What does the Genoa decree provide?
The Genoa Decree, which became law last November 15, with the "codicil" on sludge in agriculture, poses an important question on the limits of the presence of hydrocarbons in the sludge produced by the water purifiers used for the activity in the fields.
The document "Genoa Decree and other emergencies", in fact, also contains normative references (including the much debated article on the "amnesty of Ischia"): the Agi agency outlines all the central points provided for by the Genoa decree : the figure of the commissioner extraordinary for Genoa (Marco Bucci, current mayor of Genoa); support for businesses affected by the collapse of the Morandi bridge and for citizens who have suffered damage; resources to be allocated for the work; rules and amnesties on earthquake zones; sludge disposal in agriculture.
The sewage sludge code
It is precisely the "codicillus" inserted on the sludge in agriculture that put the representatives of Legambiente, Verdi and other environmental organizations on the agenda .
One article that appeared last November in La Stampa is clear: the code is included in a decree that apparently has nothing to do with the sludge coming from purification and destined for agriculture .
The New Ecology, a magazine by Legambiente, explains the history of this "muddy Codicillo" and does so by immediately citing the article in question (ie number 41 of the law decree 28 September 2018 n. 109), which raises the limits of hydrocarbons authorizing to spread mud with hydrocarbons in agricultural fields, after checking and analysis to be done throughout Italy.
This is an important novelty as up to now it was enough to analyze the metals (only Lombardy was collecting information on the quantity of hydrocarbons present in the sludge from water). With the new provision, heavy hydrocarbons and carcinogenicity markers will also have to be analyzed .
Sludge and hydrocarbons
The previous situation provided for the use of sludge in agriculture in Ialia without taking into account certain limits, such as that of hydrocarbons: it was the Court of Cassation, in the absence - precisely - of a limit, to establish the need to lay a roof. This limit was then set by the Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti to the extent of 1, 000 mg / kg.
Furthermore, the Lombardy Regional Administrative Court intervened by canceling the limits set by an ordinance from the Region (ie 10, 000 mg / kg ), acting according to the precautionary principle and reducing this indicator to the limit of 50 mg / kg of heavy hydrocarbons, in line with estimates of soil quality in residential areas and children's parks.
The current Environment Minister Sergio Costa defends the need for regulation “ We are not talking about industrial sludge, but those coming from the purification of waste water deriving from civil waste and from agro-food production settlements. These muds are rich in organic substances and are used as soil improvers - the minister explains in a note after the text was approved - It is the same concept of the compost that we can also realize at home. Whoever mixes the values of the mud with those of the soil, therefore, either completely ignores what he is talking about or is in bad faith ”.
Why this clarification? It is advisable to distinguish the sludge originated from the purification of waste water compared to that from industrial purification plants . The latter will still be destined for landfills and only marginally for agricultural use.
Here is a TelePavia video that also explains Legambiente's point of view.
