Failure to Regulate PFAS – Toxic Legacy Chemicals – Harms the General Public
Washington, DC – August 13 – Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN) has joined farmers in Texas, organic farmers in Maine, and a Texas county in a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its failure to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of toxic chemicals, known as “forever chemicals” because they do not degrade, which are present in sewage sludge widely used as fertilizer on farm fields and home gardens, PRKN President Nancy Stoner announced today.
Said Stoner, “The Clean Water Act requires EPA to identify and regulate toxic pollutants in sewage sludge, but EPA has failed to act on the widespread contamination of sewage sludge with PFAS. PFAS chemicals pose a serious threat to public health and to aquatic ecosystems, including the Potomac River, and we are glad to join with concerned farmers and Johnson County, Texas to press EPA to restrict such toxic chemicals in sewage sludge.”
The Clean Water Act requires EPA to identify and to regulate toxic pollutants in sewage sludge if scientific evidence shows they may harm human health or the environment. EPA has failed to fulfill both portions of this mandate regarding PFAS chemicals. First, scientific studies show that there are at least 18 PFAS chemicals in sewage sludge that adversely impact public health but which EPA did not identify in the agency’s most recently published biannual report. Second, sufficient scientific information is available for EPA to promulgate regulations for at least 12 PFAS it has previously identified in sewage sludge, but EPA has failed to act.
Betsy Nicholas, PRKN’s Vice President for Litigation and Programs, said, “EPA’s failure to regulate these toxic pollutants in sewage sludge allows these chemicals to continue to be spread as fertilizer on farms, pastures, home gardens, and yards, contaminating our rivers and the nation’s food and water supply. We will work with our partners in this case to make sewage sludge safe, as the Clean Water Act requires.”
PRKN and the other plaintiffs in the suit are represented by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
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Potomac Riverkeeper Network is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with three regional Waterkeeper branches: Potomac Riverkeeper, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper, and Shenandoah Riverkeeper. PRKN’s mission is to protect the right to clean water for all communities and all those who live in and rely upon the Potomac and Shenandoah watersheds by stopping pollution, making drinking water safe, protecting healthy river habitats, and enhancing use and enjoyment for all.
