Five farmers in Johnson County, Texas, are suing Synagro Technologies, a Baltimore-based biosolid management company, and its Texas affiliate over high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in fertilizers produced by Synagro. The firm makes fertilizers from sewage sludge, also known as biosolids. The farmers claim that PFAS in fertilizer made by Synagro and spread on a neighboring farm contaminated their water, killed their livestock, and decreased their property values.
“Similar instances of PFAS poisonings of farms, dairies, and ranches have occurred in several states,” Kyla Bennett, science policy director at the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), says in a statement. Maine banned the land application of biosolids after dozens of farms were contaminated with PFAS linked to that type of fertilizer, Bennett says. “This lawsuit against Synagro will likely be the first of many,” she predicts.