Trump administration abandons plans for rules on sewage fertilizer containing Pfas

The Trump administration has decided not to proceed with new regulations for sewage sludge that contains Pfas chemicals. This sludge is sometimes spread on farmland as fertilizer, a practice that has led to health problems for farmers, ruined their farms, caused livestock deaths, and contaminated water supplies and food products.

Previously, there was a plan for a risk assessment that would have significantly limited or stopped the use of sludge, also known as biosolids, in the food production system. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to discard recent scientific research that was intended to form the basis for new rules. The EPA stated that sludge does not pose a widespread threat to the public, arguing that it is used on a small percentage of farmland.

Despite this decision, the EPA has also advised the public to investigate companies that produce sludge. This advice comes as the agency acknowledges that the toxic chemicals contaminating home fertilizer, which is often sold for gardens, could be a concern.

The decision has been criticized by environmental groups. One attorney described it as illogical and shocking that the EPA would abandon scientific findings. She suggested that the action implies that the well-being of farmers is not a priority.

Pfas are a group of approximately 16,000 chemicals known as 'forever chemicals' because they persist in the environment and the human body without breaking down. These chemicals have been linked to serious health issues, including cancer, liver and kidney problems, high cholesterol, birth defects, and weakened immune systems.

Sludge is created from treating human and industrial waste that goes through the country's sewer systems. Since the 1990s, the EPA has permitted its use on farmland because it contains nutrients beneficial for plant growth, and disposing of it is costly. However, public health advocates have raised concerns about this practice, arguing that it involves expensive water treatment only to reintroduce toxic byproducts back into the food supply and environment.

Concerns are widespread, as regulators in several states, including Maine and Michigan, have detected Pfas in every sludge sample tested. A federal review in 2001 also found these chemicals in sewage sludge across the nation. While current EPA rules only require testing for nine heavy metals, sludge can contain thousands of different human-made chemicals. A non-profit organization has filed a lawsuit against the EPA, alleging it has failed to regulate Pfas in sludge as required by the Clean Water Act.

During the final days of the Biden administration, the EPA released a draft assessment indicating that any level of certain Pfas in sludge above 1 part per billion could increase the risk of cancer and other health problems for farmers. Most sludge samples exceed this level, meaning that if these proposed rules had been finalized, the use of sludge would have been significantly restricted.

The proposed regulations specifically addressed Pfoa and Pfos, two of the most common and dangerous Pfas chemicals. These assessments focused on the risks to farmers but did not fully consider the potential impact on the general public through contaminated food products like produce, dairy, and meat.

Comments submitted to the EPA by legal and environmental organizations highlighted research showing risks to farmers, their families, and the wider public. For instance, one calculation showed an increased cancer risk for children drinking milk from a farm where sludge with high Pfoa levels was applied. The EPA’s recent decision is seen by critics as prioritizing industries that profit from sludge over the health of farming families and rural communities.

Critics argue that the administration is discarding a thorough, science-based evaluation of Pfas dangers in favor of a less comprehensive document that downplays the real harm. The waste management industry, which benefits financially from sludge, has actively opposed stricter regulations and lobbied the EPA on this matter.

While the EPA now claims sludge is used on only 1% of farmland, no official agency has comprehensively tracked its application. Many states do not test land where sludge has been applied, despite evidence that it can spread to neighbouring properties and contaminate water sources. Furthermore, meaningful testing of food grown in Pfas-contaminated sludge has not been conducted. In areas like Maine, where numerous farms are affected, chemicals applied decades ago are still contaminating land, even organic farms where crops were unknowingly grown in toxic soil.