A farm in Towamensing Township is set to receive biosolids from Synagro, the Baltimore-based waste management company informed residents living adjacent to the property via letter last month.

The sewage sludge being supplied to George Farm in Towamensing, which is owned by Matthew and Robert George, could come from different parts of the state. The letter names more than 50 possible source locations.

After the letters went out, a handful of residents voiced their concerns to Towamensing supervisors last week. Some asked for more information about the treatments and what the township could do to oversee them; others inquired about enacting a possible odor ordinance.

“It’s unbearable,” one audience member said of biosolids’ smell.

Councilman Guy Seifert responded by saying that the applications are being regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, whose power outranks that of the township.

“DEP trumps us,” he said.

Seifert added that taking any legal action against the applications would be unproductive, especially in the face of a letter released by Senior Deputy Attorney General Robert A. Willig last year.

The letter — addressed to East Penn Township — was a rebuke of the its attempt to govern the use and transport of waste like biosolids; it warned the township to get in compliance with state law, or possibly face a lawsuit.

“It’s very feasible that I would bankrupt this township (Towamensing) trying to fight this,” Seifert said Thursday evening.

Councilman William Acerino agreed. He said that it “would be cheaper for us to pay for (George’s) fertilizer” than to try to block biosolid applications with a lawsuit.

The owners of George Farm could not be reached for comment.

Biosolids are a contentious topic all over Carbon County, not just in Towamensing. A lawsuit from East Penn Township blocking Synagro from using treated sewage sludge on properties in the township is still pending in court.