A New York bill calls for a moratorium on the use and sale of biosolids, treated sewage sludge that meets certain Environmental Protection Agency requirements and can be used as soil fertilizer.
However, reports show biosolids are rife with PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” which can leach into farm land when used on soil.
Assemblymember Anna Kelles, D-Ithaca, the bill’s sponsor, said this is a first step to stop the spread of PFAS through farms.
“We need to stop using our lands as a dumping ground,” she said, “given that we know that it is going to continue to spread these PFAS chemicals, and that they are toxic not only to our environment and other species, animals in the environment, but to us.”
Kelles wants to see PFAS removed at the source, which would mean removing it from the various products they’re still used in.
Maine and Connecticut have enacted biosolid bans, with more states aside from New York introducing similar bills. While New York’s bill has been met with positive bipartisan feedback, opponents argue the bill could worsen environmental impacts from forever chemicals.
Along with the bill, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation is drafting guidelines for biosolids as a way of addressing PFAS.
Kelles noted the bill stems from several calls from New York farmers demanding state lawmakers take action. She recalled that one farmer was quite emotional when speaking about how pollution from forever chemicals impacted him.
“You could hear that he was all choked up because he had lost his farm completely,” she said, “and the levels of PFAS in his body and his wife’s were thousands of times above the national recommended levels.”
The DEC’s Rural Soil Background Study mirrors similar studies done throughout the Northeast, with forever chemicals like PFAS detected in more than 97% of surface soil samples. Although the bill has yet to be approved by the full state Assembly, it was approved in the state Senate.
