So just how does it come about that the Steelers only score 3 points against winless Miami? Blame it on heavy rains swamping up the just-rolled Hammonton-grown turf. Here’s the story from Pittsburgh Monday Night:

The Steelers, looking to make a good impression on national television last night, rolled out a large green welcome mat of new turf.

And then the rain came.

Flashes of lightning and a steady downpour that began in the early evening delayed the start of the football game and turned the team’s dream of a lush lawn into a m ushy mess.

Numbered yard lines were obliterated, players slogged and slid in watery sprays, and punted balls resembled pelicans splashing down. The goal lines might have been visible, but neither team got close enough in the scoreless first half to see them.

If the rain-slopped sod wasn’t enough to make a stinky game, they opted out of the National Anthem to ensure Monday Night would be a complete atrocity.

NOTICE: PLEASE SCROLL TO BOTTOM OF STORY FOR LATEST UPDATES 

The Vine heard from Mayor DiDonato today, about an application filed with Pinelands to add a 3rd 1.8 Million Gallon Storage Tank at ONYX Waste’s facility in Hammonton.  We will be updating this thread frequently as information comes forth.  Please use this thread as the only place to discuss the issue.

Here’s a description of the original program, as described by the company who set it up:

A 500 acre farm producing primarily sod, but also sweet corn and small grains, the site began operations in November of 1995. The site is the largest land application facility in New Jersey. Biosolids are applied as a liquid using direct injection, subsurface application equipment. In addition to application, the site has 2-1.9 million gallon storage tanks and a lime stabilization facility consisting of a 140,000 gallon holding tank and a 40,000 gallon in-ground mixing pit. The site receives and processes both liquid and cake biosolids, with the cake being mixed with the liquid prior to lime stabilization and storage. Biosolids are applied by the farmer, being piped through buried mains to headers located in each field. The site holds a NJPDES permit for land application as well as a Treatment Works Approval (TWA) for the storage and lime stabilization facilities.

There is too much to write in one post, so I’ll leave it to the many readers who are concerned about his issue.

update:  Is ONYX’s Biosolid Plant Running Without A License?  According to an unscientific search done by MyHammonton.com, Tuckahoe Turf Farm’s NJPDES Permit #NJ0104078 expired February 29,2000.  You can search for it yourself at NJDEP’s website.  We’ll put a call into the appropriate offices to find out more.

update 2:  Drugs, Other Chemicals Found in Biosolids  According to a recent report, a researcher has found dozens of chemicals in biosolids, the same product applied at Tuckahoe Turf Farm. Said the report, “The 87 contaminants represent a cross section of medicinal, industrial and household compounds that enter wastewater treatment plants and may be discharged without being completely metabolized or degraded. ”

“Thomas Burke, a professor of public health policy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said Kinney’s research is a wake-up call for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has promoted biosolids for decades because they contain the same nutrients – nitrogen and phosphorus – found in fertilizers.

“I don’t think people understood before this that they might be applying pharmaceuticals and disinfectants to their front lawns,” Burke said. ”

update 3:  The Vine has learned today that over 20 millions tons of Camden County’s wastewater has been delivered to the application site in Hammonton.

update 4: I’ve updated the name of the company in the article.  The company is ONYX.