(1) The legislature finds that:

     (a) Municipal sewage sludge is an unavoidable by-product of the wastewater treatment process;

     (b) Population increases and technological improvements in wastewater treatment processes will double the amount of sludge generated within the next ten years;

     (c) Sludge management is often a financial burden to municipalities and to ratepayers;

     (d) Properly managed municipal sewage sludge is a valuable commodity and can be beneficially used in agriculture, silviculture, and in landscapes as a soil conditioner; and

     (e) Municipal sewage sludge can contain metals and microorganisms that, under certain circumstances, may pose a risk to public health.

     (2) The legislature declares that a program shall be established to manage municipal sewage sludge and that the program shall, to the maximum extent possible, ensure that municipal sewage sludge is reused as a beneficial commodity and is managed in a manner that minimizes risk to public health and the environment.

[1992 c 174 § 1.]