Farmland testing essential with biosolids

Treated wastewater sludge, also known as biosolids under the Clean Water Act, is the byproduct of thousands of municipal wastewater treatment plants around the country responsible for keeping our drinking, surface and groundwater supplies clean and free from contaminants and harmful pathogens. For years, it has been considered an excellent fertilizer for farm crops, as it is rich in nutrients and enriches the soil with organic, nutrient-rich matter and reduces the reliance on synthetic – and often toxic – fertilizers. However, in the last decade, research has increasingly indicated that there is a risk that biosolids introduces PFAS to the environment, allowing it to damage farmland and water sources.

As this month's longform story explains, in 2022 the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) released the findings from a survey of state environmental regulatory agencies on policies, testing, research gaps, and risk communication challenges related to PFAS in biosolids. Thirty-four states, including Michigan, responded to the survey.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and PFOA – also known as forever chemicals because they do not break down in the food chain or in people, and are believed to be in almost all human bodies and are a recognized danger. Unlike other toxins that enter the body, they do not get excreted and tend to stick around and accumulate over a lifetime. While linked to kidney, liver and thyroid cancers, as well as many other ailments, medical researchers continue to test and assess the short and long-term consequences of PFAS in our systems – meaning we don't yet completely know all of the ramifications of having PFAS stored in our bodies – much less in the food we eat and the water we drink and the soil it is grown in.

All states are subject to federal regulations under Part 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 503 for biosolids use and disposal. These regulations allow for the land application of biosolids on food crops while also giving states the authority to make independent decisions about how to further manage biosolids, while allowing some states to prohibit the practice. Michigan is the only state that responded to the survey reporting that it has industrial pretreatment standards for PFAS, and Maine and Michigan are the only two states nationwide that have any prohibitions or restrictions on biosolids’ beneficial use based on PFAS concentrations. Because of that, a family-owned Livingston County farm was shut down due to high PFAS contamination by the EGLE, determined that the cattle had consumed feed that had absorbed dangerous levels of PFAS that were detectible in beef samples taken from the farm’s freezer.

But much more testing must be done to assess how contaminated Michigan's farm's are. While there are drinking water standards to test for PFAS and other contaminants, there are currently no state or federal regulations for PFAS in soil and farmland.

EGLE has said that sampling of farms and soils is not currently part of their strategy, and they would need guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They also acknowledge they require additional monitoring and quality requirements for biosolids that are designated as exceptional quality under its updated 2024 rules. What good are these requirements if there is no monitoring?

We feel for the Livingston County farmer whose livelihood has been walloped by PFAS, especially since the chemical was discovered after the fact, in beef samples. If monitoring and requirements are followed, hopefully more farm closures can be averted before the application of toxic biosolids. The EPA must be proactive, either on its own or in conjunction with states, like Michigan's EGLE, to test soil depth and minerals before the sludge is applied – and to test the biosolids themselves well before they are applied to the earth as fertilizer, where molecules are residing forever.

While the state tells us that farmers are not supportive of soil testing on farmlands, out of fear they may be shut down like the Livingston County farmer, mandatory soil testing must be enacted if farmers want to apply biosolids to their land. Michigan, considered by many to be a model when it comes to forever chemical policies, should take the lead on this issue and mandate farmland testing.