What are toxic PFAS and why are they a problem?
PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals in many common and widely used products for their water repellent and heat-resistant properties. PFAS do not break down and are thus called “forever chemicals.” They also bioaccumulate, meaning that they are taken up by shellfish, fish, animals and people. PFAS are linked to bladder, prostate, liver, kidney, and breast cancer, as well as developmental disorders and other non-cancer diseases.
Municipal and private wastewater treatment plants receive PFAS-contaminated waste from industrial sources, like textile mills, metal finishers, and chemical manufacturers. Conventional technologies do not remove PFAS from wastewater, concentrating the toxic chemicals in the residual sewage sludge. This solid waste has been marketed as “biosolids” to be used as fertilizers on farmlands for decades.
While the federal government has set limits on cancer-causing PFAS in drinking water and designated the chemicals as hazardous waste, the EPA has failed to set national standards for PFAS in sewage sludge allowed to be disposed of on farms as fertilizer.
In Maine, the wide-spread land application of PFAS-laced sludge on farms led to contamination of farmland, groundwater, crops and milk and resulted in the need to destroy dairy cattle and take many acres of farmland out of production. In Johnson County, Texas, ranchers are suing Synagro for PFAS contamination they allege was the result of sludge land-applied by the company.
How is Virginia addressing PFAS in land-applied sewage sludge (“biosolids”)?
Virginia does not require testing sludge for PFAS before spreading it on farmland, nor even disclosure of known PFAS contamination to farmers or the public. Unfortunately, state regulators refuse to use their existing legal authority to control PFAS in biosolids to prevent harm to human health, wildlife, land, and water. By comparison, Maryland requires PFAS testing of sludge and recommends limits on PFAS before its use. Virginia’s failure to require PFAS testing and limits unacceptably risks the safety of Virginians and livelihoods of farmers and watermen as PFAS can contaminate soil, well water, rivers, crops, livestock, fish and shellfish.
Potomac Riverkeeper Network’s Goal
Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN) is working to protect our watershed, waterways, and livelihoods dependent on healthy farmland and fisheries by opposing expansion of sewage sludge land application and getting the government to control PFAS in sewage sludge.
What have we done so far and what urgently lies ahead?
In 2024, we joined Texas ranchers in Texas and Maine farmers in a lawsuit against EPA, seeking to force the agency to regulate toxic PFAS in sewage sludge. The lawsuit is pending.
Earlier this year, PRKN, watermen, and community members submitted numerous comments objecting to Synagro’s application to expand its operations in Westmoreland County, which the company subsequently withdrew. As part of our advocacy, we uncovered data that demonstrate significant PFAS contamination in the sewage sludge that Synagro sources from Virginia, Maryland and D.C. treatment plants for application to Virginia farmlands. We are also working to begin testing wells, lands, and waterways in the Northern Neck to identify PFAS contamination and its sources.
In Essex County, local watermen, water advocates, and other community members have also opposed Synagro’s application to expand its operation by over 6,000 acres, which would allow the company to apply PFAS-contaminated sludge on nearly 26,000 acres of farmland in the county. Virginia allows Synagro to land-apply sewage sludge known to be contaminated by PFAS. Synagro reports utilizing sludge from 53 different sources, of which 30 are known PFAS-contaminated sources based in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. Public information suggests the other 23 sources have not been sampled for PFAS.
EPA has found that as little as one land application of sewage sludge with levels of PFOS of 1,000 ppt can result in environmental contamination leading to unacceptable risk of cancer and noncancerous disease. We found that sewage sludge from Maryland treatment plants approved for application on Virginia farmlands contain, on average, 12,452 ppt PFOS.
In Essex County, local watermen, water advocates, and other community members have also opposed Synagro’s application to expand its operation by over 6,000 acres, which would allow the company to apply PFAS-contaminated sludge on nearly 26,000 acres of farmland in the county. Virginia allows Synagro to land-apply sewage sludge known to be contaminated by PFAS. Synagro reports utilizing sludge from 53 different sources, of which 30 are known PFAS-contaminated sources based in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. Public information suggests the other 23 sources have not been sampled for PFAS.
Virginia’s sampling of waterways indicate toxic PFAS contamination exceeding EPA thresholds for protection of human health in the area of Synagro’s Essex County operations. i.e. levels of PFOA in Hoskins Creek of 6.51 and 6.81 ppt, and in Piscataway Creek of 5.87 and 8.01 ppt. EPA has proposed a water quality standard of 0.0036 ppt PFOA to prevent unacceptable risk of cancer and other disease through human consumption of fish and shellfish. Moreover, the EPA has set a limit of 4 ppt PFOA for drinking water.
The DEQ must assure that continued sewage sludge applications by Synagro adequately protect human health, plants, wildlife, and the environment from the harm of toxic PFAS contamination and ensure compliance with Virginia’s narrative and numeric water quality standards. 9 VAC § 25-32-100(A)(1); 9 VAC § 25-260 20(A); Va. Code § 62.1-44.19:3(B). To expand Synagro’s operations without first addressing the threat of PFAS contamination flies in the face of the agency’s own mission and its legal duties and authorities in administration of the sludge land application permitting program.
For a deeper dive into the facts and science, read this report by David Flores, our Senior Legal Counsel.
For Further Information Contact Your Potomac Riverkeeper: Dean Naujoks, Potomac Riverkeeper,
