Dive Brief:
- The Virginia legislature last week passed a set of companion bills regulating the levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in biosolids. The bills would prevent the use of biosolids as fertilizer beginning in 2027 if levels of PFOA and PFOS, two PFAS chemicals considered potentially harmful to human health, are too high.
- The changes would impact about 60 wastewater treatment plants around the state, according to a fiscal impact analysis. In addition to establishing limits, the bills would instruct Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality to convene a working group with stakeholders to develop a PFAS sampling program and additional strategies.
- The bills, which received broad bipartisan support in the legislature, now head to Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Other states, including Maryland and New York, are also considering measures this year to limit the use of biosolids as fertilizer over PFAS concerns.
Dive Insight:
Virginia joins a growing number of states regulating PFAS in biosolids as concerns grow over contamination of farmland where the material is applied. While two states have instituted a total ban on land application, the Virginia bills represent a moderated approach that is becoming more common.
So far, Maine and Connecticut are the only two states to have banned the use of biosolids, also known as sewage sludge, for fertilizer. The bans came after farmers discovered elevated levels of PFAS on their farmland following land application.
The health risks of biosolids-based fertilizer are still being studied. PFAS is a broad family of chemicals, but several have been found to be a risk to human health at sufficient concentrations, leading to limits on the use of PFOA and PFOS in manufacturing. But the chemicals are persistent and difficult to eradicate, resulting in the moniker "forever chemicals.”
Last year, the U.S. EPA released a draft risk assessment that found farmers who used the sludge may be at risk of exposure, but consumers who eat food grown or raised on contaminated farmland are likely not at risk. That assessment still must be finalized, and it became the subject of political maneuvering when Republicans in Congress attempted to prevent the EPA from finalizing it through legislation. That effort was ultimately blocked.
Public health and environmental advocates say federal regulators have been slow to act on contamination, leading to a host of efforts at the state level to regulate PFAS in biosolids. States including New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Washington have passed legislation requiring testing for PFAS in the wastewater process. States like Michigan and Colorado have also advanced testing programs without legislation.
Virginia lawmakers' approach focuses on gathering information with a limited ban. Beginning Jan. 1 of next year, sewage treatment plants that market or distribute their biosolids as fertilizer would need to test the sludge monthly for PFOA and PFOS.
Beginning in July 2027, the biosolids could not be land applied if PFOA or PFOS concentrations are greater than or equal to 50 micrograms per kilogram on a 12-month rolling average. If the rate is between 25 and 50 micrograms per kilogram, the plant must limit application to three dry tons per acre until concentrations drop below 25 micrograms per kilogram on a 12-month rolling average. Below those levels, the biosolids can still be land applied.
The requirements would apply to the landowner using biosolids if they source the material from an out-of-state facility, and the bills require testing of biosolids blended from multiple facilities. After 2027, wastewater treatment facilities could reduce sampling to a quarterly schedule. Virginia's Department of Planning and Budget estimates implementing the rules would cost state regulators about $625,000 per year.
Laura Orlando, senior scientist at environmental group Just Zero, said the levels set by the bills are too high to protect human health. She noted the EPA's draft risk assessment assumed contamination of one part per billion, which she said is 25 times lower than the Virginia bills' restriction.
"The rule creates the appearance of regulation while permitting the long-term accumulation of 'forever chemicals' on Virginia land," Orlando said in an emailed statement. "Virginia has failed to project the public’s health and instead let the corporations that profit off spreading sewage sludge dictate the language of the rule."
Industry groups closely tracked the bills. The proposed working group would include “owners of sewage sludge treatment works, private companies that land apply, market, or distribute sewage sludge, relevant nonprofit organizations and any other stakeholder the Department deems appropriate,” per bill text.
"This legislation represents a collaborative compromise that prioritizes both environmental transparency and long-term sustainability," said Mary Baker, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association, in an emailed statement. The organization includes members Casella Waste Systems, Denali, Synagro, 374Water and Aries Clean Technologies.
"By incorporating PFAS monitoring and source tracking, we are taking proactive, science-based steps to address community concerns while ensuring that the land application of biosolids remains an environmentally and economically viable practice for the future,” Baker added.
