to apply that septage waste and sparked concerns about contaminating the land and water. Neighbors and officials concerned about the use of septage to fertilize fields pointed to the township’s zoning ordinance which requires a special permit for septage application on land. But Centerville Township attorney Chris Bzdok said at a township board meeting in mid-March that their hands are tied when it comes to stopping the use of septic tank waste on a local farm. The site falls under the purview of the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, which had granted a permit to use septage at that site. This story was originally reported by Interlochen Public Radio in mid-March.
