Judge: Human Waste Can Be Dumped On Farm

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) - A judge says trucks carrying 450,000 tons a year of treated human waste may resume dumping it as fertilizer on Kern County farmland.

The Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/2h4Idby ) says a Superior Court judge ruled Monday that state law pre-empts a voter-passed county initiative that banned the dumping.

Judge Lloyd Hicks also ruled there's no evidence of human health risk from dumping the waste on a farm the city of Los Angeles purchased in 1999.

Kern County has battled Los Angeles over the waste issue since voters overwhelmingly adopted the ban in 2006.

Los Angeles Sanitation Department officials say they're pleased by the judge's ruling.

Kern County Counsel Mark Nations says the Board of Supervisors will decide whether to appeal.