Editing Sewage sludge (section)

==== Evaluation of the U.S. sewage sludge program ====
The EPA [[Office of the Inspector General]] (OIG) completed two assessments in 2000 and 2002 of the EPA sewage sludge program. The follow-up report in 2002 documented that "the EPA cannot assure the public that current land application practices are protective of human health and the environment." The report also documented that there had been an almost 100% reduction in EPA enforcement resources since the earlier assessment. This is probably the greatest issue with the practice: under both the federal program operated by the EPA and those of the several states, there is limited inspection and oversight by agencies charged with regulating these practices. To some degree, this lack of oversight is a function of the perceived (by the regulatory agencies) benign nature of the practice. However, a greater underlying issue is funding. Few states and the US EPA have the discretionary funds necessary to establish and implement a full enforcement program for biosolids.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-12/documents/biosolids_final_report.pdf|title= Land Application of Biosolids|date= 28 March 2002|website= [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]]|access-date= 5 June 2017}}</ref>

As detailed in the 1995 ''Plain English Guide to the Part 503 Risk Assessment'', the EPA's most comprehensive risk assessment was completed for biosolids.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/biosolids/upload/2002_06_28_mtb_biosolids_503rule_503g_ch6.pdf|title= Questions and Answers on the Part 503 Risk Assessments|website= [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]]|access-date= 5 June 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141103125821/http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/biosolids/upload/2002_06_28_mtb_biosolids_503rule_503g_ch6.pdf|archive-date= 3 November 2014|date= 2014-04-23}}</ref>