Stop Spreading Sewage Sludge!

More farmers are losing their livelihoods when their livestock dies or is destroyed and land condemned due to toxic levels of PFAS/PFOS from sewage sludge. The latest heartbreak is in Texas, where a farmer is unable to pass the family farm down to the next generation (more information is here). Closer to home, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP) will hold a hearing on May 11th regarding the North Centre Township PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ hazardous site response involving sewage sludge (more information is here). In Carbon County, landowners who use sewage sludge know of the toxins, ignoring the concerns and the pleas from their neighbors and municipal governments to stop using it. Sewage sludge, processed into “biosolids”, has been applied on fields for decades in Pennsylvania. The application on land is considered a “beneficial use” under state regulations and permitting. There is mounting evidence that biosolids (aka sewage sludge) applied on farms can contaminate groundwater, surface water, soil, air, and crops/farm products. Both Maine and Connecticut have banned the use of land applied sewage sludge, and other states are adopting regulations to limit the pollutants in the environment and our drinking water from land treated with sewage sludge. Pennsylvania is considering issuing revised permits that cover sewage sludge. To learn more about just how damaging sewage sludge is, please plan to join the Biosolids & Sewage Sludge Webinar hosted by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. The webinar features Laura Orlando, a scientist and engineering expert from Just Zero, and community members where sewage sludge is a threat. Join the webinar to learn about how sewage sludge can impact those who live where it is used, the human health and environmental effects, the dangers posed by continuing “business as usual”, and what the PA-DEP might do about it.