Rebekah A. Hall

Lynchburg, Va. -- A federal judge has rejected a Virginia county's laws that bans biosolids from being used as fertilizer on farm fields and pastures. The anti-biosolids ordinance enacted by the Appomattox County Board in early 2002 required that farmers obtain a permit to use biosolids and that farms using biosolids obtain special zoning along with other various restrictions. After farmers filed a complaint, a judge issued a preliminary injunction that was upheld by a three-judge panel, reaffirming the biosolid restriction should up lifted.