To: Administrator Michael S. Regan, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Dear Administrator Regan,
We are writing to let you know that we support the lawsuit filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on behalf of farmers and ranchers in Johnson County, Texas.
The livelihoods and health of the farmer and rancher plaintiffs, James Farmer, Robin Alessi, Patsy Schultz, Karen Coleman, and Tony Coleman, were ruined after PFAS-laden biosolids used as fertilizers on neighboring properties leached onto their land.
EPA should never have let this happen. The Clean Water Act requires EPA to set standards for toxic substances in biosolids, but EPA has failed to set standards for PFAS, despite knowing about the dangers to farmers and consumers throughout the United States.
Administrator Regan, we need your leadership now. We are asking you to help save American farms from being contaminated with toxic PFAS by immediately agreeing to set strict standards that keep toxic PFAS out of biosolids.
Stand with PEER in the fight against toxic chemicals like PFAS. Your donation today directly impacts our efforts to safeguard public health and protect our communities. Donate now to help us safeguard a healthier, safer future!
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
We need your help to save American farms from being contaminated with toxic PFAS!
Every year, millions of tons of biosolids are applied to land as fertilizer on farms. Biosolids are made from both municipal and industrial waste. Although treated to remove pathogens, this biosolid sewage sludge contains dangerous levels of PFAS.
PFAS, or per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of chemicals known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment and they bio-magnify in the food chain. When biosolids containing PFAS are land-applied, these dangerous chemicals leach into soil and ground water, and are then taken up by plants, which are then consumed by humans, livestock, and wildlife.
Under the Clean Water Act, EPA is supposed to ensure the safety of biosolid fertilizers, yet the agency has not used this authority for decades. It is high time EPA acted.
Please sign the letter urging EPA Administrator Michael Regan to act now to protect American farmers and consumers from toxic PFAS in biosolids.
EPA’s inaction has forced PEER to file a lawsuit on behalf of a group of farmers and ranchers whose livelihoods were ruined after toxic PFAS-laden biosolids from neighboring properties leached onto their land, poisoning their soil, water, and cattle.
It is inexcusable that EPA has not already acted to set health standards for PFAS.
