Evening star., 1937-08-08
SEWAGE PROBLEM
WILL BE REPORTED
Sultan Waits Word From
Engineers Before Making
Reply to IckeS.

Engineer Commissioner Dan l. Sui
tan expects to receive a report this
week based on a study of sewage prob
lens to determine whether the new
disposal plant at Blue Plains is capable
of providing adequate treatment Of
extensive industrial waste.
Until this information is reported,
it was indicated yesterday, the Dis
trict Commissioners will delay making
formal reply to Secretary Ickes, who
requested report on proposed meas
ures to protect the P. w. Adult dis
posal plant from possible overloads of
| slaughter house waste. Corporation
| Counsel Elwood Seal also is giving his
/ attention to the situation growing out
of the proposed Adolf Gobel Co.
slsughtering operations in Benning.
! Sanitary engineers have been look
/ ing into certain matters brought up
| by the Public Health Service in con-
nection with the S4,l25.0o0 disposal
/ plant. This plant is now undergoing
/ test operations preparatory to the in
stallation Of its regular pumping sery-
/ ice in the Fall.
Conflicting Evidence.
There is so much conflicting evil
/ dence on slaughter house sewage that
/ the problem is a difficult one for sani-
/ tary engineers, in view Of the absence
Of actual operations here. The Pub
! lie Health Service estimates that be-
tween 500 and so gallons of water
would be used at the proposed Gobel
/ plant each day for each animal killed.
From the plans of the slaughter house.
the report estimated $3.50 animals a
1 day as its total capacity.
Other reports indicate that from
200 to $50 gallons per animal are
used in many packing plants.
/ On the basis of $3.50 animals killed
/ per day-a figure which the Gobel
firm has frequently denied-the esti-
mated sewage from the slaughter
house would add a load to the Blue
Plains treatment plant equivalent to
q domestic population Of 100000. Va
rious estimates Of sewage Of this kind
based on smaller amounts of water
used, would reduce the equivalent to
/ from 10000 to 10000 persons.
The District engineers started stud
les Of these sewage problems early in
the Summer, and before then infor-
nation was obtained in Baltimore
based on the sewage Of packing plants
in that city. When Secretary Ickes
wrote the Commissioners 10 days ago
Col. Sultan ordered report from
his own engineers.
May Comment on Collins Bill.
/ The Commissioners are expected
also to express their views on a bill
introduced last week by Representa-.
! tive Ross Collins, chairman of the
District Appropriations Subcommittee
which would empower them to regu.
late the amount of industrial sewage
treated at the Blue Plains plant. Un.
der the bill they could exact payment
from any company or association thai
discharges more than 30,000,000 gal.
Ions of sewage in year
The Collins bill hits at the PROPOSED
Gobel slaughter house, but there i
said to be no chance Of it being con.
sidered by the House District Commit.
tee this session. II called up in com.
mittee now it probably would share
the same fate as the snti-nuisanct
industries bill
! Representative Jennings Randolph
Democrat, Of West Virginia said h,
would do what he could in behalf O.
the sewage bill, and so informed Col
Inns;
A similar bill, It is understood. vii
be introduced in the Senate. Tha
viii give both District Committees op
portunity to take it up when Congress!
conyenes again in January.
In view Of the uncertainty as to tn,
Gooel eompany's plans to build on il
site In Benning. there was some senti
ment in Congress in favor OF delayin,
consideration Of the Collins bill. Dis
trict officials were frank in adnittin,
yesterday that the Gobel firm ha
them guessing"