Cookie Control

This site uses cookies to store information on your computer.

Some cookies on this site are essential, and the site won't work as expected without them. These cookies are set when you submit a form, login or interact with the site by doing something that goes beyond clicking on simple links.

We also use some non-essential cookies to anonymously track visitors or enhance your experience of the site. If you're not happy with this, we won't set these cookies but some nice features of the site may be unavailable.

By using our site you accept the terms of our Privacy Policy.

(One cookie will be set to store your preference)
(Ticking this sets a cookie to hide this popup if you then hit close. This will not store any personal information)

"EPA Denies Duty To Regulate PFAS In Sewage Sludge Spread On Farmland"

"US regulators claim they are not legally required to regulate toxic PFAS chemicals in sewage sludge spread on farmland across the country, according to a court filing the government made this week in response to a lawsuit from an environmental watchdog group.

In its Sept. 9 filing, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked the US District Court in Washington, DC to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed in June by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) on behalf of a group of Texas farmers and ranchers. The lawsuit claims contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from sewage sludge has sickened and killed the farmers’ livestock, “injured their health, threatened their livelihoods, and devalued their property.”

The agency denied PEER’s claims that it is violating the Clean Water Act by failing to identify and regulate several types of PFAS that have been found in treated sewage sludge used as fertilizer. While the law requires the agency to conduct reviews, there is no requirement for the agency to actually identify “additional toxic pollutants,” the EPA said in its filing.

When it comes to sewage sludge, “both the identification and regulation of any additional toxic pollutants(s) are left to the discretion of EPA,” the agency stated in the court filing."

Shannon Kelleher reports for The New Lede September 11, 2024.

Source: The New Lede, 09/13/2024