[O]n the heels of a multi-million dollar settlement over PFAS contamination, a Bennington County senator expressed concern Friday about possible exposure to the toxic chemicals from the spreading of sludge on farm fields.
Sen. Brian Campion, D-Bennington, went so far as to raise the idea of a “moratorium” on sludge spreading after a state official said it’s not currently known whether biosolids applied on agricultural land are contaminated with PFAS, a family of widely used chemicals under scrutiny for their health impacts.
Regulating PFAS has been a focal point of environmental legislation at the Statehouse this session. The Senate passed a bill, S.49, last month to set drinking water and surface water standards for the class of chemicals. The state has already started the process to establish drinking water standards for PFAS at a combined 20 parts per trillion for five compounds.
PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, do not break down in the environment and are used in a wide array of manufactured products, from rain jackets to cookware to firefighting foam. Scientists now know that exposure to certain PFAS chemicals can lead to cancer, thyroid disease, immune system damage, developmental problems in children and low birth weight.
The concern about spreading sludge that contains PFAS is that the toxic chemicals could end up in food and water supplies. Last month, public health advocates in Maine called for a ban on sludge spreading after the owner of a dairy farm found elevated PFAS levels in cows’ milk.
Earlier this week, state officials announced a multi-million dollar settlement with Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics to extend municipal water lines for Bennington residents who have wells contaminated by PFOA — a toxic PFAS chemical that has now been phased out by industry.
The Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee had Matt Chapman, general counsel for the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and Patricia Coppolino, an ANR program manager, in on Friday to talk about management of contaminated soils.
Toward the end of the meeting, Campion, vice chair of the committee, asked Chapman whether landfill leachate was being spread on fields. Committee members had been on a tour of the Coventry landfill the day before.
Chapman responded that all landfill leachate is treated at wastewater treatment plants. Most of the leachate produced at the Coventry landfill is treated at plants in Newport and Montpelier.
Chapman added that “roughly speaking, half of the sludge” — the solids that settle out during wastewater treatment — from treatment plants in Vermont is land applied.
Sludge has to be treated to EPA biosolids standards before it can be spread on fields. Some farmers apply biosolids to fields because they contain nutrients needed for plant growth and can improve soil structure, according to a report from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Campion asked Chapman whether it was possible that the sludge would contain PFAS.
Chapman responded that one of the requirements of S.49 is for ANR to do “comprehensive” testing for PFAS. He said biosolids — the name for treated sludge — are a “fairly high” priority for testing.
The state did complete an initial round of PFAS sampling around Vermont after the discovery of PFOA contamination in Bennington in 2016. In the version of S.49 that passed the Senate, ANR would have to come up with a plan this year to do a statewide investigation into potential sources of PFAS contamination.
“I guess I don’t want to put you on the spot,” Campion said to Chapman, “but is it possible that we are spreading PFAS around?”
Chapman reiterated that ANR has not yet done comprehensive testing at wastewater treatment plants but has looked at results from other states.
“There are concentrations of PFAS in sludges that are coming out of wastewater treatment plants in other states,” he said.
In addition to requiring further testing, S.49 requires ANR to adopt surface water standards for PFAS, he said. That means wastewater treatment plants would have limits for how much PFAS could be present in the water they release after being treated. The state would also have to submit a report on managing landfill leachate under S.49, Chapman added.
At the end of the committee meeting, Campion said he wondered if there should be a “moratorium” on sludge spreading.
Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison, chair of the Natural Resources and Energy Committee concluded the meeting by saying the committee would be scheduling more time to talk with ANR on this issue.
Kit Norton contributed reporting
