Federal Action on PFAS-Contaminated Sewage Sludge Is Long Overdue

The document highlights the environmental and health risks associated with spreading sewage sludge on approximately 70 million acres of U.S. farmland, noting that such sludge often contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). It criticizes the EPA for failing to finalize risk assessments for PFOA and PFOS and for underestimating the risks of over 150 other PFAS chemicals detected in sludge. The text cites specific farm failures in Maine and Michigan due to contamination and notes that while some states like Maine have banned the practice, others still encourage it. The author calls for federal regulations, the protection of local government authority to restrict sludge use, and corporate accountability for clean-up.

• Millions of tons of sewage sludge are applied annually to an estimated 70 million acres of U.S. farmland, gardens, and golf courses, despite EPA Office of Inspector General audits in 2000 and 2018 stating that the agency cannot ensure these practices protect human health and the environment.
• PFAS chemicals persist in sewage sludge because wastewater treatment technologies typically do not destroy them, leading to the contamination of water, soil, crops, and livestock. This has resulted in the closure of farms in Maine (2016) and Michigan (2020), with further contamination evidence found in Texas, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
• The EPA's draft risk assessment focuses only on two chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, despite more than 150 PFAS chemicals being detected in sludge globally. Earthjustice and other allies argue that this assessment underestimates risks by orders of magnitude, yet it still concludes that land application of sludge with barely detectable levels of these two chemicals creates unacceptable health risks for farm families.
• State-level responses vary: Maine was the first state to ban the land application of sludge and implement systematic farm testing, and at least 13 states proposed bills in 2025 to regulate sludge and support farmers. Meanwhile, local governments in New York and Pennsylvania have worked with Earthjustice to establish restrictions, though some opponents have used Right-to-Farm laws to block these efforts.

APA

Gutiérrez, N. (2025). Federal Action on PFAS-Contaminated Sewage Sludge Is Long Overdue. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/experts/amy-yoon/federal-action-on-pfas-contaminated-sewage-sludge-is-long-overdue

Chicago

Gutiérrez, Nydia. Federal Action on PFAS-Contaminated Sewage Sludge Is Long Overdue. Earthjustice, 2025. https://earthjustice.org/experts/amy-yoon/federal-action-on-pfas-contaminated-sewage-sludge-is-long-overdue.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Gutiérrez |first1=Nydia |title=Federal Action on PFAS-Contaminated Sewage Sludge Is Long Overdue |publisher=Earthjustice |date=15 August 2025 |url=https://earthjustice.org/experts/amy-yoon/federal-action-on-pfas-contaminated-sewage-sludge-is-long-overdue |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{gutirrez2025federal, author = {Gutiérrez, Nydia}, title = {{Federal Action on PFAS-Contaminated Sewage Sludge Is Long Overdue}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://earthjustice.org/experts/amy-yoon/federal-action-on-pfas-contaminated-sewage-sludge-is-long-overdue}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }