A Christiansburg proposal to spread treated sewage on a Mud Pike Road farm is causing concern among some nearby residents who draw their water from wells.

Next Wednesday, Montgomery County's Planning Commission will hold a hearing on the town's request for a special use permit to apply treated sewage - also known as "biosolids" - on a 200-acre farm on Mud Pike Road between Christiansburg and Radford. The farm's owner lives in Maine but the land is leased by Doug Bunn, a local farmer who uses the property to raise crops to feed livestock.

Several Montgomery County farmers, including another on Mud Pike Road close to the proposed site, have used biosolids from Christiansburg's waste treatment facility as fertilizer for years.

But a number of area homeowners are questioning the safety of spreading treated sludge in this increasingly residential corner of the county. And one county official said the proximity of the site to several subdivisions - including a new development sprouting next to the farm - will present planning commission members with a new challenge.

"This is something that, in past requests, they haven't had to deal with," Montgomery County zoning administrator Steve Sandy said Tuesday. "This is getting into more of the transitional area between agricultural and residential areas."

Application of biosolids has become a contentious issue nationwide as cities and towns struggle to find alternatives to landfilling treated sewage. Farmers and supporters of biosolid application view treated sludge as a cheap, relatively inexpensive way to dispose of the waste while benefiting the agricultural industry. Critics, however, contend that biosolids can pollute drinking water sources with everything from fecal coliforms to dangerous heavy metals.

Shelli Meade, who lives just off of Mud Pike Road about a half-mile from the farm, said she only heard about the permit application last week when a neighborhood resident began distributing copies of a letter sent by the county to adjacent property owners. Meade said Tuesday she was still unclear about the nature of the permit.

Meade said she is not opposed to spreading of biosolids in "truly rural" areas. But she said the number of houses along this stretch of Mud Pike Road makes her question the location.

"In the big picture, it's a good thing: It's recycling," said Meade. "The problem is the proximity to residential areas."

Dennis and Terry Wnorowski, who share a well with Meade, are also concerned about the potential impact of biosolids on their water supply and the health of their three children. The Wnorowskis also expressed frustration that they were not notified about the request.

"We're on wells back here, and we're just concerned that people's wells could become contaminated," Terry Wnorowski said.

Both the federal Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality regulate biosolid application and require testing of the treated sludge. In 2001, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that local governments could not ban the use of sludge as fertilizer.

While the county cannot ban biosolids, Sandy said, it does have considerable discretion about where the sludge can be applied. "There are places in the county that are certainly a better fit than others," he said.

Christiansburg Assistant Town Manager Barry Helms said the town has been spreading sludge in the county for years and actually requires a larger buffer than those required by the state or EPA. The town requires a 500-foot buffer between treated land and occupied homes or wells or springs used for drinking water.

Christiansburg has been spreading sludge on the Childress farm across Mud Pike Road from the proposed site for well over a decade. For more than eight months, residents of the Viewland subdivision, part of which abuts the Childress farm, have been required to boil their water due to fecal coliform contamination in their water supply.

Christiansburg Town Manager Lance Terpenny said he's aware of the water contamination issues in Viewland but said the contamination couldn't be coming from the waste being spread on the Childress farm.

The Montgomery County Planning Commission hearing on the permit is scheduled for March 9 at 7 p.m.

Staff writer Greg Esposito contibuted information to this report.