From Toilet to Table: Stop Sewage Sludge!

Last week, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) hosted a webinar on "Biosolids and Sewage Sludge: The impacts of its application on farms in Pennsylvania.” Now, why would the DRN care about Sewage Sludge? Because Sewage Sludge is chock-full of PFAS and PFOS, the toxic forever chemicals that are poisoning our water supplies - the largest local source of drinking water is the Delaware River. Still, if the Sewage Sludge is land-applied, what does that matter? Because:

1) Run-off from the Sewage Sludge finds its way into creeks and streams that feed into larger tributaries like the Lehigh River and ultimately end up in the Delaware River.

2) Land-applied Sewage Sludge permeates the soil and eventually carries down into our aquifers poisoning well water. The most recent example is the tragedy in Palmerton, where the Municipal Water supply contains PFAS/PFOS many times higher than is determined safe for drinking by both State and Federal agencies. The dangers of PFAS/PFOS are real and happening right now in Carbon County. The PA Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP) recently released a map that shows the locations of all landowners who are using land-applied Sewage Sludge (see the screen shot below). The map of all Biosolids/Sewage Sludge permits is available at: https://newdata-padep-1.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/PADEP-1::biosolids-program-beneficial-land-use-parcels/explore. As you can see, there are multiple landowners in Carbon County who apply Sewage Sludge. Why? Sewage Sludge is provided to landowners free of cost (excluding shipping) and Pennsylvania spreads more Sewage Sludge on farmlands than it produces - meaning we are receiving Sewage Sludge which includes industrial waste from New York and New Jersey. Please take the time to explore this insightful resource.

PFAS/PFOS have well-researched impacts on human health, including increased cancer risks, impacts on hormones and the immune system, and increased risks of reproductive and developmental issues and more. It's our opportunity to act by supporting those Pennsylvania legislators who are working to set limits on the maximum contaminant levels for PFAS and PFOS in Biosolids (aka Sewage Sludge) as proposed in the bipartisan PA H.B. 2249. Please contact your elected State officials and ask them to sign on in support of legislation that limits (better yet - eliminates PFAS/PFOS in Sewage Sludge).

More helpful resources are below:

PADEP Biosolids/Sewage Sludge Regulations: 25 PA Code Chapter 271. Municipal Waste Management at https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/025/chapter271/chap271toc.html&d=

DRN web page on biosolids/sewage sludge: https://delawareriverkeeper.org/?s=biosolids

JUST ZERO web page: https://just-zero.org/

DRN letter to PADEP re. proposed changes to Biosolids Permits: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18LsNOm8OR_ACDVtU3YD07L7XNeblMY4v/view

DRN letter to PADEP re. public comment process: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OQDq-rwJCn6Am1ztblQZZLnCsDphdphn/view

Fact Sheet, PFAS in biosolids dangers: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15w_IQDSKGXgIAvxN3mlcTqRNsCQSwrqz/view

Fact Sheet, Biosolids application to land dangers: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OH1Pq239giZ6NndjC8_1AzY_O-Rf9XIP/view

More info on PFAS:

PFAS (Per and Poly-fluoro Alkyl Substances) – Delaware Riverkeeper Network

https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/feeding-waste-cycle-how-pfas-disposal-perpetuates-contamination;

https://www.saferstates.org/resource/2025-analysis-of-state-policy-addressing-toxic-chemicals-and-plastics/phasing-out-pfas-use/