Valdeganga approves the sewage sludge ordinance for agricultural use

The Valdeganga City Council has definitively approved the Ordinance regulating the transport, application, and agricultural use of treated sludge from Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) within the municipal district. The regulation, adopted by the Plenary in an ordinary session on July 3, 2026, became final as no objections were presented during the public information process, and its full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Albacete number 106, dated September 11, 2026, pages 35 to 44.

The file was submitted for public information and hearing of interested parties for a period of thirty days via an announcement in the BOP number 81, dated July 15, 2026, and on the municipal notice board, without any claims being registered. The ordinance will enter into force once the period provided for in article 65.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, has elapsed, and an administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement before the Administrative Courts of Albacete within a period of two months.

A legal framework for sludge management

The ordinance is issued under articles 25.2 and 84 of Law 7/1985 and state and regional regulations regarding waste, agricultural fertilization, and environmental health. The City Council justifies the regulation based on the need to organize activities—using criteria of prevention and sustainability—whose inadequate management could generate impacts on public health, the contamination of soils and aquifers, the proliferation of vector insects, and nuisances to the population and rural tourism.

The text is supported by a broad regulatory reference framework:

• Law 7/2022, of April 8, on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy.
• Royal Decree 1310/1990, of October 29, on the use of sewage sludge in the agricultural sector.
• Royal Decree 1051/2022, of December 27, on sustainable nutrition in agricultural soils.
• Royal Decree 1078/2014, of December 19, on conditionality within the framework of the CAP.
• Decree 35/2024, of July 2, of the Waste Prevention and Management Plan of Castilla-La Mancha 2030, and Decree 32/2007, of the sewage sludge Management Plan of the region.

Prohibitions and safety distances

The ordinance establishes a rigorous regime of prohibitions to protect public health, water resources, and neighborhood coexistence. The dumping of sludge into the municipal sanitation network, channels, streams, rivers, wetlands, or any hydraulic infrastructure is absolutely prohibited, as is its application on uncultivated land, fallow land, mountains, or surfaces that do not constitute active agricultural land.

The minimum safety distances are especially strict:

• Less than 1,500 meters from the urban center and developable land.
• Less than 300 meters from tourist establishments, agri-food industries, and activities sensitive to odors.
• Less than 500 meters from drinking water pipelines and reservoirs, watering holes, or livestock ponds.
• Less than 300 meters from wells, boreholes, and water catchment areas for human consumption.
• Less than 200 meters from any dwelling and less than 50 meters from communication routes.
• On land with a slope greater than 10%, unless measures are adopted to guarantee the absence of risks.

Prior notification, traceability, and sanctions

Any application of sludge must be reported to the City Council at least fifteen calendar days in advance, indicating origin, treatment, destination plots, area, crop, and dosage. The material must be incorporated into the soil within a maximum period of forty-eight hours after spreading, and transport vehicles must guarantee the total watertightness of tanks and cisterns, with washing in the urban center being prohibited.

The sanctioning regime classifies infractions as very serious, serious, and minor, with fines from 1,501 to 3,000 euros, 751 to 1,500 euros, and 300 to 750 euros, respectively, in addition to the obligation to restore the altered situation and compensate for damages. The document, signed by Mayor Fermín Gómez Sarrión in Valdeganga on August 27, 2026, provides for collaboration with Infraestructuras del Agua de Castilla-La Mancha (IACLM) in inspection and monitoring tasks.

The new ordinance makes Valdeganga one of the municipalities in the province with the most demanding regulation on the agricultural use of sewage sludge, a matter of great social and environmental sensitivity. For farmers, livestock breeders, and waste managers, it represents a significant change in their usual practices, while for the general population, it ensures greater guarantees against uncontrolled spills, odors, and risks to the water supply.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Albacete, number 106, September 11, 2026, Third Section. Local Administration, pp. 35-44 (official reference: announcement of final approval of the Ordinance regulating the transport, application, and agricultural use of treated sludge from WWTP of the Valdeganga City Council).