PFAS in Sludge Legislative Toolkit

Before You Begin

To use this toolkit, review each tab (Sections 1 – 10) to explore the different policy options available. From there, decide which policies you want to include in your bill. Each section has sample language for you to copy and paste into our downloadable bill template. This is the language you’ll use to create your bill. To help you get started, you can find an outline of the bill sections below.

Bill Outline

Section 1: Definitions

Every bill starts with a definitions section that explains the meaning of key terms and components of the bill.

The bill template includes most of the definitions you’ll need. Please read them over. However, as you work through the toolkit, there may be additional definitions you will need to include depending on the issues you want to address and the approaches you wish to take. Look out for suggested definitions in each section. If you’re including a section or approach that has suggested definitions, copy and paste them into Section 1 of your bill template.

Because Sewage Sludge Pollution Prevention Laws rely heavily on scientific terminology, we provide a deeper explanation of two key terms – PFAS and sewage sludge.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of synthetic chemicals used to make products resistant to water, grease, and heat. They’re found in things like non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, and food packaging. PFAS are also used by industries such as metal plating, textile, semiconductor, and plastics manufacturing. Because they persist indefinitely in the environment and in the human body, PFAS are often called “forever chemicals.”

PFAS are harmful to health even at very low concentrations. They build up in blood and organs and have been linked to serious health problems, including cancer, liver damage, thyroid disease, and developmental disorders. Sewage sludge consistently contains PFAS. When sludge is spread on land, PFAS contaminate soil, water, and food. Once these chemicals are released into the environment, there is no effective way to remove them.

It is important to establish a strong and consistent definition for PFAS when developing new laws and regulations to prevent the creation of weak policies that fail to effectively phase out and address PFAS pollution. While corporate lobbyists often push for narrow definitions that exempt toxic “forever chemicals,” the definition  provided in the  template and restated below has broad scientific consensus and aligns with the approach adopted in most states.

• “Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances” means any member of the class of manufactured fluorinated chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.

Sewage sludge

Sewage sludge is an unwanted byproduct of the wastewater treatment process. It contains a wide range of household and industrial chemicals, micro- and nano plastics, heavy metals, pathogens, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, PFAS, and other persistent contaminants. 

Many kinds of waste enter the sewage system including industrial discharges, hospital waste, landfill leachate (or toxic garbage brew), stormwater runoff, and everything else residents and businesses send down the drain. Underground pipes (and sometimes trucks) carry this mixture, collectively known as “sewage,” to wastewater treatment plants.

At the wastewater treatment plant, sewage is processed to meet federal and state water quality standards so it can be discharged into rivers, lakes, and oceans. These standards primarily address nutrient levels (like nitrogen and phosphorus) and pathogens (organisms or agents that cause disease). The standards do not regulate harmful contaminants like PFAS or microplastics.

But what about everything that was taken out of the treated water? This is the noxious mud-like byproduct called sewage sludge, and it contains an array of harmful contaminants. Wastewater treatment plants may reduce pathogens, but they do not remove PFAS or other hazardous chemicals. In fact, none of these treatments make sludge less toxic or safer. Similarly, the EPA classifies processed sludge as either “Class A” or “Class B” – with an implication that one is less contaminated than the other. This is misleading because these designations only describe heavy metal concentrations and pathogen and odor treatment, not chemical contamination.

Using the term “biosolids” or applying these classifications only adds confusion – all sewage sludge (and any material containing it) is toxic and should be strictly regulated.

The definition provided in the bill template and restated below offers a clear and straightforward meaning of the term sewage sludge that ensures your policy will capture all sludge regardless of any industry terms that try to mask its harms.

• “Sewage sludge” or “sludge” means any solid, semisolid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of sewage at a municipal wastewater treatment facility.

Section 2: Ban/Restriction on the Land Application of Sewage Sludge

Include this section if you want to ban or significantly restrict the land application of sewage sludge in your community.

Given the toxicity of sludge, communities across the country are passing laws that ban or restrict its land application. The most protective approach is a complete ban on the land application of sewage sludge within a city, county, or state. However, such measures are not always politically feasible. This section outlines several strategies communities can use to ban or limit the land application of sludge.

In 2022, Maine became the first state in the country to ban the land application of sewage sludge, following extensive testing that revealed widespread PFAS contamination on farmland where sludge had been spread. In 2024, Connecticut adopted a law that had a similar effect, becoming the second state to prohibit this toxic practice. Numerous other states, counties, and cities are considering similar bans.

Review the following options and choose one to include in your bill.

Section 3: Ban/Restriction on the Sale of Certain Products that Contain Sewage Sludge

Include this section if you want to ban the sale and distribution of compost, fertilizer, and other agricultural products that contain or are made from sewage sludge.

