Failure to Regulate PFAS – Toxic Legacy Chemicals – Harms the General Public
Washington, DC – September 30 – A ruling by a federal district court judge allows the Environmental Protection Agency to continue to do nothing to protect the public from the dangers of PFAS in sewage sludge, despite overwhelming scientific evidence, Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN) President Betsy Nicholas announced today.
PFAS, a group of toxic chemicals, known as “forever chemicals” because they do not degrade, are present in dangerous concentrations in sewage sludge widely used as fertilizer – referred to euphemistically as “biosolids” – on farm fields and home gardens.
PRKN, along with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, several ranching families in Texas, and the county in which they live (Johnson County, TX), had sought to compel the EPA, as required by the Clean Water Act, to identify and to regulate toxic pollutants in sewage sludge if evidence shows they are present “in concentrations which may adversely affect public health or the environment.” The ruling effectively means that no one can compel EPA to act on any hazardous substances in sewage sludge pursuant to the biennial review a provision that requires EPA to review the regulations biennially to identify and regulate emerging threats, even when scientific evidence clearly establishes harm.
Nicholas said, “This ruling is a particular loss for America’s farming and ranching families. They, along with all of us, are the victims here. Particularly galling is that for decades, EPA has known about the dangers of PFAS in sewage sludge used as fertilizer and in fact several months ago, it published its Risk Assessment supporting the dangers and a model for how to regulate. EPA knows about the problem; it simply refuses to act.”
Dean Naujoks, Potomac Riverkeeper, when asked about the impact of the ruling, said, “Farmers, watermen, and residents in the Potomac watershed will continue to suffer harm to their health because of EPA’s refusal to act. This is wrong.”
