A permit for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities to spread sewer sludge on Rowan County farm fields could be approved regardless of input from local residents.

Last year, Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities formally submitted an application to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources to renew the city’s biosolid application program. At the same time, the city submitted an application to add acreage in Rowan, Cabarrus, Stanly, Iredell and Anson counties.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s biosolid application program allows the city to contract with Synagro, a third-party company, to spread a semi-solid, dirt-like material on farm fields as a form of fertilizer. Charlotte-Mecklenburg makes sludge or biosolid material from wastewater through a treatment process.

The largest single cluster of land in Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s expansion would be just west of Gold Hill, where residents have expressed concerns that the sludge would affect the area’s quality of life and potentially contaminate drinking water. During one of two town hall meetings, concerned residents talked directly to Charlotte-Mecklenburg representatives about the potential effects of the sewage sludge. Gold Hill residents could also have a shot at talking directly to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources during the permitting process, as it includes a public hearing.

The public hearing usually occurs after a permit has already been drafted, said Environment and Natural Resources Wastewater Branch Chief Jon Risgaard.

“The idea is that we make sure their application is complete and we are in a position to give them a permit. Then, we open it up for public comment,” Risgaard said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s land application program permit is currently in draft form, according to multiple state employees.

For public comments to affect the permit’s approval, Risgaard said, concerned residents would have to raise concerns contrary to administrative code or show that part of the permit application was false.

If there’s a problem with the permit application, Risgaard said, Charlotte-Mecklenburg could reapply with mistakes corrected.

In Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s case, the public hearing would likely occur in either February or March, according to state spokeswoman Sarah Young. A hearing for the permit hasn’t been scheduled, and would require a 30-day notice, Young said. Comments on Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s application for renewal of its entire land application program and the addition of new acreage will both be heard during the same hearing.

Jean Creech, who supervises Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s land application program, said the particular date of the public hearing wouldn’t necessarily affect his agency.

Farmers who use the sewage sludge to supplement fertilizer say the biosolid material reduces the overall cost of farming. Echoing farmers, Charlotte-Mecklenburg representatives such as Creech say the treatment process for biosolid material eliminates cause for concern and that the agency is completely compliant with state laws, even exceeding requirements in some cases.

Gold Hill residents who don’t want Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s sludge brought into the area have expressed concerns about unknown contaminants in sewage sludge and the testing that isn’t conducted. Among contaminants, the chief concern for many is polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCBs, which are proven as a cause of cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

PCBs were manufactured in the United States from 1929 until 1979, when manufacturing the chemicals was banned.

Another concern among Gold Hill residents is the resulting smell after sludge is spread on farmland.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246