Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge; Final Agency Response to the National Research Council Report on Biosolids Applied to Land and the Results of EPA's Review of Existing Sewage Sludge Regulations

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing the results of its review of regulations under the Clean Water Act (CWA) governing the use and disposal of sewage sludge. The Clean Water Act requires that EPA review the sewage sludge regulations for the purpose of identifying additional toxic pollutants and promulgating regulations for such pollutants consistent with the requirements. As part of this review, EPA commissioned the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences to independently review the technical basis of the chemical and microbial regulations applicable to sewage sludge that is applied to land. In July 2002, the NRC published a report entitled "Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices" in response to the EPA's request. In April 2003 EPA announced and requested public comments on a preliminary strategy explaining how EPA planned to respond to the NRC report recommendations. Today, the Agency is announcing its final response, also known as the final action plan, to the NRC report. EPA is also presenting the results of its review of existing sewage sludge regulations to identify additional toxic pollutants in sewage