Sewage sludge may also be mixed with other organic materials – such as food scraps, yard waste, or wood chips – and processed into fertilizers, soil additives, or garden products that are sold as a commercial product in bulk or bags. These products are sometimes marketed as “natural,” “organic,” or “eco-friendly,” but they contain the toxic chemicals and other contaminants found in sludge. When unsuspecting gardeners or landscapers use these sludge-derived products on gardens, schoolyards, parks, or lawns, they can introduce serious risks to soil, food, water, and human health. This section puts an end to the deceptive sale of these greenwashed and dangerous materials by either banning them completely or restricting how they can be marketed.  

Review the following options and choose one to include in your bill.

Section 4: Testing of Sewage Sludge for Contaminants of Concern

Include this section if you want to require testing to better understand the concentration of harmful compounds in sewage sludge in your community.

Sewage sludge testing has been essential to revealing that this material is a known carrier of numerous compounds that threaten human health and degrade the environment. The first contaminants monitored in sludge were heavy metals, followed by persistent organic pollutants (e.g., pesticides and toxic synthetic chemicals) in the 1970s and 1980s. Since the 1990s, testing has identified hundreds of contaminants of emerging concern (chemicals and other substances that are not currently regulated but are detected in the environment and pose a risk to human health and ecosystems).

According to EPA’s national sewage sludge surveys and biennial reports, more than 700 chemicals have been detected in sewage sludge at least once. Subsequent studies of EPA’s own sludge samples, along with independent studies, have identified additional contaminants, including PFAS. These substances include pharmaceutical products (e.g., hormones, antidepressants, and antibiotics), personal care products (parabens and antimicrobials), microplastics and plastic-related compounds (bisphenols and phthalates), antibiotic resistant genes, neonicotinoid insecticides, and flame retardants.

This section establishes comprehensive testing requirements for sewage sludge generated at wastewater treatment facilities in your community. Such testing will reveal the presence and concentration of harmful contaminants, providing critical data to guide future policy decisions and research on these chemicals.

Review the following options and choose one to use in your bill.

Section 5: Mapping and Testing of Sites Applied with Sewage Sludge

Include this section if you want to require comprehensive mapping and testing of areas of your community where sludge has historically been spread. If your bill is not proposing a complete ban on the continued land application of sludge, this section will also require mapping and testing of active land application activities.  

Sewage sludge has been falsely promoted as a safe fertilizer for decades. As a result, many farms across the country have had sludge spread on their land. Unfortunately, weak federal and state regulations make it difficult to track down where sludge was spread. But this information is extremely important. To fully understand the impact that the land application of sludge has caused in a community, we need to understand where sludge was spread and the contamination it left behind.

This section requires your community’s environmental agency to prepare a report identifying every location where sewage sludge – regardless of classification – has been land applied since 1980 by using permits, records, receipts, and any other available documentation. Once the agency has completed the report, it must begin testing those locations for PFAS in soil and drinking water. Additionally, this section also requires the agency to track and map all the locations where sludge is land-applied in the future. This map must be made easily accessible to the public.

These requirements will help fill critical data gaps, reveal patterns of contamination, and support targeted remediation efforts. PFAS and other toxic substances in sludge do not stay put – they enter groundwater, run off into surface waters, or are taken up by crops. Without identifying past application sites and evaluating current conditions, communities remain at risk from previous pollution that continues to pose a threat years after the sludge was applied.

This section lays the groundwork for informed, science-based decision-making by local and state agencies, gives communities greater transparency, and ensures accountability for managing the long-term consequences of land application.

• If you did completely ban the land application of sewage in Section 1, you should choose Option 1.
• If you did not completely ban the land application of sewage sludge in Section 1, you should choose Option 2.

Section 6: Sewage Sludge Management Study

Include this section if you want your community to get a better understanding of how sludge is currently managed and how it can be improved.

Currently, most communities lack accurate data on the generation, treatment, and final make up of sewage sludge. This lack of data makes it hard to understand the scale of the issue, the risks associated with current practices, and the opportunities for improvement. In fact, most communities don’t know how much sludge is generated, how it is processed, how much is being spread on land, how much is sold or given away in bulk, and how much is bagged and sold as fertilizer.

This section requires your community to evaluate its sludge management practices. It also requires the development of a comprehensive plan to reduce sludge volumes and manage it in a safer, more environmentally sound manner.

Section 7: Assistance to PFAS-Impacted Farmers

Include this section if you want to provide financial assistance to farmers whose farms have been contaminated with PFAS from sludge spreading.

For decades, sewage sludge and sludge-based fertilizers have been promoted as a safe, cost-effective option for farmers. As a result, many farms across the country have had sludge – which always contains PFAS – spread on their fields. Those farms now face devastating consequences like contaminated soil and water, loss of markets, reduced crop and livestock value, serious health risks, and financial ruin. PFAS contamination is especially harmful because these contaminants can make farmland and water permanently unusable for food production, causing irreversible economic loss to farmers. This section of the bill establishes financial assistance to help farmers whose farms have been impacted by PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge.

