Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 20:10:49
From: Bob Harper <harperr@erols.com>
To: New List Smartgrowth <smcsmartgrowth@smcsmartgrowth.com>
Subject: Convoys, Seagulls and Winter Wheat

Friends,

I enjoyed my drive home this afternoon from Webster Field, St. Inigoes behind five empty sludge haulers. As they waited to turn onto Chancellors Run I noticed the trucks were from "Duffield, Inc. Hauling" and had the location of

Laurel, MD on three of the cabs and Lorton, VA on the other two. The trailers all had Virginia tags from what I could tell. The fields where they dumped their loads have lain fallow all summer following the harvest of the wheat crop

last spring. It appears they're getting the fields ready to plant another cover crop of winter wheat to justify the "farming" aspect and perpetuate their excuse to dump the sludge here.

A thought I've been trying to reconcile is if this is so safe why haven't I seen any birds behind the tractors when they're working the fields? I honestly can't remember seeing the flocks of birds as I do when I'm working land in the Valley Lee area. Maybe the birds are smarter and recognize a bad thing without months of study and numerous committees?

I'm also concerned that the times I encounter these "convoys" are very early in the morning and very late in the evening (before and after) normal working hours. Is there any accountability to tonnage somewhere or are these hours simply a means to circumvent the distribution and tracking mechanisms?

Sorry I have more questions than answers but following these rigs surely gets ones attention!

v/r bob h.

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