POWELL TATE'S COMMUNICATION PLAN ON BIOSOLIDS TWELVE EARTH DAYS LATER

In the early 1990's the Water Environment Federation's Residuals Management Committee established a Biosolids Public Acceptance Task Force. The task force worked in cooperation with the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) and received administrative and financial support from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and WEF. The task force was charged with formulating a national communication plan on biosolids and beneficial use alternatives.A number of activities have resulted from these efforts. One of the most notable and successful was the formation of the National Biosolids Partnership between the agencies that supported the task force and the establishment of the Environmental Management Systems for biosolids. Another less understood result of the task force's efforts is the Communication on Biosolids completed by the firm Powell Tate, on July 19, 1993. A great deal of work has been undertaken and completed based on the recommendations of that plan. Another activity that was separate but related to the communication plan is the completion of Water Environment Research Foundation's (WERF) Report on the “Public Perception of Biosolids Recycling: Developing Public Participation and Earning Trust”. The report completed in 2004 provides a literature review, a summary of case studies, the results of a public opinion survey and recommendations for outreach. This paper has been prepared to summarize the findings of the Powell Tate and WERF research, to provide an opinion as to where we are today and to request support initiating the other sustaining activities recommended within the plan.