Section 8: Sewage Sludge Toxicity and Volume Reduction Requirements

Include this section if you want to require wastewater treatment facilities in your community to reduce the toxicity and volume of sludge they generate.

Ending the land application of sewage sludge is essential to protect public health, safeguard drinking water, and prevent long-term environmental contamination. However, the same pollutants that make sludge unsafe to spread on farmland – such as PFAS, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals – also make it difficult to dispose of safely through other means.

Some corporations or agencies promote incineration as a solution, but there is no evidence that high-heat treatment effectively destroys PFAS or other persistent pollutants. Instead, incineration releases these toxics into the air, threatening surrounding communities. Landfilling sludge is also far from an ideal solution, but it is currently the best available option, especially when landfills are properly designed and include on-site PFAS removal from leachate.

The most effective and forward-looking approach is to reduce the volume of industrial contaminants entering wastewater treatment plants while simultaneously reducing the volume of sewage sludge generated at wastewater treatment facilities.

With this section, your community’s environmental agency will study how much sludge is currently being generated in your community. They will use this information to establish a baseline for each wastewater treatment facility. They will then study the various actions available to reduce the volume of sludge. Using this information, they will set a reduction requirement. Each wastewater treatment facility will be required to make changes to their operations to meet the requirements.

Sample Language for Your Bill

Copy and paste the following language into SECTION 8 of the bill template.  

Copy and Paste

1. No later than eighteen months after the effective date of this act the Department shall develop a baseline for the total volume of sewage sludge generated annually at each wastewater treatment facility within [Insert name of State/County/Town], using data from the previous three years;
2. No later than one year after the establishment of the baseline required by subsection (a), the Department shall initiate a rulemaking process to establish a schedule to reduce the volume of sewage sludge generated by each wastewater treatment facility in the jurisdiction that is below the baseline established in subsection (a). The sewage sludge volume reduction schedule shall:
   1. Be based on a review of available proven technologies and operational practices that reduce the volume of sewage sludge generated at the facility level;
   2. Consider differences in facility size, capacity, and treatment processes;
   3. Include interim benchmarks and final reduction targets as appropriate; and
   4. Be designed to ensure meaningful and achievable reductions over time.
3. Each wastewater treatment facility shall:
   1. Comply with the sewage sludge reduction schedule established by the Department pursuant to subsection (b); and
   2. Submit annual progress reports to the Department documenting sewage sludge generation volumes and the measures taken to achieve reduction.

Section 9: Prohibition on Co-Digestion and Co-Composting of Sewage Sludge

Include this section if you want to restrict your community from sending food scraps to be anaerobically digested with sewage sludge.

To protect the integrity of composting systems and prevent the spread of harmful contaminants, this section of the bill prohibits the mixing of sewage sludge with food scraps, compost, or other organic materials intended for use as soil additives or fertilizers.

Composting and food waste recycling are essential tools for reducing landfill use and cutting climate emissions, but these efforts are being undermined by the co-processing of compost with sewage sludge, which is always toxic. In some communities, food waste is sent directly to wastewater treatment plants where it is co-digested with sewage sludge in anaerobic digesters – producing a mixture that retains the toxic substances found in sludge. Contaminants include PFAS, heavy metals, microplastics, and industrial chemicals. Prominent examples of places where this occurs are New York City and Cambridge, MA.

Sample Language for Your Bill

Copy and paste the following language into SECTION 9 of the bill template.  

Copy and Paste

1. No person or entity shall mix, process, compost, or anaerobically digest sewage sludge with source-separated food waste, food scraps, compost, or digestate at any facility located within [Insert name of State/County/Town].
2. This section applies to all public and private facilities that are:
   1. Engaged in the processing of source-separated food waste and food scraps, including composting facilities, anaerobic digestion facilities, and organics recovery facilities; or
   2. Wastewater treatment plants.

Section 10: Enforcement

The requirements of your bill or ordinance mean little if they cannot be enforced. This section provides your state, county, or local government to enforce the requirements of your customized bill or ordinance.

Sample Language for Your Bill

Copy and paste the following language into SECTION 10 of the bill template.  

Copy and Paste

1. Unless otherwise stated in this act, any person or entity that violates a provision of this act or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, shall be subject to a warning for a first offense, up to $1,000 for a second offense, and up to $5,000 for a third or subsequent offense. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute an additional, separate, and distinct offense. 
2. Any penalty collected pursuant to this section shall be remitted to the Department. 
3. The Department, a county, and a municipality shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this act.
4. The Department may bring a civil action to enjoin actions that violate the requirements of this act.