Sewage sludge battle heats up as health advocates appeal move to dismiss EPA lawsuit

A federal court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit alleging US regulators failed to prevent widespread contamination of farmland with toxic PFAS chemicals was based on a “flawed interpretation” of the Clean Water Act, creating “dangerous real-world consequences for public health,” a watchdog group argued in a new court filing.

The appeal from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is the latest move in a battle over policy issues surrounding sewage sludge contamination. PEER sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2024 on behalf of two Texas farm families who experienced health problems after their properties were contaminated with PFAS per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals contained in sewage sludge spread as fertilizer on a neighboring property. Johnson County, Texas, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) and the Potomac Riverkeeper Network were also plaintiffs in the suit.

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that the EPA’s failure to take action against PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge spread on farmland across the country is enabling the contamination of “millions of acres” of land with PFAS.

Last fall, the US District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the lawsuit, determining that a provision of the Clean Water Act that requires the EPA to review its sewage sludge regulations every two years does not require the agency to identify or regulate dangerous substances in the sludge by any deadline. As a result, Judge Dabney Friedrich determined that the court did not have jurisdiction to make a ruling in the case.

“This interpretation flies in the face of the language and purpose of Clean Water Act,” PEER attorney  Laura Dumais said in a statement. “The statute has a clear and consistent scheme requiring quick action to protect public health from hazards in sludge, and it was plain error to interpret this provision to let EPA instead act at its leisure – or maybe never.”

Over the 33 years the provision has been in place, the EPA has never used its biennial sewage sludge review process to identify toxic pollutants requiring regulation and to then regulate those harmful chemicals, PEER said in its appeal filed with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. “Instead, every two years EPA simply gathers information about pollutants in sludge. It treats the question of whether the regulations should be updated as a future step it can take at an undefined and unenforceable time,” PEER wrote.

The Court will likely hear oral arguments in the appeal case later this year, after which it will issue a decision, said Dumais.

When asked for comment about the concerns stated in PEER’s appeal, the EPA said it does not comment on current or pending litigation.

About 60% of sewage sludge from US wastewater treatment plants is spread on farm fields each year, according to the EPA, with almost 70 million acres of farmland across the country may be contaminated with these chemicals, according to the Environmental Working Group. Although the sludge is treated to remove pathogens, there are no national requirements to test it for PFAS.

Some states have taken action, with an April 2025 report by the Environmental Council of the States finding ten states had issued guidance for at least one PFAS chemical in sewage sludge. Other states have more recently made moves to curb this source of contamination.

A Maryland Senate committee on March 12 voted to advance a bill that would set enforceable limits for PFAS in sewage sludge applied to farmland. And last week, Virginia passed bills that would  prevent the use of sewage sludge with levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) above a certain threshold, starting in 2027.

So-called “forever chemicals” are highly persistent in the environment and the bodies of animals and humans, with PFAS present in the blood of nearly all people in the US. Exposure to PFAS has been linked with a variety of health problems, including high cholesterol, decreased immune response to vaccines, and some cancers.

Recent research suggests that two newer types of PFAS are linked to accelerated aging in middle-aged men, while a study published this week found that children exposed to high levels of PFAS – especially PFOA – had lower bone density as teenagers.

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