Sludge plan splits council and residents / Firm would make fertilizer
Source: BY ZACHARY GORCHOW, Detroit FREE PRESS (MI), October 9, 2007
Union leaders and some residents of southwest Detroit denounced Monday a proposal to build a privately run facility that would reprocess into fertilizer the sludge that's left after the water is wrung from sewage. But at a Detroit City Council hearing on the issue, a number of residents also said they support the proposal because it would bring jobs, save taxpayer money and reduce pollution.
...... The proposal angers union leaders fearing displacement of city workers -- even though the contract calls for such workers to be retrained for other duties in the department. John Riehl, president of AFSCME Local 207, which represents water and sewerage workers, said he doubts the city's commitment to retrain.